Clients sometimes ask us if there are any additional exercises they can do to

improve their abdominal and core area muscles on the off-days from their Genesis

Exercise Sessions.  We have found The Bender Ball

Ab Exercise Program to be valuable in helping to add color=#990000>more tone and definition to this difficult area.

If your abdominal muscles seem to lack the muscle tone you wish they had, or

this has been a stubborn area that you wish you could improve on more,

consider doing a short 10-15 minute abdominal routine with color=#009900>The Bender Ball on your off-days from Genesis.

While your abdominals get both direct and indirect work during each

Genesis Exercise Session, we have

found The Bender Ball Ab Exercise

Program to be valuable in helping to add more tone and

definition to this difficult area.

The Bender Ball: What It

Is?

The Bender Ball is a 9-inch

inflatable plastic exercise ball used to perform a variety of abdominal and

Pilates-type exercises. The ball is part of the Bender Method fitness system,

developed by trainer Leslee Bender.

According to Leslee Bender, by giving you a greater range of motion

during exercise, the ball provides an abdominal workout that's up to

408% more effective than ordinary floor crunches. She also says

the soft, flexible Bender ball produces a higher intensity workout than you can

get with large exercise balls.

There are 3 DVDs that come in the color=#009900>Bender Ball Ab Exercise Package:  #1

- Core Training, #2 - Selective Core Training, and #3 - Strong Healthy

Back.  The Core Training DVD includes instruction on ball

inflation, exercise technique, ball placement, and breathing. It also provides

you with three levels of workouts.  In Level 1,

which lasts approximately 3 minutes, she demonstrates basic crunches with the

ball. Level 2 (about 6 minutes) includes additional ab exercises.  In Level

3 (about 6 minutes), Bender adds several Pilates exercises. With each level, the

exercises become more intense.

The Bender Ball: What We

Found

To use the Bender Ball, the exerciser places it behind the lower back, under

the hips, or between the knees, depending on the exercise.

In our Metabolic Assessment Lab at Genesis

Personal Fitness, we put The Bender

Ball to the test.  I performed all three levels

of the Core Training DVD and felt my abs working during

each one. But in workout 3, my abs were shaking like nothing I had felt before!

Don't let the short length of these workouts fool you. I found them to be

extremely effective and challenging. style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">Remember that you don't need to do hundreds or

thousands of repetitions to get a good workout. These short workouts get the job

done!

The Bender Ball: The Bottom

Line

Overall, I thought the Bender Ball was fun,

different and effective.

I found the ball to be easy to use and appropriate for most people,

though we did not test it with very obese people or those with physical

limitations.

The workout instructions were clear, the exercises were safe, modifications

were offered, and the participants were pretty relatable (middle-aged women),

but men would find this workout just as challenging as women.

Do I recommend this product?

Hands down, YES... as a good "off-day from Genesis" supplemental ab

exercise program! The exercises on the Core Training DVD, in my

opinion, are more effective than just doing regular floor crunches alone,

especially as there's a lot of variety and levels to choose from.

The Bender Ball Ab Exercise

Package we chose to endorse here at color=#0033cc>Genesis Personal Fitness also addresses how to

improve your lower back fitness in a DVD all its own. I

believe this gives balance and strength to ALL the core muscles which includes

the abdominal muscles.

One Word Of Caution

If you're considering the purchase of this product in the hopes that it will

burn off more excess fat that is covering your stomach area,

save your money. 

Remember, during each Genesis Exercise

Session, your abdominals get both direct and indirect

work.  If you are using enough resistance on the

Abdominal Nautilus machine during the session and doing the

movement during the 2-minute interval so you can barely perform the last

repetition in the last 14-20 seconds, you are getting more than enough exercise

to yoiur abdominals.

If you want to shed more

fat off your toned abs, you're going to have to diet the correct way and reduce

your body fat, NOT do more repetitive exercises for your core

muscles.style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff">  No additional amount of

strength or toning exercises at Genesis or at home on your own will get rid of

the flab that covers your fabulous abs... so diet is still essential! 

If you're struggling to be consistent on your diet, perhaps you should consider

one of our Weight Loss Nutrition Coaching

Programs.

Where You Can Purchase

It

We reviewed all the packages and ways The Bender

Ball can be purchased both online and in stores, and as I said

above, chose to endorse the one that addressed ALL apsects of your core muscles,

including your abdominals and your low back. 

At Genesis Personal Fitness, you

can purchase it directly right at our Front Desk for

only

$29.95.

You can also order the Bender Ball exercise system from their

web site starting at the single DVD package for $12.98 (plus

$7.93 shipping).  That price includes the Bender Ball, Bender Method

Manual, and a single Core Training DVD/video.

But if you order it online at their website, be

aware that when you place an order, you're also agreeing to buy two additional

workout DVD/videos every month for a monthly fee of $19.99 plus $6.99

shipping. This could come as a surprise when you see additional

monthly charges on your credit card bill. If you don't want the additional

workouts, I would recommend that you just purchase it in person at Genesis

Personal Fitness.

If you have any further questions about The Bender Ball, feel free to email

me at href="mailto:Rich@GenesisPersonalFitness.com">Rich@GenesisPersonalFitness.com