where i first attempt the balance ball

My current indoor fitness routine is 25 push-ups, 25 crunches, and 25 squats. The only part that's been giving me any real challenge is the push-ups, but that's primarily because I've always lacked upper body strength. As a result of entertaining the child I baby-sit most afternoons, I finally pumped up the balance ball Jeremy gave me for my birthday. It's big and green and fun to dribble. Not until this morning did I actually incorporate it into my "workout".

According to Joan Pagano (as well as just about any other fitness-minded individual you can Google), using the balance ball helps you isolate muscles better. The pictures of ladies doing crunches looked comfortable enough! And as far as squats are concerned, I can get further down without bending my knees beyond a 90 degree angle.

It's funny to think that before today, I worried that perhaps I wasn't challenging myself enough.

I started with the twenty-five push-ups. I can get to 17 or 18 before I get off rhythm. The last five are always the most pathetic ones, so pathetic that I feel that despite the burning, I'm somehow cheating. I'm not, I assure you. Last year I could barely squeeze out ten, so I'll accept that progress has been made. Then came crunch time. Positioning myself onto the ball was easy enough. I segued into my first crunch. "Wow! I can lean all the way back, and my neck isn't doing the brunt of the work!" I thought to myself. Unfortunately, then came crunches two, three, and four. By crunch five, I had the burn of having already completed 25 floor crunches. There was also the surprise of "productive" pain in my lower back, which before today I could've sworn housed muscles. Unhappy and freaking out at my lack of tone and fitness, I threw the ball out of my way and tried to finish the crunches on the floor. They were even harder than the ones on the balance ball! Defeated, I brought the ball back, and in the worst form speed would allow, finished my crunches. Clearly I was doing something wrong until now, because it's like my abdominals were in a coma, and a machine has been guiding me through the motions of sitting up and lying back down. The squats didn't traumatize me the way the crunches did, but then, I've always had strong legs. I found the ball beneficial in that instance.

It's like a shitty new beginning. Hooray, I'm going to work my abdominals.