Get on the Ball
By Tom Weede

Having spent hours wedged into an Airbus coach seat one Sunday, I woke up the next day feeling like Frankenstein’s monster, only less flexible. Mondays are tough enough, but a Monday after a vacation is about as much fun as doing your taxes.

So it was a good thing I had already scheduled a 10 a.m. meeting with physical therapist Stephen Clark, P.T., to get some tips on stretching with a physioball. Still jet-lagged and stiff, my body needed the boost that best comes from stretching—not a rigorous workout, but a good lube job on the joints and muscles.

Clark is the owner and clinical director of Athletic Physical Therapy in Los Angeles. His clients range from Olympic medalists to recreational athletes, and he knows from his 15 years in the business that most men would rather rent Notting Hill than take time out to stretch. “If you took 100 guys in here, 90 would need to work on their flexibility,” he says, referring to the midmorning gym hounds.

The stretches he showed me are a bit more advanced than the more traditional movements done on a mat—if you’re recovering from an injury or just starting on a stretching program, you should work on improving your flexibility with easier stretches first. “You have to have a little bit more balance and a little bit more flexibility,” says Clark. “Some people won’t be able to do them because they’re too hard.”

I’m not the world’s most flexible guy (some people can touch their toes; I’m happy if I can get to my shins), so the routine was challenging for me, but not impossible. And these extra-credit stretches were worth the effort. “You get a stretch in multiple muscles in multiple planes of motion,” says Clark, explaining that doing floor stretches limits your movements. “The floor is keeping you in a certain plane—you can’t stretch past it. On a ball, you can actually stretch to the limits of your muscles.” Not only does the ball allow for deeper stretches, it also enables you to improve your balance while you get more flexible. 

But maybe most appealing is the routine’s interactiveness, which distinguishes it from the usual run-of-the-mill, can-do-I-hate-stretching stretches—and this should keep you coming back to it more often.

To try the workout yourself, warm up for three to five minutes to raise your core temperature and make your muscles more pliant—do enough to just break a sweat, says Clark. This also will promote blood circulation, delivering oxygen and nutrients to your muscles. One last tip: Start with a small ball—the less the circumference, the easier the stretch will be.


1. TRUNK EXTENSIONS (lumbar spine, chest, abdominals)

Start faceup with your feet flat on the floor, your upper back on the ball, and you’re arms extended (1a). Walk your feet toward the ball, pushing with your legs, letting the ball roll underneath your torso and allowing your head to extend past the ball. Extend down, letting your head drop, until your fingertips touch the floor (1b). Walk your feet back to the starting position. Repeat three to five times.


2. DYNAMIC HAMSTRING STRETCH (hamstring)

Stand with your left foot on the floor and your right leg on the ball, with your knee bent and your foot flat on the ball (2a). Roll the ball out with your foot, letting your toes turn up (2b). Hold the stretch for five seconds, do five repetitions, and repeat on the other side. Keep your back in a neutral position (with a slight arch) for the entire movement, making sure not to round it.



3. LOWER-BACK SIDE STRETCH (latissimus dorsi, obliques, gluteus medius, vertebral column)

Kneel with your left side next to the ball and your right leg raised. Rest your left arm on the ball (3a), then roll the ball forward under your left side. Reach your left hand toward the floor and your right hand overhead; maintain only light pressure with the left hand on the floor, letting most of your weight rest on the ball (3b). Then turn your chest and your face toward the ceiling (3c), and hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Switch sides and repeat. Repeat two or three times.



4. HIP-FLEXOR STRETCH (quadriceps, hip flexors)

Start with the ball behind you in a sprinter’s starting position, but with your right leg extended behind you. Place the top of your right foot on the ball (4a), then roll the ball forward and raise your upper body to an upright position, with your knee below your hips (4b). Do not arch your back. Press your right hip forward (4c). Hold for 15 to 20 seconds, then repeat with your left leg. Repeat two or three times.


5. BALL ROLL-OUT (latissimus dorsi, thoracic spine, triceps, shoulders)

Kneel in front of the ball with your arms straight in front of you, placing your hands on the ball in a neutral (handshake) position (5a). Roll the ball forward, bending from the waist and dropping your chest toward the floor. Let your head drop, and feel the weight on the middle of your spine. Turn your palms up as you roll the ball (5b). Hold for five seconds; do 10 repetitions.