Pros and Cons of Sitting on a Stability Ball at Work

Have you grown weary of your work chair? Looking to switch it up to something a little different? If so, you might consider going with an exercise ball.

While sitting on a ball at work isn’t for everyone, it is a good decision for some. To help you decide whether it’s right for you, we’re going to discuss its pros and cons below. Let’s get into it!

The Pros of Sitting on a Ball at Work

There are plenty of pros of sitting on an exercise ball. The biggest benefits include the following.

Increases Core Strength

Because exercise balls offer nothing in the ways of arm and back support, they force your body to support itself. What muscles are needed in order to provide this support? The core muscles!

When sitting upright on an exercise ball, you’re engaging everything from your abdominals to your obliques to a variety of other muscles. This prolonged engagement not only strengthens your muscles, but it also gives them greater endurance.

Improves Posture

While you can slouch regardless of what you’re sitting on, you have a much greater chance of slouching on a chair than slouching on an exercise ball. This is because an exercise ball forces you to utilize good posture in order to keep your balance.

Slouching, on the other hand, draws the weight of your body forward, causing you to lose your base, and increasing the chance of the ball slipping out from under you.

Burns Additional Calories

As was noted above, sitting on an exercise ball forces you to engage muscles that you otherwise wouldn’t engage. As such, it causes your heart rate to increase.

What happens when your heart rate increases? You burn more calories. In essence, by sitting on an exercise ball during work, you’re revving up your metabolism and making it easier to lose weight. Using the stability ball is also a better exercise than say, pushing a double stroller with your kids in it or hiking in the outdoors, in terms of convenience and the ease of doing it.

Promotes Good Balance

Do you lack coordination? Do you have trouble keeping your balance? If so, an exercise ball could help you to improve it.

Unlike sitting on a chair, sitting on a ball requires work. You must make an effort in order to stay seated. If no effort is made, you will quite simply slide off of the ball.

As such, without even trying, you will improve your balance. You will practice good stability without even realizing that you’re practicing good stability.

The Cons of Sitting on a Ball at Work

While the pros of sitting on a ball at work are many, it comes with its share of cons as well. These cons will be reviewed below.

Provides Little Back or Arm Support

One of the primary drawbacks of sitting on an exercise ball is that it doesn’t lend you any arm or back support like ergonomic chairs within its price range. Over the span of an 8-hour workday, this lack of support can become uncomfortable.

Not only can it affect your ability to type on a keyboard and perform other desk-oriented tasks, but it can also place stress on your body, resulting in pain throughout various joints.

Results in Exhaustion

As was noted above, sitting on a ball isn’t easy. You have to make an effort to sit on a ball. If no effort is given, you’ll slide off of the ball, and might even incur an injury.

While the effort needed to stay on a ball has positive consequences, it has negative consequences as well. Namely, it causes physical and mental exhaustion. In short, if you’re not in shape, sitting on an exercise ball can leave you feeling tuckered out by lunchtime.

Can Make it Difficult to Concentrate

Because sitting on a yoga ball chair causes exhaustion, it also causes concentration difficulties. After all, the more energy that’s expended, the harder time the affected individual has of focusing on the task at hand.

In a work setting, concentration difficulties are a clear concern. You can’t complete your responsibilities in an adequate manner if you can’t summon the focus to give them your best effort.

Could Cause Accidents

The last con
of exercise balls at work is that they could cause accidents. After all, it doesn’t take much for a ball to roll away and become a tripping hazard.

In fact, some workplaces won’t even allow exercise balls on their premises, as they could very easily lead to lawsuits. Though they may benefit their users, they could very well become detriments to others in the office. A Fort Lauderdale slip and fall lawyer at the Levin Firm told me that injuries such as broken bones, back and neck injuries, and head injuries could all result in someone tripping over an exercise ball in the workplace.

Choosing the Right Sized Ball

Have you decided that you’d like to sit on an exercise ball at work? Looking to buy one? If so, you have to make sure that you get the size right. Failure to choose the right sized ball could lead to posture issues, thus leading to injuries over time.

The size of the ball you choose is dependent on your height. If you’re between 4’8″ and 5’5″, you should opt for an 18-inch ball; If you’re between 5’6″ and 6’0″, you should opt for a 22-inch ball; If you’re between 6’1″ and 6’5″, you should opt for a 26-inch ball; And if you’re taller than 6’5″, you should opt for a 30-inch ball.

It’s also key that, when sitting on the ball, your knees are bent at a 90-degree angle. A 90-degree angle indicates that your body is square and that you’ve got a firm base.

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Truth be told, for most individuals, sitting on a ball at work is unwise. While it certainly has its benefits, it’s generally not feasible over the course of a full workday. For most, the exhaustion and fatigue it causes are simply too much to bear.

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Courtney P.

I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!