KymberlyWilliams-Evans, MA and Alexandra Williams.MA
OmniBall – exercise equipment and DVDs, from Aileen Sheron, Good Natured Products
Kymberly: Once upon now, there was a multi-talented fitness pro named Aileen Sheron who invented the OmniBall, a portable piece of workout equipment devised to make me roll around on the floor and scare my cats as I work my abs and more. ”Omni” means “all” as in “omnifarious,” which is what this ball allows for–”relating to all varieties” of upper body, lower, and core training. Omnipotent after an all-in-one 30 minute workout??!! My kind of gig!
Look how happy the Omni Ball made her!
Basically you strap a 4 pound OmniBall to each hand or foot, clean your floor, have your loved one press the DVD player for you, then whoopee it up as you try to follow Aileen’s superhuman lead on screen. (YouTube link alert, so check it out). (And I do recommend you get at least one of the DVDs to go along with your OmniBall. I worked out to her 30 minute “Express OmniBall DVD” which hit all the major muscles with strength and stretch moves. Then I did some–also known as “none”–of the 30 minute “Start-Up OmniBall” workout.) Hey, the first 30 minute workout was sufficient!
Is this the next virally hot workout toy? Mebbe! Loved the DVDs as they packed a lot of training into half an hour. Aileen has a clear, clean, friendly, polished teaching style that does not veer into the dreaded “perky” or on camera fakey mode. Enjoyed her and her workout design. The transitions were smooth; the pace just about right; the balance of lower to upper to core training was on target, and she mentions modifications (though shows only a few). I made up my own options in a few places that looked more like “taking a break” and “clearing dirt out of the roller” and “adjusting the straps so the ball would stay on my feet when we switched from handheld to footheld.”
Raise Your Hand if you Love the Omni Ball
As for the equipment, I learned that a low carpet such as the one Aileen is on in the “Start-Up” DVD looked to allow better roller movement than my laminate floor (could cat fur be the culprit?). The ball itself was very comfortable and the 4 pounds each was more challenging than I expected. Those roll out push-ups are deee-vine. But the moves with my body weight over my hands and the OmniBall hurt my wrists. But then I did break both wrists falling out of a tree back in the day…. Those of you who prefer home workouts will like the combo of the ball and the program–not much space needed, easy to use and follow. Just know you will have to do a pre-workout called sweeping and mopping so that the balls can perform most effectively. I checked with Aileen about which surface the OmniBall works best on. Her report: she has had success on all the workout floors she and her customers have tried. My report: My OmniBalls want to work out at the beach…in the Caribbean….
Omni Ball Kit: Cuter than a Bowling Ball Bag!
The carrying case you get with your OmniBalls is high quality, styler-ish, and designed to hold DVDS nicely in a side pouch. I felt good carrying those babies around and I looked good too (rumor flash). Check it out yourself at aileensheron.com. For under $80 you’ll get more options than free weights offer and a new trend to be ahead of.
No Sit-Ups Required DVD workout, by Christine Tusa
Do these exercises; get these abs (ish)
Alexandra: While Kymberly was lolling and rolling about, I participated in watched the No Sit-Ups Required DVD by Christine Tusa. I mean, I would have done all the exercises along with Christine, but I had already taught 4 classes and my abs had departed from my body and jumped into my make-up bag for a touch-up! Luckily, I already teach all these exercises so I definitely know how they feel in the core! Effective! All those no-crunch, no sit-up ab moves are what make it possible to teach 4 classes without needing medical intervention! My thoughts are:
Strengths – These exercises work! Christine says “abs” a lot, which includes the entire core, transversus, rectus abdominis, obliques and lumbar spine. So all kinds of freaky Latin terms that mean “Do these moves and you will have a toned and fine-looking mid-section.” Although the moves she demonstrates may appear easy (if you just watch as I did), they are actually challenging and effective. I will just bet you 5 flying push-ups that there are some moves you don’t know, as Christine thinks a bit outside the box (or the large, medium and small ball, in this instance). (Psssst, I also hate crunches. Read our post Get Fab Abs: Part 1 to see why we think they’re STOOOOOPIT)
Things That Make Me Go “Hmmmm” - This workout might be a bit frustrating for anyone who likes to have information. You don’t get a lot of discussion about what is worked specifically, just “abs,” which bugs me as an instructor. If you are happy with that general term, this will not be an issue. I would also have liked a bit more chitty-chat about how to perform the exercises properly. Because these are non-standard exercises, I think some demonstration of how to do them wrong, and how to make them right, would be helpful. True beginners (or anyone who lost their abs and is trying to re-locate them) might not be able to tell if they’re doing things correctly.
The No Sit-Ups Required DVD is about 30 minutes long and (happily) includes some stretches and a great demo on proper posture. You will need a large stability ball, a medium ball (like the multi-colored ones you find at the grocery store in those bins that just magnetize kids) and a tennis ball. That is perhaps asking a lot, if you don’t have access to a gym or prefer to focus your purchases on other things. If so, you could improvise for the two smaller balls, although the large one is definitely necessary for this workout.
Bottom line on your mid-line – this DVD is a good core workout.
You guys do good work.
Love,
Anonymous