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Exercise of the Month - May 2007: “1-legged ball squats”
Single leg strength and endurance is required in both athletics and in everyday life. A key example is going up and down stairs. We take it one leg at a time and this is why training the lower body one leg at a time has merit in an effective exercise regimen. Squats are a great lower body exercise, although I rarely see exercisers at the gym performing single-leg versions of them. 1-legged ball squats are a great exercise for working one limb at a time.
To perform this exercise, place a stability ball against a wall and line up your back against it. The middle of the ball should line up with your waist. Raise one leg slightly off the ground and lower to a depth that you find challenging, yet are still able to ascend. Perform 8-12 repetitions and switch legs, performing 8-12 with the other. As the exercise becomes easier, try to sink a little lower with the squat, ultimately getting the thigh bone (femur) at or slightly below parallel to the ground.