The io-ball workout

Date

02.17.20 More info+

8 moves for your core, glutes, hamstrings, and more

Brittany Shimansky hung up her professional pointe shoes at the age of 25 due to an ankle injury. She immediately fell in love with barre—a fusion of yoga, ballet, and Pilates—because it uses dance positions to strengthen your muscles and build athleticism.

Now, Shimansky teaches classes like Best Butt Ever and Band Burn (both of which incorporate elements of barre) at Equinox Austin in Texas. She recently discovered that she could get even more out of her workouts by adding the io-ball, also used in next-gen Pilates, to the mix.

“I love that it can be used to provide both resistance and instability,” she says. For example, placing the ball under your foot in a single-leg bridge makes your base unstable while squeezing it between your legs adds pressure for you to push against. Both of these effects require increased core engagement.

There's no other lightweight piece of equipment that builds muscular endurance, strength, and stability in the body like the io-ball can, Shimansky says, especially in the glutes, inner thighs, and hamstrings.

Below, she demonstrates eight barre-inspired io-ball exercises that provide all those benefits. Don’t let the lack of heavy weights fool you; this 25-minute workout is made extra challenging through pulsing, time under tension, and the complete absence of rest.

First, warm up with 30 seconds of shoulder rolls, 30 seconds of alternating lateral lunges, 1 minute of reverse crunches, 1 minute of deep squats, and 1 minute of squat pulses. Then, perform each exercise for the allotted time, moving straight from one move to the next with no breaks. Do it up to 4 times per week for optimal results.

Note: You can perform the moves in any order, but the below sequence is the most challenging because it works the same muscle groups back to back.

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