No Swiss exercise ball

rachietuk

First day at new gym today, looked for all the equipment I will need to start stage 1 on Monday. They do not have exercise balls.
I was thinking of getting a ball and doing those exercises when I get home from the gym, or are there any variations I could do?

fatty_to_fitty

you should do all the exercises together because your heart rate is already higher.

You don't need a swiss ball for sit ups just take it steady.

For the jack knife thing it is tricky I think it does two things - works upper body strength and your core - I'd do push ups with your feet on a high step.

Then I would also say go for it get the ball for home and do core exercise when you can like kneeling on it, the Jackknife one from the book.

I am on stage one and fell off doing the jack knife so I'm glad on that occasion I was at home!!

rachietuk

thank you
I tried the jack knife the other day at my old gym and fell off, thankfully it was 4.30am and the only other person around was my husband.

MyOwnSunshine

I woud ask a staff member if they have a ball. I'll bet they do, because they are such a common piece of exercise equipment. Maybe they have them stored somewhere and can get one out for you.

CSueB

I agree with everyone's comments......I did wonder if they had a slant bench that you could do crunches on if there isn't a ball...just an idea....as long as you keep it as low as possible. our center has both. best of luck and success to you and to all of us!

CSueB

oh yes....been there too, fell off but it was in front of my daughter and sister....laughter is good, right????

morkiemama

You can do plank and plank variations in place of crunches. In fact, the author in his later book NROL for Abs switched to pretty much all plank/plank variations with some exceptions, but not many.

Val_from_OH

I would definitely ask the gym staff. If they don't already have one, they may be willing to buy one, or you could buy one and donate it. They only cost about $20 or so. There are plenty of other core exercises to do, but jackknives are fun once you get the hang of them!