Featuring Jackson Sayers, BSc (Kinesiology)

Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds

When you’re working at the office, you have several different options for chairs. I personally like the Swiss exercise ball. I’ve been on it for about 10 years, and I’ve found it to be a very effective tool when I’m sitting at the desk or working on the computer.

The biggest problem that we have is when we sit in a chair our hamstrings don’t work at all. And the thing that I like about the ball, probably the most important thing, is that it engages the hamstrings when you’re sitting, because it really gets us into a nice position in correlation to our legs and our pelvis.

It allows our hamstrings to work, and it allows us to get a nice square position between the hip and the knee. So right now when I’m sitting in this position my hamstrings are activated. That’s so important when we think about the muscle imbalance between the front and the back of our body.

The typical chair will only make the quadriceps engage and the hamstrings don’t work at all. And the nice thing about the ball is that your hamstrings are working when your quads are relaxed. It really allows you to stay in an upright position.

But most importantly, it makes you engage your legs. Your legs are the largest muscle group in the body and they really help support your torso. So, my recommendation is use the ball, work into it slowly and you’ll find it to be a very effective tool when you have to sit for long periods of time.

Presenter: Mr. Jackson Sayers, Kinesiologist, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Kinesiologist