Three fitness ball workouts, each one around 20 minutes long and focusing on a different body part. There's also a "bonus" 10-minute stretching routine that doesn't need the ball. Tanja Djelevic instructs.

Intermediate exercisers — this is a challenging workout that will stay challenging, even as you get better at the moves. You will need a fitness ball and if you are working on a hard surface, you may want a mat for those times you are on your knees or back.

Fitness balls were originally invented as a rehab tool, but you'd never guess it from these three workouts. Tanja Djelevic is a friendly instructor, but she never goes easy on you. The routines — for lower body, upper body and core — exercise your muscles in very unique and challenging ways. The lower and upper body workouts are closer to full-body routines, with the focus more on either the upper or lower part of your body. So while you're doing those leg exercises, don't be surprised when your arms start to fatigue too. And while you're working your upper body, you'll also be fitting in some lower body work. Djelevic has some very creative moves — triceps extensions with the ball, plus a thigh-strengthing lean back, for example. The core segment really targets your stabilizing muscles, while never neglecting the showier muscles like the rectus abdominus (which make up that six-pack). You'll find lots of twists and balance challenges in these workouts, to enhance your functional fitness, and if any of the exercises are too hard for you, there is a modifier who makes the move easier. Each of these routines are around 20 minutes (the lower body segment is 18, the core segment is 23 and the upper body is somewhere in between), so you should have time to fit in the exquisite 10-minute standing stretch routine. I'm not a huge fan of fitness ball workouts, but Djelevic really has gotten the best out of the ball.

 

 

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