Boy do I love to exercise, there’s nothing like the sound of these old knee joints popping and crunching as I  go through the latest Zumba/WII Fit/ Cardio Jam torture . . . er,  I mean routine. I especially enjoy my beloved spouse of 23 years glaring at me when I don’t show the same enthusiasm for this masochistic regimen of mindless agony that she displays:  “See sweetie, your gasping, moaning and sweating more than a politician under a recall vote is a sign that it’s WORKING.”

Bah. I would do almost any exercise if you could make it FUN. Make it fun AND competitive and you got me.  Make it fun, competitive and something that can be abused when not functioning as part of an exercise session and it becomes subversive and wildly desirable. I am talking about the Exercise Ball. There are legions of fun routines that engage the core (the trunk we used to call it in the old days before new math). Almost any standard callisthenic type of regimen can be altered to include the Exercise Ball. Sit-ups, push-ups, knee bends leg lifts all get much more intense with the giant ball o’ fun. There are a veritable plethora of videos online to incorporate into the workout. When you are first learning how to use the Ball, I would suggest purchasing throw mats or some type of thick exercise mat for softer landings. You may be wondering where the competitive /subversive pats come in.  It is along the lines of, “Two men enter, one man leaves.”

For this duel, you will need two of the large balls and two of the smaller balls. Using the larger of the two balls you lie belly down on the larger ball, your “second” helps position your feet on the smaller. Your worthy opponent mounts upon their own glorious steed of inflated rubber balls within arm’s reach. On the count of three you then attempt to knock your opponent off their perch OR lose control of the smaller of the two balls. This will get noisy. Make sure there are no electronic appliances anywhere nearby. Preferably you will do this outdoors, on rubber flooring out of view of the faint of heart. Variations include wielding various plastic weaponry and toy shields.