getting ready to join the gym as soon as i get the all clear from my surgeon.

i can't afford much home exercise equipment, but i am interested in the balance ball. i'm a little nervous that i'll buy one and it will pop the first time i sit on it.

do you have a balance ball? what kind did you get? have you had a good experience with it?

info please!

i ordered a ball from Gaiam and love them! they arent too much $$

I too have thought about getting a ball, but I really don't know how to use it to get a work out. I see people use it to do crunches and stuff but I really don't think that I am there yet.

How do you use and what area's of your body do you focus on?

Becca

I too have thought about getting a ball, but I really don't know how to use it to get a work out. I see people use it to do crunches and stuff but I really don't think that I am there yet.

How do you use and what area's of your body do you focus on?

Becca

i work with a trainer every other week (used to go 2x a week) and that made all the difference.

totally worth the money!

The one I bought (I think it was Bell brand) came with a 30 minute workout DVD and a resistance band. It's pretty fun!

Here's a link to what I have from Amazon.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Fitness-Body-Ball-Resistance/dp/B000B76IG2]Amazon.com: Bell Fitness Body Ball Resistance Kit: Sports & Outdoors[/ame]

You can get them at Target or WalMart and they are very inexpensive. Many come with a DVD. You can also get books on using them at the library if you don't want to buy one from a bookstore like Barnes & Noble. I started using one when I still weighed about 350 and it didn't pop...I was afraid of that, too! But it was fine. You will LOVE it for doing abs, stretching, sitting on while doing some weights...the list is endless. It's a great piece of home equipment with a lot of variety! I think Target sells the Gaiam ones and they are good!

I sat on one at work throughout both my pregnancies and I topped out at 327. They may have weight ranges on them - I know I saw ones that claim to be "burst proof" on Amazon when I was looking for a book for my mom (ended up with Exercise Balls for Dummies).

SparkPeople has an online video workout for exercise balls - I haven't tried it. And they have lots of individual exercises for balls, too.

Good luck! I'm doing some strengthening exercises starting this week, then I'll start working out in a couple weeks when I can be sure I'm not going to trash my already arthritic knees...

I've had a few of them. Actually used it as a (my)chair in my massage office.

getting ready to join the gym as soon as i get the all clear from my surgeon.

i can't afford much home exercise equipment, but i am interested in the balance ball. i'm a little nervous that i'll buy one and it will pop the first time i sit on it.

do you have a balance ball? what kind did you get? have you had a good experience with it?

info please! :tongue:

I just bought one last week from Target - ProSpirit brand. It was on sale for $9. I was sooo scared I'd pop it too... but NOPE! It even said on the box "300 pound capacity" well, I'm 294 now, so I figured I'd try it!!

I tried one at the gym once, I was still about 380 pounds, and it didn't pop... but you never know! I TOTALLY understand that fear!

Go for it! Its cheap and easy and fun! I now do about 100 sit-ups nightly, along with a few other exercises!

No comment. I tried one at the gym and fell off the damned thing. I have a gorgeous young trainer, and I was mortified.

I have an exercise ball from Dick's Sporting goods and the real trick to buying one is to get one for your height. The sizes and heights are listed on the box. They are portable, cheap, fun and effective. I worked with a trainer and learned a lot of exercises to do with the ball before I bought one, then it came with a DVD and I learned a ton more, you can work nearly every muscle in your body with this thing. Probably the best investment I ever made in a piece of exercise equipment!

As for falling off, yeah, it's pretty common, but I didn't fall as much as I though I would. I recommend trying it at home a few times before jumping on at the gym, just to get the hang of it and get over any fear that you have. The beauty of the ball is that it lets you work specific muscles with different moves but it is ALWAYS strengthening the core body muscles while you work. I use it as a chair while I am working at my desk and it works my abs and core, while boosting my balance at the same time.

to quote Tony the Tiger, "It's Grrrreat!".

Good luck,

Laura the Loser (and proud of it):cool2:

I've had a few of them. Actually used it as a (my)chair in my massage office.

How did you like it as a chair? I've been thinking about the same idea but wondered if it would really make enough of a difference to be worth the ribbing in an office full of men.

I really like using the ball as a chair. It forces me to use my back and stomach muscles without really feeling like I am doing anything. And if you move around in your work area at all, you get to use your obliques and/or legs to twist or rotate on the ball or, dare I say, stand up and move around from time to time. Shocking I know, but I have been known to actually stand up from time to time after planting myself in my seat, when my seat is the ball. A chair on wheels makes it way too easy to be sedentary for the entire day.

No comment. I tried one at the gym and fell off the damned thing. I have a gorgeous young trainer, and I was mortified.

Lol. Thats the whole point - BALANCE and strengthen your core muscles. Try, try again!!

I saw a special news report some months back about about some balls being of poor quality and popping. It showed a man who broke both his wrists when it popped, he was suing the company that made it. He was not a particularly big man either.

I have a feeling that it may be a "get what you pay for" type scenario here is someone else complaing about quality defective yeti: On The Ball

I've used them at the gym, perhaps call a gym and ask which brands they buy and why