I am afraid I am not finding much time to be on Ciao these days but with a new puppy in the house I ...
I am afraid I am not finding much time to be on Ciao these days but with a new puppy in the house I have some doggy related products to review from time to time.
Member since:11.10.2006
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OK - I know it is a wacky idea but having lost a bit of weight I am trying to get into better shape so I was quite pleased when I saw what I thought was a bargain piece of fitness equipment in Tesco - the OneBody 26" Anti-burst Gym Ball. OneBody make a range of fitness equipment for Tesco, as well as this Gym Ball which is priced at £5.97 they do a textured one to give you a massage at the same time as exercising and this costs £8.97 but if you want a real bargain than you could look at the Tesco Value Gym Ball at a mere £3.97. I decided to settle for this one as being middle of the range.
Gym Balls come in a range of sizes and apparentlyif you are buying one you should choose the one appropriate to your height. The 26" gym ball is suitable for heights between 5'3" and 5'10" so it was ideal for me - if you are smaller than 5'3" you should get a ball
around 22" diameter and if you are taller then look for something around 30".
What is a gym ball? Gym balls are one of the latest trends in exercise equipment. An gym ball is an excellent method of making any exercise or weightlifting unstable, which forces all the little muscles to work even harder to keep the body aligned properly. This instability that an exercise ball provides is an extra advantage to every exercise because it isolates all your muscles! Exercise balls can be used in aerobics, weightlifting, bodybuilding, and can be used at the gym, office or home. Exercise balls are also great for stretching and warm up activities and help strengthen back muscles.
There are a whole range of exercises you can do using a gym ball and quite a lot more than are shown in the little leaflet enclosed with this product. If you are going to do any form of exercise and suffer from health issues then it is a good idea to discuss it with your GP first. In my case the GP suggested I got more exercise in order to help my general health.
What can you do with a Gym Ball? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They can help to improve your flexibility - you can lay on top of them to get a good back stretch or lay on them sideways to get an effective side stretch. As with all stretching exercises it should be a slow stretch without bouncing.
You can use them to strengthen muscle groups by using them for support when doing press ups, 'bridges' and crunches.
They can also help with aerobic exercises by using the bouyancy from the ball for kick outs and bounces.
Exercises recommended by weightwatchers include:
Ball Squats
Stand with the ball between yourself and a wall, with your lower back against the ball and your feet slightly in front of you, shoulder width apart. Leaning against the ball for support, slowly lower your body down the wall bending the knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Slowly push yourself back up to a straight position. Repeat up to 10 times.
Pelvic Clocks
Sit up tall on the ball, feet flat on the floor. Slowly gyrate the hips and pelvis using your tummy muscles to create a circling movement keeping the feet still. Circle 3 times to the left and 3 to the right.
Ball Crunches
Lie on top of the ball with your toes against the wall for stability and your lower back resting on the ball, hands supporting your head. Inhale and recline head and shoulders back, then exhale and pull your tummy in as you lift your head and shoulders crunching forward. Inhale to return to start position and exhale to crunch forward 10 times.
The OneBody 26" Anti-burst Gym Ball ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The product comes in a range of colours but, because there was only one left on the shelf, I ended up with a pink one. It wouldn't have been my first choice but, as I don't regard my exercising as a spectator sport, it is fine.
It comes complete with a little hand pump to inflate it and a couple of stoppers to prevent the air from leaking out. It took me quite some time inflate it using the hand pump so I felt I was getting exercise even before it was ready. You need to inflate it until it is firm but not rigid as there does need to be a little give in it. The little white stoppers are easy to insert and I was pleased to see that the ball came with a spare stopper as I would imagine they could easily get lost.
Would I recommend it? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well yes I would, but only if you are committed to getting more exercise and don't want to join a gym. There are a wide range of exercises you can use the ball for but you do need to take the time to research these and practice them so I would say this is a piece of fitness equipment which could very easily gather dust in a week or two because it does need some effort to use it. That said it is cheap enough to be worth a try and if you don't like I have no doubt your children (or grandchildren) would find it a fun toy!
If you let all the air out it will store in a very small space but somehow I have a feeling that once you put it away it probably won't see the light of day again.
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I'm all for a bit more exercise but I just know that I wouldn't bother to keep inflating and deflating after the novelty had worn off. Really great review though. Jacky x
carly_pussycat 21.06.2007 11:23
I do like these but I know that it would end up gathering dust as I'd have to deflate it often and then would just forget about using it. I like yoga for low impact and the Pump It Up DVDs when I wanna get a sweat on! Good luck with the continued dieting efforts :)
Jun 20th, 2007
(Jun 19th, 2007)
very helpful by (100%):
