Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
FUN EXERCISE FOR ALL FITNESS LEVELS |
| Disadvantages: |
NO INSTRUCTIONS |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
What can say about the Pro-Fitness Gymnastic Ball? It’s big. It’s bouncy. And mine is silver in colour. It costs only £3.99 from Argos. I reserved mine on the Argos website – a simple and straightforward procedure. Trust me. I then chose the outlet I wanted to collect it from – in this case, Eastgate Centre in Inverness. I was given until close of business on the day after next to collect the ball so don’t make a reservation unless you’re able to collect it within 48 hours. Once you’ve placed an online reservation, you are sent an e-mail with a reservation number – you MUST print this e-mail and bring it to the store with you. Although the ball is blue on the website picture, there’s no indication that there is a colour range. I was told at the store that I wouldn’t have a choice of colour so obviously there’s a selection of some sort. Like I said, the one I was given was silver but I wasn’t fussed about the colour so that was okay with me. Because I had made a reservation, I was told I could use a Quick Pay checkout but Argos was unusually quiet that morning so I can’t comment on the speed of service.
When I got the ball home, the only instruction available was that you should ‘use air pump for inflation. Do not over inflate. Inflate to a maximum diameter 65cm.’ Now I’m no mathematician and I had no idea how big this meant – there’s no other clues so it was a case of try it and see. I used the free air pump at the local garage but you really need an extra pair of hands for this process. Fortunately I had a teenager to hand to assist. The ball comes with two plugs to seal the hole (one’s a spare) which look like white golf tees. There’s no valve but I managed to inflate the ball by holding the air pump against the hole. Once I had guessed the size, I didn’t push the plug fully in to the hole, tried it for a day, and decided it needed to be bigger. My advice is to pump it up until it measures about 82 inches or 208 cm round the widest part of the ball – take a piece of string that length when you go to pump it up if you think it might help.
The ball is made of a really strong rubbery material but the basic information, which is all printed on the box – there’s no leaflet – gives no indication what this is – probably rubber! The box, by the way, is only 6½” x 6½” x 3½” so it’s really quite small and light to carry. The only other information given is that the ball is used to ‘strengthen and tone muscles and bones of the hips, back, legs, hands, arms and shoulders,’ ‘helps develop overall body muscle, balance and coordination,’ and is ‘a great exercise alternative for any age and
fitness level.’ It’s also ‘washable and easy to carry’ and can take a maximum weight of 125kgs which is about 20 stone so don’t be scared to sit on it.
Ok. So you’ve got your ball. It’s inflated to roughly the right size. What do you do with it now? Well it makes a pretty good footstool. Apart from that, the downside is that there are absolutely no instructions on usage but I attended a fitness class where we use these balls so I can give you some clues. Apparently you can also buy yoga and pilates DVDs specifically designed for these balls. I’ve been recovering from abdominal surgery so nothing here is too taxing for your average Joe. If you sit on the ball facing a wall, roll forward until your knees are touching the wall then lie back. It’s okay. It’s pretty stable and balancing is all part of the fun. Cross your hands over your chest and slowly sit up using your tummy muscles and slowly lie back down again – sit-ups on a ball – my fitness instructor will give me more to do once I can do 50 sit-ups and I can now do 30. This really works the abs! Just sitting on the ball watching Corrie while lifting one or both feet off the floor and trying to keep your balance also works the muscles. You can lie across the ball and do press-ups which I can’t do from the floor to save myself. Picking up the ball between your feet and raising and lowering it is another exercise.
This product is for all ages and fitness levels but also for people who need to spend a little money as motivation to get up and do something. It’s great fun and even the kids are using it.
