I got this ball to use as a chair to bounce my baby while I am holding him and at the computer desk. I think it is excellent and has helped with better posture without any thought. I also end up doing some excerises on it, just because it is there. It does not have the ultra shiny surface as is noted in the picture. Also, it is a pretty standard size I believe and is not too tall for me. I can sit comfortably, with my knees at 90 degrees and I am 5'4". As for the reviewers that are not impressed with the pump: well, I don't care. I don't plan on deflating and inflating this thing again and again.
TKO Anti Burst Fitness Stability Ball (65cm)The ball makes a fantastic "active" office/computer chair, at an extremely affordable price. I'm on it 6-8 hrs/day, and my back and legs feel better than with any other office chair I've used. I'm never going back!
I purchased this 65mm TKO ball after seeing Spri balls promoted on tv as a good alternative for an office chair. I wasn't sure how much I'd like it, but wanted to make working at my desk more physical and for $15 it wasn't much of an investment - far cheaper than my leather chair. I've been sitting on the ball between four and six hours per day for two weeks now and it's holding up well. There hasn't been any leakage in that time and the ball is very stable to sit on. Even on a glossy tile floor, there's no fear of it rolling out from under me.
Sitting at a desk for long hours, my tailbone often gets sore, even with those u-shaped pillows, which isn't the case when sitting on the ball, nor is lower back pain an issue. I've found that sitting on the ball seems to promote proper posture or rather it discourages anything but. You can't sit on it lazily. Crouching will lead to upper back discomfort and possible neck soreness rather quickly. But, I guess that's why it's better for you, to make you use more muscles and make sitting more active. It might be best to ease into it, rather than going nearly cold turkey like I've been.
Regarding the complaints that a few others have had with the ball being smaller than advertised or lopsided, I believe that's a result of a failure to fully inflate the ball. The ball is made of very tough, but flexible material that I imagine would be a pain to fully inflate with the small hand-pump that's included. Even with an electric pump that we bought to inflate our portable matress, it took a good ten to 15 minutes to inflate to the 25" diameter recommended by the manufacture. The ball may appear fully inflated at only 21" diameter, but there will still be a few creases giving away that it's not. And, because you're not just filling the cavity with air, but also having to expand the strong rubber shell, that last 4" seemed to take as much time to inflate as the first 21", though I spent more time at the end measuring to ensure the ball didn't over-inflate, so the time could be deceptive. Once fully inflated, the ball doesn't appear remotely unbalanced or asymmetrical, nor was mine smaller than advertised.
If I can ever get conditioned to sitting up straight for long periods, this should prove a great investment. Regardless, for a ball this large and durable, $15 is a great value. compared to many others.
Update:
After months of use, I haven't needed to add more air, even once. I've used this ball as a chair, as an excercise component, and my neice and nephew have enjoyed putting it through a more vigorous testing of bouncing on it more abusively and it's still holding air extremely well. The upper back soreness I previously mentioned had less to do with posture and more to due with a 9000 mile motorcycle trip I took the year before. I've had minor upper-back problems, generated from my years in gymnastics and many more carrying heavy loads in construction. It seems it was past time for an alignment.
There's nothing wrong with this fitness ball except that it's NOT 65cm. It's 55cm. They should take out their tape measure. So, it's fine for smaller frames, but if you're looking for something larger, it's not your product. Of course, now I don't trust the advertising. I mean, this thing even says "65" on the ball and it's just wrong.
I purchased this ball for exercise. I'm a fairly large woman and was a little worried that it wouldn't support me. This worry was unfounded. It works wonderfully and I was surprised at the ease of the exercise and the type of workout it provided. Surprisingly, I really feel like it is a good workout. It's also fun to use along with music. I was disappointed in the pump which is the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. I actually used an electric pump with mine so it wasn't an issue. If you are not very good at exercising, and not sure where to start, this is a great tool to get you started. I'm happy to say it's working for me. The ball also looked very much like the one pictured.
The ball seems like a very nice, high quality fitness ball, but TKO has an inventory problem -- as others have mentioned.
I ordered a 65cm ball. The box it came in says 65cm, the ball has a sticker on it that says 65cm, but I measured it after inflating and it's definitely NOT a 65cm ball: it's a 55cm ball, which is one size down. I've re-measured it several times to confirm, and will be returning the product since it's too small for me.
I'll find another vendor to order my 65cm ball from, since I can't trust TKO to send me the correct size next time, either. Definitely a disappointment.
The warmup chart that comes with the TKO Anti Burst Fitness Ball Set 65cm is wonderful. The chart provides numerous positions with a full range of motion for all the muscles and joints of the body. You feel comfortable with yourself--no exhaustion, no aches, no pinched nerves, no stiffness. This is a marvelous activity for any age or health level because the activities are low impact with individualized pacing. I've purchased one for myself and one for a friend who has osteoporosis. The quality of the ball is excellent, and the little pump that comes in the package is easy to use.'
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