Black Mountain Products Exercise Stability Yoga Ball, Foot Pump, Ball Plug, Plug Puller, 2000 Lbs Static Weight Capacity Antiburst

Yayyy! I have debated getting one of these for a while now and just couldn't justify it until recently. I scowered the internet looking for one at a fair price, that had the color I wanted (I mean, it IS a decent size and in my apartment, so I wanted it to blend with the rest of the scenery) and also had good reviews for being a decent product. I am not disappointed! As soon as I got it, I blew it up and like other reviewers, thought it looked pretty small. I remember what the others said about giving it time to expand, and also in the directions, so I blew it up to what seemed like it's full size and gave it 24 hours to do it's thing. After that I was able to blow it up more and now it is it's full size and I haven't had to add any air. I LOVE this thing! I'm in my 200 hour yoga teacher training and also have chronic lower back pain, probably from years of riding horses and/or a bad car accident when I was younger. This ball has become part of my routine and a fantastic tool for stretching, laying all over in different ways, and also great for throwing at the husband in sneak attacks =] ha ha ha. I also use it for exercising at home as I do a lot of resistence training and it is my goal to do as many work outs as I can without going to a gym. If I want to use weights or the sauna, I go to the gym. Otherwise, I like working out at home or outside in nature. One part of my workout that was really tripping me up was doing back extensions on the roman chair. I couldn't figure out a way around it and have been bothered about not being creative enough to figure out a way to do it without heading to the gym. I don't know why I didn't think of using this ball! Now I can finally do back extensions at home amongst stepping my game up in a bunch of other ways. I also have a lot of fun just laying on it in different ways, watching t.v. while sitting on it and being able to move my back and hips while I'm sitting, and I even use it as my "office chair" to keep mobility up. It is doing wonders for my lower back, which I haven't had relief for in YEARS. My husband also really loves using it for his exercises and the dog has also made it her personal mission to try and kill it. We have a 57 pound muscle packed meatball of a dog who has run at and jumped on this ball with nails out and had zero issues with it getting torn up or popping. It's smooth, just the right enough of bounce, strong, durable, and doesn't have any offensive smell to it. I also love that it came with a pump and a way to delfate it if need be. It shipped fast and thus far customer service has been fantastic - which for me is half the worth of a product. Thank you guys for a great product! We are very happy with it! I may even opt to one day buy a bunch of these for one of our yoga studios for when I run a prenatal class!

I purchased a 2000lbs Anti Burst Exercise Stability Ball (75cm) with Pump by Black Mountain and a couple of bases: Cando 30-1848 Gym Ball Bases (19-1/2" Diameter) and a couple of Power Systems Ball Bases.I ordered them for use in offices at work at our desk in lieu of chairs. We purchased the 75cm size which seems about right for use at a desk. You would want to match the correct size for your body using the chart if you were using it for working out but for use as a chair you want to match it to your desk height needs. We may buy a couple of 85cm of the same brand as well to try.The Black Mountain 2000lbs Anti Burst Exercise Stability Ball is WONDERFUL! I have a couple of very large guys I work with and they tested it. I thought for sure they would pop but – it did not pop. The pump that came with it is super easy to pump with and I like that it will not let me overfill it. The pump is not super high quality but I do not expect to deflate it and pump it back up often. My only mild complaint was that once plugged, it is hard to get the plug back out to add more air. I read in another review that it is helpful to add additional air for the first week as it stretches out and I was shocked at how much more air it took the second time I filled it. A solution for removing the plug from another reviewer was to use a spoon to help pry/pull it out - worked perfectly. Another suggestion was to tie twine or floss on it to be able to pull it out. I have not tried that as the spoon method work great.As for the two bases I ordered:Neither hold the ball completely still – nor should it as the point of a stability ball is for the person, not the base, to keep it stable. Both work great for holding a ball in place. Personally, I do not like either for use at a desk because you cannot get up and roll the ball back easily like you can without a base. However, I have a colleague that prefers the base so the ball does not try to get away from her. For use at a desk, the Cando was better because it is smaller and easier to push the ball out of the way. The Power Systems was a bit more bulky.We have only had them for a week but when comparing the two bases; the Power Systems Base does seem a bit more durable than the Cando base for holding the ball. In contracts, the Condo base looks better for use with bands or tubing if you are working out.For both, the design is simple and could be used with a number of different size balls. With the Cando, I would not recommend this for use on hardwoods as the edges look like they will dig into the floor. I have carpet in my office so I have not tested this but it is not round or smooth on the bottom – which makes since to keep it from sliding.All in all, both are pretty good. If you are using them for a workout – buy the Power Systems. If you want it for the office – buy the Cando.In Summary:Best base for working at a desk (if you are up and down a bunch): Cando 30-1848 Gym Ball Bases (19-1/2" Diameter)Best base for working at a desk (if you do not need to move or get up a lot): Power Systems Ball BasesBest Ball for any base: 2000lbs Anti Burst Exercise Stability Ball (75cm) with Pump by Black Mountain.I am ordering more of these balls for sure!