MANTRA SPORTS Yoga Exercise Ball Chair for Office Desk with Base, Ideal for Pregnancy, Birthing, Stability Exercises & Fitness. Swiss Stability Birth Ball for Labor, Gym & Workouts.

This ball has been a Godsend for me. I have arthritis in my knees, my hips, and my lower spine, so doing any kind of workout in a standing position is unbearable for me. I tried doing seated aerobics in a chair, but even that made my hips hurt. I desperately wanted to get fit and lose some weight, but working out is absolute misery. Not anymore!This ball has made it easy for me to get a great aerobic workout while sitting, and it doesn't make my hips hurt at all. I'm also using it for stretching, which is helping to strengthen my muscles and keep my sore joints in a healthier state. I'm absolutely thrilled!The ball was easy to inflate, but NOT with the pump that comes with it. The pump that comes with it is a complete waste of time. Don't bother. I used an air pump that I kept in my shed for pumping up my bicycle tires. It worked perfectly on the ball. If you don't have a pump of your own and you're planning to buy this ball, trust me, invest in buying a better-quality pump as well. It will be worth it.In spite of the pump issue, the ball and stabilizer ring are perfect, so I still gave it 5 stars. It holds my weight beautifully and stays inflated, unlike other balls I've tried. I had to add some air after the first couple of uses to get it to the perfect firmness for me, but since then, it's stayed inflated, and I love it. I'm very happy with it.

Worked well for my wife when pregnant

For the most part, this is a good quality product. That does not apply to the foot pump, which is horrible quality and essentially useless. The valves pop off, the hose pops off, the pump has a cheap plastic feel to it that you just know is going to break.The exercise ball itself has a very good quality feel to it. The stability base is also an inflatable base, which I was not expecting, but may have missed it somewhere in the product description (looked back and still do not see that). I assumed it would be a sturdy solid plastic base and not an inflatable ring. That said, it seems to perform OK. Should it fail, I believe I could make my own stability base and use the resistance bands that came with it.The exercise chart seems fairly comprehensive, I have only done a few of the exercises at this point. I am expecting the resistance straps to break at some point, but there isn't a solid reason for me to believe it, just that resistance straps have snapped on me in the past. The exercises require you to move the straps around, which the design makes pretty simple.I normally use a kneeling rocker chair for my day to day office, which I love. I think this will be a great compliment for an hour or so a day when I may have my hands free and can exercise while I am on a call or do not need my hands free. It may also be a good option for those of you with ADD/ADHD as the sitting properly requires some focus and concentration that may allow you to exercise you mind all day long. I know the kneeling-rocker chair is good for that with me.

Very thoroughly researched this product as my Dr. wanted me to start doing some physical therapy at home using a fitness ball to help my back.Decided on the Mantra sports exercise ball with the stability base and resistance bands because for the price, it sure has some awesome features!1. The stability base helps because I can do the exercises without undue struggle for balance, which means I can do the physical therapy exercises in a progressive manner.When I've progressed to where I do not have to use the stability base, I can easily remove it.2. The capability of having the resistance bands also adds to my progression in the therapy. Originally I was going to purchase a regular ball and some small weights (per my Dr.'s recommendation). That would have been more expensive! When I showed my Dr. this stability ball with the add on's he was very pleased!3. The material this ball is made of is not in any way slippery, it has a very comfortable feel to it.It was a cinch to set up following the instructions included in the box. Okay, it takes a day to let it inflate partially, then fully, but at least it has detailed instructions on how to set up properly to prevent damage to the ball, which I found lacking on other similar priced exercise balls. The measuring tape and pump included very helpful.When I contacted customer service with a question regarding an exercise, the owner replied right away with additional helpful hints. Awesome.I am impressed with this product's quality.As far as customer service I have no doubt that if I ever have a problem with this product, the seller will address this (yes, I was that impressed with my interaction).As far as the issue with the resistance bands being too long (as other reviewers have stated), If you follow the instructions from the manufacturer, just wrap them around the stability base as you need to shorten them, pretty simple.I will be ordering a larger one for my husband to use as a chair.Highly recommended!