My Office Chair is a Bouncy Ball
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Technically it’s a “Fitness Ball” or a “Balance Ball” but this is my house, and in my house, it’s used for bouncing.
A lot.
That being said, the more sane among you may be wondering why in the name of little green goblins I would replace office chairs with bouncy balls.
First off, the replaced chairs were unsuitable at the outset. Mine was a $2 garage sale find that looked like its heydey had been in the seventies and Steven’s was a monstrous leather beast gifted to him over a decade ago.
Neither of them offered any kind of back support or posture improvement, and both of them were causing us problems. Pain problems. The kinds of pain problems that are easily preventable.
On the other hand, I REALLY hate shopping for office chairs.
I don’t know what “good” feels like (hint: it’s not “comfortable”). Heck, my work bought new office chairs for my whole department. First thing I did? Take off the arms. And I STILL slouch in it because the seat is almost longer than my thighs, so it’s difficult to press my back into the lumbar support it offers.
Add to that, office chairs are EXPENSIVE. I know I’m a frugal shopper and all, but I just can see dropping $100 on a low-end office chair only to find out it’s just as bad as the $2 jobber I was using before!
So I did some research. And I remembered that Brad-O had one of these that he was using as an office chair oh-so-many years ago. (That night was wicked fun. I don’t regret moving to Wisconsin, but I totally regret not hanging out with you two more before I moved.)
The Bouncy Ball chair can be purchased with a stabilizing platform for the TRULY balance impaired, but for the rest of us, it improves balance and can actually strengthen the core because the variable surface means you’re constantly checking and altering your balance. Not so much that it’s distracting (usually) but enough to make a difference.
The biggest benefit, however, was my posture.
My posture is PERFECT on this ball.
I CAN slouch, but I almost have to try. My default sitting posture on the ball is note perfect.
Seeing my success, Steven decided to join in the fun and get his own ball (a bigger one, to match his much taller height).
The next day, we threw out that monstrosity of an office chair. (Victory! Cheering! Pompoms! Confetti!)
… second biggest benefit is WHEEE is it fun! *bounce, bounce, bounce*
Okay, back to being an adult.
My ball is a slightly higher quality Gaiam Balance Ball and Steven’s is a Gold’s Gym one from Walmart. Mine has some sandbags in the bottom to help stabilize it a little, while his is empty.
I think we were out about $50 for the pair of them.
If you’re thinking about buying one, PLEASE check the recommended heights to ball sizes. Steven’s ball is WAY too tall for me, but perfect for him.
You
Anyone else ever tried the bouncy ball office chair? Any other office chairs you remember using and liking or hating?
(It’s worth noting that the biggest negative cited by the review for a Balance Ball chair I read involved the squishing of sensitive bits. Be careful, boys!)
The reason for the note about the bean bags in Tami’s ball is important. When she gets up, or moves her ball under her desk or what-have-you, her ball stays in place because the bean bags work as a weight, constantly shifting to the bottom.
My ball, on the other hand, likes to roam. I have gotten up ever so gently to fill a glass of water, and upon my return find my ball has gone in the living room to see what is on TV. Some mornings, while Tami’s ball is still nuzzled under her desk asleep, my ball is awake, out from under the desk to say good morning.
Finally, the material of her ball seems much more nice in a tactile sense, while mine feels of cheep plastic and is almost tacky to the touch.
But they both are bouncy. ;)
…and that was incredibly well written, entertaining, and hilarious.
WHY CAN I NOT CONVINCE YOU TO BLOG?
*smootch*
I had one of the golds gym variety myself for a while. I really did like it, even without the bean bag in the bottom that I didn’t even know was an option.
That said, it was almost worth the loss of the ball to watch my cat fly across the room when she jumped on it with her claws out.
Dechion´s last post ..The Crazy Train Derailed
*snerk* That’s hilarious. Poor cat! Poor you, not having a video camera running at the time.
What happened to the fancy custom desk with all the curves?
I uh…broke my toe on it and it was heavy, so we got rid of it.
On the up side, we set it next to the garbage bin and over a year later, we saw it in pieces inside the garbage bin which means someone picked it up and loved it for a whole nother year. <3
I hate using ‘lol’ (because I’m old), but honestly, Mr. Moore’s comments did indeed make me laugh out loud! (note to self: stop peeking at TavenMoore while at work)
“…while my ball has gone to the living room to see what’s on TV.”
I’m still laughing! You guys must be fun to hang around with.
We need to hear more from Mr. Moore! (sorry – no smootch from me!)
;)
I’m incredibly happy to be married to my best friend. <3
He is absolutely fun to hang out with.
I was sitting in a desk chair that makes my elbows hurt, with a beanbag lumbar cushion that I have to adjust constantly because it doesn’t really fit. And next to my desk was a blue danskin bouncy ball.
Now the desk chair is in the other room, and I am sitting on the bouncy. Mine is like Stephen’s – it likes to roam around, but it doesn’t really fit through the door, so it’ll at least stay in the office. I don’t think I’ll be able to convince SSH to switch though, he is too fond of reclining in his chair.
UGH on the elbows thing. Every real desk chair I’ve had, I’ve removed the arms.
How’s your posture on the ball? Is it the right height for you? (I had to inflate the ball twice to find the right inflation level)
Mr. Moore also loved reclining … but wasn’t a fan of the chronic pain that came with it. FFT (food for thought, if SSH has pain issues)
I had to reinflate it to get it to be solid enough – it’s been awhile since I inflated it and it’d gotten kind of smooshy. It’s better now, and at just the right height for typing.
So far I’m noticing that a) my posture is better, but my lower back is complaining about it a bit, and b) it’s much more of an ordeal to adjust side to side. Instead of just rolling, I have to hop up and shuffle.
Steven mentions lower back issues if he sits on his for too long as well. I haven’t noticed anything personally.
Also? it doesn’t retain heat like a chair. My butt is kinda cold.
lol!! Very true.
However, since my ass apparently didn’t come factory-equipped with a heater, I haven’t noticed a difference there. XD
(My husband is certain I am at least half lich)
I could not, would not try the bouncy ball chair. It would never last and something besides the chair would get broken….or the chair would end up outside, in which case it would not last there either. AND, the two dogs that cannot stand to be more than three inches away from me would not appreciate my constant readjustments on a ball. Ford would be agitated by that and when he is unsettled, I end up with a pant leg that is soaked with his panting breath. Not my favorite thing.
I used an old, old wooden chair for about a year that was lovely. Except it was uncomfortable to the point that about every twenty minutes I needed to get up and do something else. Which was not altogether a bad thing, except for those times that I really needed to sit and work through whatever.
I can definitely see the appeal in a chair that limits your computer time (and the frustration).
Also, bouncy ball chairs are SO MUCH FUN. I’ll bet you’d like them, but you’d never get to use them because your kidlets would steal them.
The ball was a bit dangerous for me because I would pull a “Look ma’! No legs!” on a regular basis and fall off. Brook enjoyed that ball quite a bit though.
Me? I usually want a chair (and I did finally spend some $$$ on an office chair). I did take the arms off, but mostly because I like to play the guitar in the chair and because the *$%! arms don’t fit under the *$%! desk.
Oddly enough, I *like* my bad posture. If bad posture were a sport, I would wear my Olympic gold with pride. My bad posture fits with all of the other furniture I interact with on a daily basis. :D
Brad-o´s last post ..I Don’t Get Satan
Ugh, I hate my bad posture. Makes me look like I worked in the mines.
And right now, I have the “black lung cough” so all I need is a pickaxe and a mining helmet and I’d fool anyone.
That is such an awesome idea! I currently have a rolly office chair because my bedroom has hardwood floors, but the chair wheels have scratched the surface some! A ball would be a great idea for me as well I think, no more bad posture – especially since I have a job where I sit all day! And that would keep others off my computer and drafting table for sure haha!
By the way, miss seeing your work on dA Tami!
Ooh, if you try it, check back in and let me know how it goes for you. We’ve had ours for weeks now and still love ‘em!
Also, I was thinking of you recently! Went through my saved art and found a few pieces from you. <3<3
Far as DA goes, I left just after they'd moved to a new upload system and I remember it kind of being a pain. Did they ever improve on it, or did you just get used to it?
Oh! Also, you can still see my art here.
> http://tavenmoore.com/category/assorted-scribblings/
(Wasn’t sure how to make a reply,hehe)
Its a bit easier now then it was, alot of the bugs have been worked out. I’ve moved away from dA mostly because its got way too much drama on it. I stick with it and made the new account because I had made a lot of friends in my years on dA and would hate to no longer have contact with many of them, such as yourself.
Aww, I was thinking of you most recently too! I was wanting to make a piece of Sugarberry, but had seen you hadn’t been on dA so I could ask permission -and thats when I remembered you had created your own site and came here!
I miss contact with a lot of the DA’ers, too. I didn’t want to keep up with all the posting and commenting there AND here, along with all the other stuff I do. (Plus, DA looks awful through my work filters)
So glad you hunted me down! I should hunt Thirdly down. I miss her.