I recently had the great fortune of inheriting a really uncomfortable chair. Now if you have every had a chair that really sucks, it is really hard to do much of anything at your computer, especially concentrate on trading well. I call it a fortunate experience because it forced me to find something better and consider alternates that I may have not looked at in the past.
So I went looking for other chairs. My search turned up everything from $6,000 chairs to the usual $100 chairs that you find at Office Max.
I've sat in those expensive chairs before when I worked at a hedge fund and let me tell you, they are worth every penny. But until I can raise my $5 million dollars to trade, I'm not going to buy a chair that costs more than some used cars.
That left the cheap alternatives. I've had those $100 chairs before and they are usually OK, but not anything special. There is a part of me that always wants to do something really different, many times just for the sake of doing so. So I went looking for something I have never tried before.
What I ended up getting was not really a chair. It is an exercise ball. Yeah, cheesy, cliche “happy cubicle worker” type thing to do…or is it? I bought the Hugger Mugger ball to find out.
The Good
I didn't even have to drop a C-note for this chair, it was only $30 at REI. Cheapest chair I have ever purchased. The ball is easy to tuck away under my desk and just roll out when I need it.
Now the important part…it is really comfortable. The ball is soft, yet supportive. The position you sit in does promote good posture. And if you have ADD like me, it really helps to be able to move around a lot. Helps me think.
Does it help you lose weight like some of the websites claim? I don't have any conclusive evidence although I can see my abs for the first time in 10 years.
The reason is that I've been eating better thanks to books like The Upgraded Chef, in addition to using the ball. I have a feeling that it is mostly what I'm eating, with some help from the ball.
A heads up for the women who are considering this. You might want to think about this side benefit. You are welcome.
The Bad
The only issue that I really had with it was the pump that was included absolutely sucked. It seriously took about 90 minutes to inflate this thing.
Maybe I was using it wrong, but I'd like to think that I've used a few pumps in my day. And I'm not talking about the ones from Sweden. Otherwise, there really isn't much to it.
Some men do not like what the ball does to their manly parts. I don't seem to have any trouble with that. Maybe I'm better at “shifting” my weight.
My friend also pointed out that the ball sometimes has a tendency to roll away if you aren't paying attention. Not a big deal in most cases, but you might think about getting the balls that are contained in a chair-like structure if this might be a problem.
Conclusion
When purchasing these exercise balls, you want to get one that is big enough that your thighs are parallel to the floor when the ball is fully inflated and you are sitting on it. Also be sure that your desk is at a good height, so that you are not hunched over when you are sitting on the ball. This will negate any of the positive effects of the ball.
So if you can't afford one of those fancy Recaro office chairs yet, an exercise ball is something you might want to try out.
After using it for 30 days, I'm going to keep it. I'll get a Aeron or Recaro chair in the future, but I'm in no rush.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links in which I get paid a commission if you purchase through those links. That income goes towards my Porsche (that I don't have yet) and my charity partner…if you were wondering. 🙂
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