Save your back and tighten your abs with the Gaiam Balance Ball chair

I have an office job, which means when I’m not running back and forth to meetings I tend to spend hours sitting in an office chair in front of a computer. Then I come home and spend a few more hours sitting on a dining room chair in front of my own computer. All this chair sitting isn’t really doing my posture any good, I find that I really start to slouch as the day goes on, and I end up with an ache across my upper back and shoulders.

I decided that it was finally time to do something about it and started researching desk chairs that would help my posture and do away with the ache. I was quite surprised to find a chair that will do that, and also help strengthen my tummy muscles. A chair that can help melt belly fat just by sitting in it? That’s right, it’s a balance ball chair!

Gaiam ergonomic balance ball chair review

The Gaiam Balance Ball Chair was developed under the watchful eye of a chiropractic pioneer called Dr. Randy Weinzoff. And the chair has been carefully designed to alleviate the aching back, legs and arms syndrome that comes from sitting at a desk for hours.

It’s designed for people who are between 5-feet and 5-feet 11-inches tall, and uses the same balance ball that you would use in a workout routine. But you don’t have to worry about it rolling away every time you stand up because you also get an adjustable support bar and easy-glide casters which turn your balance ball, into a balance ball chair!

What’s in the box?

• Gaiam Balance Ball chair
• Air pump
• Desktop guide

How big is the chair?

You don’t have to worry about a huge unwieldy chair that will fill your office, the back of the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair is 2.5 feet tall, and the base measures 20 inches wide from one side of the wheels to the other. The chair comes with 2 locking casters and 2 regular ones. The locking casters go on the back of the chair.

Now as you might expect it doesn’t come delivered fully assembled, and you’ll need to pump air into the Balance Ball, but there is a pump in the box.

The chair measures 21 x 31 x 22 inches (W x H x D) and weighs 13 pounds. It has a 300-pound weight capacity.

The balance ball chair benefits

Using a balance ball chair is great for your posture and can help to relieve and even prevent back problems.

The back support on the Gaiam chair is detachable so once you get used to balancing on the chair you can remove it.

You will tighten your abs naturally to maintain your balance on the chair helping melt that belly fat while you sit and your posture will improve over time.

The downsides of using a balance ball chair

The height of the chair can only be adjusted by varying the amount of air in the ball, so you might need to change the height of your desk.

If you’re used to an arm rest or head rest on your existing chair then you might experience some discomfort in the early days as you get used to this new way of sitting.

The company state that the chair can be used by anyone taller than five foot, but I have heard that if you’re shorter than five foot eight you might struggle to keep your legs at the recommended 90 degree angle.

I’ve also read complaints that the back-rest of this chair isn’t particularly sturdy and that they worried if they leaned back on it too often it might snap, although to be honest if you’re leaning on the back rest then you’re not sitting up straight so I think this is more user error than chair error!

What do other people think about the Gaiam Ergonomic Balance Ball Chair?

There are more than 300 customer reviews on amazon.com for this Balance Ball Chair and more than 150 of them award it five stars.

You can read more of the 300 plus reviews here.

Features of the Gaiam Balance Ball Chair

Should I use an exercise/balance ball instead of an office chair?

I think if you spend more than three or four hours a day sitting in an office chair and you find that you are slouching or that you have pain in your back, legs or arms then it is definitely worth trying a balance ball chair instead.