The best exercise balls
- An exercise ball is a highly beneficial piece of home gym equipment that improves balance, flexibility, and core strength, and can be used in a variety of exercises and workouts.
- The best exercise balls are made of durable materials, offer enough resistance and flexibility no matter the exercise, and don't require you to reinflate them between uses.
- Our top pick, the TheraBand Exercise and Stability Ball, features a thick-walled design and continues to hold air even in the event it's punctured.
Exercise balls might seem like a boring piece of workout equipment but their benefits far outweigh any perceived dullness. In fact, as a part of a home gym setup, an exercise ball has the ability to greatly improve one's core strength while also helping hone balance and flexibility.
Whether it accompanies a daily workout routine or becomes the central focal point, an exercise ball can be an important part of anyone's plan to keep fit and healthy — they even make for a suitable office chair substitute.
Exercise balls are an important part of any home gym
Despite their inherent value, exercise balls aren't typically the first piece of gear you think of when piecing together a home gym. The truth is in the application, however, as they work for a host of exercises requiring flexible support. Even though an exercise ball is round, it gives you a base that's more solid than you might think and provides impressive stability.
The balls compress when weight is put on them to create a flatter, more stable edge. It won't be as stable as a normal chair but it's far more solid than you'd expect — which is what makes them great for everything from active seating to working out.
To find the best exercise balls worth using, I tested an assortment of models from brands like TheraBand, DynaPro, and Wacces. The goal was to find exercise balls that fit a variety of use cases, like being able to be taken on the road, or those that are constructed of a thicker material that increases its durability.
After spending the last several months using exercise balls as both my office chair and main workout partner, I narrowed the list down to my four favorites listed below. At the end of this guide, you'll find insight into the benefits an exercise ball provides as well as some important features to look for when shopping.
If you're a first time user or just want to improve some of your workouts, be sure to check out our list of sample exercises and various tips for using an exercise ball.
Here are the best exercise balls:
- Best exercise ball overall: TheraBand Exercise and Stability Ball
- Best portable exercise ball: DynaPro Exercise Ball
- Best durable exercise ball: Live Infinitely Exercise Ball
- Best budget exercise ball: Wacces Fitness and Exercise Ball
Updated on 10/30/2020 by Rick Stella: Updated the section on why exercise balls are important in a home gym, checked the availability of each recommended exercise ball, and updated the prices and links where necessary.
TheraBand
The TheraBand Exercise and Stability Ball holds air better than most exercise balls — even if it's punctured.
One common complaint among exercise ball fans is the inability of the ball to hold air over time. As air ekes out of the ball, it loses its firmness and becomes difficult to use. Luckily, the TheraBand Exercise and Stability Ball is one of the thickest-walled balls you can buy, and it holds air longer than most of the competition.
Even if it's punctured, the ball will deflate very slowly, allowing you to finish your exercise session. Because the Theraband Exercise Ball retains air so well, you won't have to reinflate it that often, which is a very good thing because this ball does take quite a bit of time to inflate in the first place.
The exercise ball is available in four sizes from 45 cm to 75 cm and it comes in a few colors.
Pros: Maintains its shape and holds air better than other exercise balls, includes a slow deflate technology if the ball is punctured, extremely firm, has a good surface for just the right amount of grip, offered in four sizes
Cons: Takes a long time to inflate, no inflation pump included, only one color per size
The best portable ballDynaPro
The DynaPro Exercise Ball is extremely durable and will hold its air pressure nicely, but it's also portable, thanks to its easy-to-carry hand pump.
When you're looking for an exercise ball you can take with you anywhere, the DynaPro Exercise Ball is a good idea. It ships with a hand pump and inflates faster than many other balls, so you can be ready to use it within several minutes.
The ball is available in four sizes, ranging from 45 cm to 75 cm, and it features slight ribs around the circumference of the ball to ensure a steady grip. You can get it in a few fun colors, including pink, blue, silver, gray, and black.
Like many exercise balls, you can also use it for active seating in your office. Unlike most exercise balls, it's available in gray or black, which fits in better with an office setting than a brightly colored ball.
This is a tough, durable exercise ball, featuring a 2,000-pound burst rating. The ball also slowly deflates if it ever suffers a puncture, allowing you to finish your workout safely.
However, the ball cannot be inflated fully the first time you use it. You'll have to inflate it fully after it's had 2-3 days to stretch out.
Pros: Good price point, easy to fill while on the go because of an included hand pump, very durable material in the ball, prevents fast leaks when it suffers a puncture, available in four sizes and four different colors
Cons: Cannot fully inflate the ball the first time you use it, firmness level of the ball seems below average
The best durable ballLive Infinitely
The Live Infinitely Exercise Ball receives high marks for its durability and ability to stand up to tough workouts.
We don't expect anyone to routinely put 2,200 pounds of pressure on the Live Infinitely Exercise Ball, but if you do, you can feel comfortable that this tough exercise ball can stand up to the pressure.
If you're looking for a tough exercise ball that's also really large, the Live Infinitely model is one of the few that comes in five sizes ranging from 55 cm to 95 cm. You can also choose between five colors, including blue, green, gray, purple, and silver.
Pros: Excellent price point, durable and tough exercise ball that can withstand 2,200 pounds of weight, available in a diameter as large as 95 cm, five color and five size options, includes a large library of online exercise guides
Cons: There is no 45 cm diameter size option in this model, difficult to fully inflate this ball
The best budget ballWacces
If you want an affordable exercise ball that's also durable, the Wacces Fitness and Exercise ball is a great option.
With some low priced exercise balls, you may feel leery about placing your full weight on them for fear of an exploding ball that leaves you crashing onto the floor. But the durability of the Wacces Fitness and Exercise Ball gives you the peace of mind you'll need to use this inexpensive ball to its fullest.
Even though it's less expensive than other options, this ball is still quite durable and has a good grippy surface. The biggest downside is that it doesn't support as much weight as more high-end exercise balls.
You can pick between three different sizes, ranging from 55 cm to 75 cm. It's also available in eight colors, including black, blue, gray, green, pink, purple, red, or yellow.
Pros: Extremely low price point, good build quality versus similarly priced exercise balls, surface has just enough grip to prevent slippage, ribs around circumference of ball provide extra grip, offered in eight colors
Cons: Only available in three sizes, difficult to fully inflate it first time you use it, doesn't hold air pressure as well as some models
Exercise ball benefitsShutterstock/Andrey_Popov
Here are some of the primary benefits exercise balls provide:
- Improved balance: You'll naturally strengthen your abs and back muscles while using an exercise ball because you must subtly shift your weight to remain balanced. As these muscles strengthen, your overall balance improves.
- Core strength: Athletes constantly talk about the importance of having core strength in the body, as it gives you great balance and coordination. Using an exercise ball increases core strength.
- Muscle work: Because you have to continually adjust your weight slightly to maintain your balance on the ball, you'll be using different muscle groups, which benefits your whole body.
- Rehabilitation and flexibility: You'll stretch muscles and joints while moving around. Physical therapists sometimes assign a set of exercises using an exercise ball for people to follow as part of rehabilitating a specific joint or muscle group to gain more range of motion.
- Specific exercises: If you enjoy exercises like Pilates or yoga, you'll gain some additional benefits by incorporating an exercise ball into the routine.
- Spinal support: The way the body and exercise ball interact relieves pressure on the spine when you are sitting on the ball. To use the ball properly, you will need good posture, which also will help your spine and will alleviate back pain.
Exercise ball features
Yes, an exercise ball is a simple, large round ball that looks like every other exercise ball at first glance. There are still several key differences you can pay attention to when looking to find the right exercise ball to meet your needs.
- Adding air: Some exercise balls include an air pump, however, most of these pumps work very slowly. If you want a faster option, you should be able to use almost any type of pump to inflate your exercise ball, such as an air mattress pump, a bicycle tire pump, or even an air compressor. To determine when the ball is properly filled with air, measure its diameter.
- Extras: Depending on the model of exercise ball you pick, you may find the ball ships with an air pump, exercise bands, a stability ring, stability legs, a measuring tape, an exercise tip guide, or handles built into the ball.
- Size: The size of a stability ball is determined by its diameter. Common sizes of exercise balls range from 45 cm to 85 cm in 10 cm intervals. (Ten centimeters is roughly 4 inches.) People shorter than 5 feet will have the best results with sitting on a 45 cm ball, 6-feet-tall people will want a 65 cm ball, and those 6-foot-8 and taller will want an 85 cm ball.
- Supported weight: Exercise balls should offer supported weight limits for static weight and body weight. Static weight refers to the weight the ball supports without bursting when the user is not moving. Bodyweight refers to the weight it can support when the user is exercising. High-end balls may support static weight limits of 2,200 pounds and body weights of 500 pounds. A stability ball placed under too much weight or stress could burst.