For those with a strong stomach...(literally and figuratively)

If you rock the stability ball for crunches, flies and more, you might want to consider purchasing an anti-burst ball. I have been reading about this 40-year-old fitness buff from Texas, named Adam Dunayer, who (brace yourself), was on a ball at his gym, doing bench presses with 60-lb. weights in each hand, when the ball burst. Dunayer fell, his elbows hitting the floor first. Both arms - broken.

Holy crap.

Now, he is trying to regain full use of his arms and I am trying to swallow a Xanax because I am freaking scared of falling on my tailbone everytime I sit at my desk on my ball!

Seriously, though, this story is scary and I think anyone who puts a lot of weight on their, um, balls, should consider using an anti-burst or burst resistant ball. These, if punctured, will not instantaneously pop like a balloon, but rather will slowly deflate.

INSIDE EDITION did a test to see what would happen when an exercise ball was punctured, in response to this man's sad story. They purchased a dozen and reported that "the standard ball, which felt thin, was punctured first. It popped just like a balloon. After reviewing the test in slow motion, the ball can be seen crumpling almost instantly. But when the anti-burst ball was punctured the ball began to hiss as it gradually deflated."

Be careful out there!

Comments

That is indeed a scary scenario, as I also use one to sit on at my desk (I suspect mine is anti-burst, but I shall try to actually find out if it is). I'm thinking whether those things don't have a max weight rating sort-of-thing. an adult man plus 2 dumbells at 60lbs each is quite some weight.

That is really frightening. Something like that never really occurred to me. I use to worry that a loose nail in the floor board would pop mine but I didn't think of what could happen if it did.

Oh, and in response to Alexandra. I am pretty sure most do. Mine was like somewhere in the higher 200s.

My brother was also badly injured in 2005 when he was lifting weights on an exercise ball at a health club. Now we are involved in a lawsuit with the ball manufacturer and health club. I would be interested in hearing from anyone else who has had a similar problem.

Tell me about your exercise ball accident story. HAAGLAW@HOTMAIL.COM