The "Pilates ball" as it is affectionately known is not an invention of Joseph Pilates. On the contrary it was used for quite a while before the invention of Pilates as a core trainer, the off balancedness of a round figure and attempting to balance yourself while doing a routine makes it more difficult on all of your core muscles. This tones up your core a lot faster than without, however it should be considered for advanced Pilates users or those that are in good shape. Before purchasing a Pilates Ball ask yourself if you need to make an exercise any harder or if it is just right? After doing the same exercise a couple of times you may start to notice it getting a lot easier and you aren't getting nearly as much of a challenge from it. This is about the time that you should seriously consider a Pilates ball as it will increase the intensity of your workout by a lot!

The simple answer to this common question is no. You do not need a Pilates ball by any means. This is just to add a dimension of challenge and variety to your exercise routine. This can also add some exercise to your everyday activities however such as sitting at the computer or watching TV. You will need to use your core muscles in order to maintain balance thus working on your core muscles while you are just watching TV is very easy to do. However if you don't want to waste the money on it by all means hold off on it, though if you think you might I suggest checking out amazon.com and see how cheap you could get a good one for yourself.

There are tons of way to use your Pilates Ball to either add resistance to a workout or to stretch. Below I will list some of the practical everyday uses of the Pilates Ball.

• Balancing while performing an exercise will greatly increase the difficulty of an exercise.
• You can also sit on your Pilates ball during normal activites rather than in a chair or on the couch such as while watching TV or on the computer.
• Squeezing the Pilates ball will add some resistance and good for a quick stress release.
• You can also drape yourself over your Pilates ball to help you stretch out a lot further than you normally would be able to. This type of flexibility is great when attempting to build lean fat eating muscles.
  

There are no solid rules, you can pretty much use any size or anything else listed here but for maximum comfort and usability keep on reading.

• When purchasing your Pilates Ball try to make sure that you are able to sit down with your knees bent at about a 90 degree angle for maximum comfort.
• Do not blow up your Pilates ball all of the way, this helps give it some leeway so that it won't hurt to lean on it ETC.
• Purchase a color that you could stand to exercise in public with. It is more fun to exercise with friends but you shouldn't be afraid of the color of your Pilates Ball in the future.
  

If there is anything that you think should be changed/added please take a minute to post a quick comment below. I will get right on your comment and make the necessary changes. Thanks in advanced for the advice!