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Argos Value Gym Ball
by purplekimmy
I have owned my gym ball for roughly a year now, it did live in a box for a while along with every other fad exercise item I have bought and regretted. This however is one of the few things that was not a complete waste of time or money. To start with it cost a little over £5 and I am still using it. I have misplaced the CD I bought with ... specific exercises on it, but thanks to the joy of the internet I have found more now than there were on the CD anyway.
My ball is a darker shade of grey than the ball in the picture plus it's not shiny. It comes flay which doesnt take up any space at all, deflating the ball doesnt take too long either but I tend to keep mine pumped up and sit on it rather than the sofa or dining chair. The idea of this ball is it works your CORE muscles while you use it, you can do everything with this ball from sit ups to press ups, just sitting on the ball helps with your posture while using your stomach muscles to retain your balance. You can actually feel the muscles you are using getting a work out which I do like. I still have balance issues with the ball but doing press ups while your feet are balancing on the ball has got to be a bit tricky for anyone. I have unfortunately broken the foot pump that came with my ball so need to find a replacement, although at £5 I can afford to buy a completely new ball. Well worth the effort of pumping the ball up.
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Swingball
by purplekimmy
I love swing ball, another simple idea that I really wish I that thought of.
Swing ball is a game that is primarily for two people. You have the main post, which is inserted into the ground. At the top there is a corkscrew which has a line attached, at the end of the line is a tennis ball. The two plastic paddles/racquets are ... used to hit the ball in an attempt to either reach the top of the corkscrew or the bottom.
The paddles themselves are quite sturdy and although are fine for playing this game, they do limit the amount of force you can hit the ball with. Although the idea of the game sounds quite simple, your opponent (who also has the task of beating you, will be trying to hit the ball as well. Although you can get quite a hit with the racquets, if you miss a shot, because of the suddenly inability of the tennis ball to act and move like a normal tennis ball, it often moves in very strange ways. It will go off at a weird angle when you least expect it, making it harder for your opponent to hit, but equally making it tricky for you as well.
This game keeps both adults and children of any age amused for hours and the pole itself can be made shorter to accommodate younger players. Players should be careful of being caught by the ball on the leg or arm as when it gets speed up it can give you a nasty clout. You can also play this game with one only member, just randomly hit the ball backward and forwards, not as much fun as playing with two but its still quite fun.
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Winmau Diamond Bristle Dartboard with Brass Darts
by purplekimmy
I bought one of these dartboards in a wooden wall hanging case for my fiancé. He used to have one years ago and after using a magnetic roll up version I bought, I decided to buy him the proper thing again.
We have ours in a case, which gives the wall behind some slight protection against the darts missing the dartboard. This ... only wroks though for the centre numbers, our walls have still copped it when we (sorry I) aim for double 5, 20, 1, 19,3 or 17. This is a bristle dartboard and Winmau is a good make of board. It has all the numbers, single, double and treble sections as well as the 25 point section and the bull's-eye. The whole board weighs about 6kg, it is quite a weight so has to be fixed properly to the wall. Also away from anything that can be stabbed or broken, should any darts miss their desired location.
The wiring of this dartboard is new and has been made much thinner, now it tends to direct darts into the scoring sections rather than causing bounce outs like some of the older boards. We have had this board for about a year now and have moved the scoring ring round the board a couple of times. The ring around the board that holds the wire numbers is held in with tacks that can be pulled off the face of the board moved and replaced. Although the Winmau symbols around the board now do not line up, the 20 was beginning to look a little tired and had a few bristles poking out, which wasnt affecting the playing surface really, it just makes it easier to have a clean, clear newer looking 20 to aim for.
I did notice in the board itself, there are a few cracks but this is normal apparently, something to do with how the bristles are bunched and glued together on the back board, once the glue is dried, the surface is sanded to a smooth finish but this causes the glue to make little grooves, making these cracks.
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