My Final Word tonight... "Walmart"

I went to Walmart this afternoon to look for a few things.  I ended up in the Sports Department looking for softball gloves, but found the Bean instead.

I have been waiting to give a full review on my experience with The Bean until I've used it a bit more... but after finding it at Walmart for under $50.00, I felt it was time to at least give a bit of a preliminary review

I want to temper this review with this bit of information.... I have never used a stability ball, so I cannot compare and contrast the two.   Having said that,  Here is my honest initial feeling about the Bean.

I purchased the bean with the additional piece "The Bean Flex 10 Home Gym Stand with ResistanceBands".   This is kind of a cool contraption that allows you to use the Bean as a full body workout.  Not really a necessary piece, however if you have hand weights at home already (dumbells).  The Bean comes with a DVD that has 6 different workouts on it.  Not one of these workouts demonstrates the use of the Gym Stand.  The Gym Stand came with a wall chart....not exactly the easiest way to keep moving through your workout if you have to keep going back to the wall chart to review the moves.

The workouts on the DVD for the Bean include an Ab and Core Workout, Total Body workout, Pilates Workout, Bun and Thigh workout, Back Strengthening and Relief workout, and a Stress Buster Program.

I have tried the Ab and Core, the Total and the Back Strengthening workouts.  All of them were very effective, all were easy to do.  The biggest reason I ordered the Bean was for the Ab workout.  I think it is the best thing I've tried for abs.  I don't know how it compares to a stability ball, but at the end of the ab workout, I could feel the muscle all the way up and down my abdomen.  Usually when I do crunches on the floor, I feel the work done mostly at the top of the muscle, but with the Bean.... I really felt like I hadindeed managed to work the whole muscle.  The way you position yourself to work all the areas was easy to do, and comfortable.

I haven't been consistent enough to say that I've had great results.. The holidays have a way of causing me to lose focus.  But I do believe the Bean could make a difference... at least it's better (in my opinion) than doing the typical crunches on the floor.

And at the moment.. it's at a good price at Walmart And no shipping!  So I just wanted to pass that along.  After I've had some time to really use the Bean consistently, I'll get back to here with my results.