Is Ball Bike Too Much Too Soon as Core Cardio Workout for Beginners?

One of the most important and actually underserved markets in fitness products is the beginner. 

Despite appearances to the contrary, most manufacturers are frustrated in their attempts to create a program or a piece of equipment which can achieve traction with people who either have no history of working out or have a history that is too far in the past to actually count.

The problems inherent in dealing successfully with the beginner market are numerous and actually contradict each other. First, beginners are not in good shape generally. So you have to create something that is challenging but not too challenging. P90X, for instance, was called too challenging by more than one beginner.

What results when a program is too challenging is that the beginner drops it and makes use of the money back guarantee.

The second problem in the beginners market is that it can’t be too easy. This cuts off the ability to achieve results in short time frame, which are very important in getting a beginner on board and getting the word of mouth such as what drove P90X to such great heights.

The third problem that makes selling to the beginner market so tough is that they are individuals and you simply can’t guess what their fitness level is across the board.

In the case of the odd but interesting new fitness machine Ball Bike, the first consideration about not being too hard is largely the one the manufacturers should worry about. As background, Ball Bike has made a new idea out of popular and successful workout programs.  

Ball Bike is a supine laid back exercise bicycle. You know the ones that you see at the gym. Instead of a seat though, you sit on a stability exercise ball. This inherently engages the core muscles where a seas will not. You have keep the core firm to keep up-right and centered while peddling.  

Oh and there are resistance bands attached to the rear of Ball Bike to force you to engage your upper body while you work the legs and the core. This thing is a total body workout that demands a lot out of a person right away.

Reviews are scant at this point, but people I have talked to have mentioned how difficult the Ball Bike is right away. They say that you get results and a total body workout like promised but that it all happens while you sit. This is attractive clearly.

One of my biggest concerns with regard to beginners is  that because the product is so new and the price points are higher, there isn’t the level of peer support that made a huge difference for beginners in sticking to P90X.