Hop balls

Abstract

Exercise and play apparatus in the form of hop balls are described. The balls beneficially may omit conventional handles, hence avoiding transfer of balance-maintenance responsibility to users' hands and arms. Instead, users' thighs engage a generally-spherical upper portion of the hop balls for balance, leading to higher core muscle engagement and greater caloric loss than does play on existing balls.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hop ball comprising:
 a. a base; and   b. an upper portion configured in use so as to be contacted by thighs, but not grasped by fingers, of a user.   
     
     
         2 . A hop ball according to  claim 1  in which each of the base and upper portion is generally spherical in shape. 
     
     
         3 . A hop ball according to  claim 2  in which each of the base and upper portion has a diameter, with the diameter of the base being larger than the diameter of the upper portion. 
     
     
         4 . A hop ball according to  claim 3  omitting any finger-graspable handle. 
     
     
         5 . A hop ball according to  claim 4  further comprising a neck connecting the base and the upper portion. 
     
     
         6 . A hop ball according to  claim 5  in which each of the base, upper portion, and neck, is hollow and filled with inflation fluid for use. 
     
     
         7 . A hop ball according to  claim 6  formed of resilient material selected from the group consisting of natural and synthetic rubbers. 
     
     
         8 . A method of exercising comprising:
 a. sitting atop a hop ball with buttocks in contact with a base of the hop ball and thighs in contact with and squeezing an upper portion of the hop ball; and   b. causing the hop ball to bounce on a surface while continuing to sit atop the hop ball.