In the News

"Our favourite small businesses of 2011"
Published Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011 6:00AM EST

Ugi Fitness Inc: This company offers a new way to get in shape by using a squishy ball that improves the effectiveness and efficiency of just about any core training exercise. Imagine doing a push-up with your feet resting on a partially inflated medicine ball and you'll get the idea. It's also the business we chose for a 'reality' series to work through its challenges for several weeks with columnist John Warrillow. Read more>>

"She's Havin a Ball"
Former Winnipegger, partners hoping to get Dragons' Den investors to boogie with their fitness Ugi

June 6, 2011
By Shamona Harnett

Melanie Finkleman's heart raced as she stood in the Dragons' Den.

The former Winnipegger and her two business partners were actually taping an episode of CBC's hit show on which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to some of the country's most successful business moguls. Read more>>

"Need a new workout? U Got It"
Ugi is a 30-minute whole-body exercise routine that uses a single piece of equipment

May 9, 2011

By Amanda Ash, Special to the Sun

 Juggling family engagements, job deadlines and personal sanity on a day-to-day basis can be a workout in itself, but thanks to a group of Vancouver women, there's a new way to get -or stay -in shape even when your schedule is conspiring against you.

Local entrepreneurs Sara Shears, Debra Karby and Melanie Finkleman have developed a 30-minute workout called Ugi... Read more>>

Best Health Blog
"I tried it: Ugi at Home"

At seven o'clock this morning, I was standing in the living room of my apartment, holding what can only be described as the combination of a stability ball, medicine ball and beanbag chair. I was ready to Ugi. Read more >>

March 30, 2011
 "Work Out, Have a Ball: What’s a Ugi?"

Barbells and lunges? Yawn. There are only so many DIY ways to get a good workout without leaving your living room. Now, there’s one more. Move over kettlebell and TRX; make way for the Ugi ball. Read more >>

March 28, 2011
Fresh Fitness Tips

"What's a Ugi Ball? Three moves that'll make you want one"
By Erin Kurdyla

You'll be ready to show-off your curves in a two-piece this summer after working out with the Ugi ball. This fun new fitness tool, which has the squish of a beanbag and the bounce back of a stress ball, lets you do versatile moves that have the power to change your body head-to-toe. Read more >>

March 4, 2011
"Ugi Ball: The Best Fitness Tool You're Not Using (Yet)"
by Melissa Pheterson

We want to give the Ugi ball a big hug — and not just because it's a squishy bean-bag-meets-stress-ball. This weighted ball (in 6, 8, 10 and 12-lb. versions) provides a total-body "express" workout with 30 moves in 30 minutes (all detailed in a guide and DVD). Says Sara Shears, who designed the Ugi with two other busy moms: "I wanted to create a single piece of equipment that would give core, strength and cardio training all in one, all in half an hour. Read more >> 

 February 11, 2011
"Not Just Any Old Ball"
by Cynthia Ramsay

Most of us have probably come up with at least one improvement to an existing product or even a brand new invention that would rock the world, if we actually followed through on it. Well, Sara Shears, Debra Karby and Melanie Finkleman have followed through and, last summer, they launched Ugi at a fitness convention in Los Angeles. View full pdf >>

February 9, 2011
The Best Fitness Gear and Gadgets
Fitness trends—and all the stuff that comes with them—come and go, but every year there are some standout products that are truly effective. Dive into our top 15 that promise to deliver results (and do more than collect dust).

1. The Ugi 
Why we like it: We’ve seen medicine balls and stability balls, but this plush, weighted workout tool (picture a mix of half-beanbag/half-oversized stress ball that comes in 6-lbs, 8-lbs, 10-lbs, and 12-lbs versions) is an entirely unique exercise experience.  Read more >>

January 25, 2011
Greg Harper was at Studeo 55 getting Ugi fit with trainer Sara Shears. A new, innovative workout program that only takes 30 minutes, and is being touted by celebrities as the program of choice. Watch it >>

January 27, 2011
"Have a ball with this new workout"
I’ve got a new favorite workout device: the Ugi (pronounced yoo-gee, with a hard “g” as in “girl”). I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It’s about the size of a beach ball but squishy and heavy at the same time. You can swing it, hold it, toss it, balance your hands and feet on it, let your 4-year-old sit on it while she watches Sesame Street—you get the picture. Read more >>

January 25, 2011
"Ugi: The Fitness Industry's Newest Weighted Ball"

What It Is: Think of the weighted Ugi ball as a souped-up version of a medicine ball. At 15 inches in diameter, it’s bigger than a med ball and more versatile, too, because of its squish factor (which makes it wobble when you lean, kneel or stand on it). Working out Ugi-style is sort of like carrying around a really heavy beanbag. Read more >>

January 17, 2011
"Total Body Toner - Blast Mega Calories Fast at Home with Ugi"

We want to workout every day. Really, we do. But when we look out our window to see the snow falling and trees rustling in the wind, we find ourselves making up excuses for why a cardio kick is completely unnecessary (we took the stairs at work, we had our afternoon tea, sans cookie , a new episode of How I Met Your Mother is on)... Read more >>

January 14, 2011
"Body Building - The ideal shape has shifted constantly over the years. So what does fit look like now?"

Christina Hendricks, the curvaceous actress who plays bombshell-with-brains Joan Harris on the series “Mad Men,’’ went looking for red carpet dresses last year with mixed results. Read more >>

January 7, 2011

Sara Shears CEO of UGI Fitness INc, demonstrates the new UGI finess ball on Shaw TV's Urban Rush with Michael Eckford and Fiona Forbes. Watch it >>

 
January 4, 2011
"Get Fit Bit by Bit" 

We’re not big on resolutions if they add more to our to-do list, but it’s only natural this week to give some thought to our post-holiday fitness level—especially if you’re addicted to shortbread; like some of us... Read more >>

December 8, 2010
"Fitness Toys for the New Year"

Have you ever looked forward to an event because you found the perfect outfit for it? The same motivation works for exercise. A new set of workout tunes, the latest fitness gadget or a cool pair of kicks adds fun and keeps you going.  Read more >>