A local personal trainer has developed what is being hailed by some as one of the best new training tools on the market.

Born and raised in Tsawwassen, Sara Shears has spent almost 20 years working as a personal trainer. However, about three years ago she partnered with a client to develop Ugi - an all-in-one training tool that takes you from warmup to cardio, strength conditioning, balance work and cool down. All in 30 minutes and anywhere you can find a spot.

The portable Ugi ball allows users to get in a work out whenever and wherever they can. Shears says she wanted to create a workout that mimicked what she was doing in the studio with her clients, which requires multiple pieces of equipment.

"I wanted to create that style of training and find a piece of equipment that people could have at home."

Shears says it was about three years ago when she partnered with designer Melanie Finkelman, who was also a client, to design Ugi. She was inspired by an old piece of equipment at the gym - a medicine ball. The ball had a split seam, which made it more pliable, and Shears started using it because of the weight component. The idea for Ugi, which has the squish of a bean bag, the bounce-back of a stress ball and the benefit of a weight, was born.

Shears says she and Finkelman started research and development of Ugi two and a half years ago and launched their product for sale in November 2010. In addition to developing the equipment, Shears also developed a 30-minute program that incorporates a series of one-minute exercises that are efficient enough to produce results. The Ugi comes with a fiveday a week training program, an instructional DVD, workout guide and a nutritional guide.

On the market for around a year and a half, the Ugi is getting noticed.

Shears, along with Finkelman and third partner Debra Karby, made a pitch on the CBC show Dragon's Den (they turned down an offer from Dragon Arlene Dickinson because she wanted too large a stake in the company). Ugi has appeared in Shape and Fitness magazine, on QVC, an online shopping site, and was listed as the number one training tool on Yahoo.

Shears says they also recently launched an app to help Ugi users stay on track during their workouts.

"It's your personal trainer at home," she says.

Original post:
Tsawwassen woman invents new workout tool