The unstable training tool will put your core — and balance — through the wringer. Here’s how to use it for a killer workout.
Do More With is a series highlighting equipment around the Club that can help you reach your fitness goals. In this installment, we highlight the BOSU Balance Trainer, available on the Club floor and in group fitness classes.
When I look out on the Club floor, members are often using dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells, and treadmills — you know, all the tried-and-true pieces of workout equipment. But I rarely see folks using the BOSU, especially when they’re exercising without the guidance of a Coach like myself.
And that means they’re missing out on an incredibly versatile training tool and its many benefits.
Invented by David Weck in 1999, the BOSU Balance Trainer is designed with a grippy rubber dome — essentially half of a small exercise ball — that sits on top of a flat surface. What’s cool is that you can use both sides of the device; BOSU actually stands for “Both Sides Utilized.” If you’re doing a plank, you can challenge your proprioception by doing the move with your forearms resting on top of the dome or you can test your stability with the flat side face-up.
The BOSU is used in basic strength workouts, physical therapy, yoga, Pilates, and other fitness programs, and for good reason: It's a functional fitness staple. You can train your balance, stability, core strength, and more with just this one piece of equipment.
Need more convincing? Here’s why you should incorporate the forgotten tool into your training.
Why Train with the BOSU
What you do in your day-to-day life — walking, running, lunging, you name it — should translate to what you do in the Club. And the BOSU is perfect for mimicking those real-life conditions and improving your fitness so everyday activities are effortless.
Since the BOSU offers an unsteady surface, it tests and improves your balance, an element of fitness you should prioritize even when you’re young. When you’re hiking or trail running, for example, you’re moving on unstable ground. By prepping your body for that environment in the Club, you’ll be able to move efficiently and with a smaller chance of tumbling while out in the park. Plus, research shows balance begins to decline as early as age 50, but by working to maintain and improve it now, you could reduce your risk of detrimental falls later in life.
The BOSU also works your stabilizing muscles, which light up to keep your body still as you train. During a long plank on the flat surface, for instance, your core, shoulders, and glutes will contract to prevent you from tipping too far to either side. When you try to stand up tall on the BOSU’s flat bottom, your core and ankle stabilizers, among others, ignite to keep you from wobbling.
All that’s to say you’ll get in a solid core workout while using the BOSU — good news for the members who hate training their abs. You're not able to walk, run, stand up, or hold yourself in good posture without a strong core. Thankfully, as the muscular center of your entire body, your core will engage to keep your spine stable and body upright, like when you’re teetering on a BOSU.
Another sneaky benefit of BOSU training: It requires serious mind-muscle connection. It pushes you into a totally different headspace than other modalities and calls upon your internal strength and self-awareness. You really have to concentrate on what you’re doing to maintain proper form, otherwise you might topple over. And I can tell: When I work with particularly chatty clients, they usually go super quiet when I put them on the BOSU.
How to Use the BOSU
The BOSU can easily be added to any of your usual bodyweight exercises. I love having my clients perform 30-second planks and mountain climbers on the flat surface, so the dome is on the ground. The moves may look easy, but your core and shoulders will be burning by the end of the set.
When you’re ready to progress, try some movements with the dome facing up. You can swap the bench for the BOSU and power through a round of chest presses or rear foot-elevated split squats; with the former exercise, your core needs to work overtime to keep your waist stable as you press the dumbbells toward the ceiling.
The BOSU can be used for cardio training, too. You can do side-to-side or front-to-back hop-overs, jumping over the BOSU, to build speed, agility, and coordination. Another favorite of mine is half-burpees. You’ll set the BOSU dome-side down on the floor, grip onto the sides, and move through your burpee, pressing the BOSU up toward the sky instead of jumping. Do that for 30 to 45 seconds — or even a minute — and you’ll feel exhausted in the best way. This variation also works your flexibility and mobility: You’re extending one leg back at a time, stretching your hip flexors when you’re in this low-lunge position, and you’re walking into and out of a plank, breaking you out of your normal range of motion.
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BOSU drills are no walk in the park, but if you want to take them up a notch, try switching up the tempo. For example, you might slowly lower into your rear foot-elevated split squat then explosive press up out of it. Feel free to play with the balance elements, too: Instead of performing a renegade row (aka single-arm plank row) with your non-working hand on the floor, pop it on top of a BOSU. You might be able to do just a few reps when you first start, but it makes your workout much more fun.
Everyone is different, but if you really want to challenge your core during the day’s workout, plug some of your favorite BOSU exercises into your warm-up or in between your sets of classic strength moves. You could even create an entire BOSU circuit at the end of your workout, performing the exercises for rounds or time.
Even if you’re a true beginner, you can’t make any major mistakes with the BOSU. You can sprinkle the equipment pretty much anywhere in your workout, and you can always tackle your workout next to a wall or stable surface that you can grab onto if you’re concerned about losing your balance. So long as you don’t do anything too wild, you’ll be just fine.
Von Blackwell is a Tier 3 Coach and Group Fitness Instructor at Equinox Brickell in Miami who’s committed to helping individuals achieve their fitness goals and lead a healthier lifestyle. He’s a certified personal trainer through NASM and is a certified pain-free performance specialist (L1, L2). He also holds certifications in functional kettlebell training and from Landmine University.