If you ask anyone who knows me well, my balance is (happily) garbageI can stand on one leg comfortably and I regularly (with limited success) do calf raises while brushing my teeth (the best form of multitasking, right?), but add a wobbly element to the mix and I end up looking like a baby giraffe with my limbs dangling all over the place.
But as a health and fitness writer, I’m also well aware of how important balance and stability are: Not only do they help prevent falls and reduce your risk of injury (not to mention increasing your chances of avoiding a fall in the first place), but good balance is also associated with longevity. British Medical Journal The ability to balance on one leg for 10 seconds has been shown to be a strong predictor of overall mortality, with people unable to balance on one leg nearly doubling their risk of all-cause mortality within 10 years.
So when I heard I could add a BOSU ball to my workouts to improve my balance and stability, I was intrigued. I can easily pass the 10-second one-legged test, but I know I need to work on my core and stability. Not one to shy away from a challenge, I tried working out every day for a week with a BOSU ball (also known as a balance ball or wobble board). Keep scrolling to find out my results.
In the meantime, some of you may want to know what happened. MC UK Each day, the staff tried out goblet squats, Bulgarian split squats, bodyweight squats, and sumo squats (yes, this team is a fan of squats), and of course, bodyweight lunges, daily planks, and daily core training.
I’ve been trying out Bosu ball exercises every day for a week now and here are some thoughts:
What is a Bosu Ball?
Great question. You’re probably wondering what on earth I’m talking about, but you’ve probably seen a BOSU ball at the gym.
“A BOSU ball is a piece of equipment designed to create instability to improve balance and core strength,” explains personal trainer Tejal Patel. “It’s like a Swiss ball cut in half so one side is flat. You can use the flat side facing up or down depending on the exercise, allowing you to work your muscles in ways you can’t on a stable surface.”
Developed by American trainer David Weck in the late 1990s, the exercise was primarily designed as a way to improve balance and core strength after back injuries, and its name is an acronym for “sides up”.
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How to use a Bosu ball?
A BOSU ball is an incredibly versatile and somewhat underrated piece of equipment. You can use it as is, simply stand on it, or incorporate it into your fitness program for both strength training and cardiovascular exercise.
“The main purpose of the ball is to improve balance,” says Ben Simpkins, head coach at London Fitness Mums. “You can start off with something as simple as standing on the ball with your feet hip-width apart, which for some people will find difficult enough, but if you’re already comfortable with this, the five exercises I do with my clients on the BOSU are squats, lateral lunges, side-to-side squats, glute bridges and planks.”
Essentially, the premise is that your core will be working harder while performing these exercises, helping you maintain an upright posture.
What are the benefits of training with a BOSU ball?
“Typically, BOSU balls are used with the dome facing down and the platform facing up, but the real benefits come from the reverse positioning,” Simpkins reveals.
“Regular use of the ball will strengthen your core (nothing will burn like this), improve your stability and balance and reduce the risk of injury. The ball is great for strengthening many of the small supporting muscles that you might not normally train.
Not only will it help strengthen your ankles and other muscles through regular strength training, but it also adds variety to your training.”
Bosu balls are also great for developing your proprioception, which is essentially your awareness of how your body is positioned and moving in space. If you’ve ever been told you’re clumsy or prone to tripping and dropping things (like I am), you might have poor proprioception.
Research (e.g. International Journal of Sports and Physiotherapy) concluded that training with instability tools can enhance proprioception by challenging balance and stability, improving neural pathways related to body awareness.
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Is it okay to use a BOSU ball every day?
Good news for me: depending on how my body feels, there’s no reason why I can’t train with the ball every day for a week. As always, they say stiffness is ok, but pain is a big no-no.
While it’s not generally recommended to exercise every day (after all, rest and recovery are just as important as moving for optimal health), the NHS website advises aiming for around 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity, or 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week, so I try to make sure my exercise meets these guidelines.
Now that you’re all set, read on to find out about my progress and if I’ve achieved any success.
I tried training with a Bosu ball every day for a week. Here are the results:
Days 1 to 3
Even with my limited balance skills, I was surprised (and a little humbled and embarrassed) at how difficult it was to stand upright on the ball the first few times. Really I enjoyed watching it.
So, for the first few days, I just focused on strengthening my core, focusing on lifting my underused pelvic floor muscles, and trying to maintain a steady posture. And by focusing on my breathing and trying to keep myself steady, I was able to maintain a pretty stable posture.
By day three I was ready to up the ante but didn’t want to be too adventurous so I followed Simpkin’s advice to level up slowly.
“To progress from standing on the ball, try lifting your arms in front of you,” he says. “Slowly move one arm 90 degrees to the side while the other arm is in the same position. Then bring your arm back to the center and move the other arm to a 90-degree position. You’ll find that this really engages your core.”
That’s an understatement: my lower abdomen has never been more active. a lot Pilates training at home.
The Bosu ball Anna used in her workout challenge
(Image courtesy of Anna Barter)
Days 4 to 7
To make matters worse, on day four I started to feel a dull ache in my lower back — a sure sign that I wasn’t properly engaging my core during the workout — so I decided to switch it up and try single-legged glute bridges in hopes of giving my core (and back) a rest.
And by incorporating the Bosu ball into my glute bridges, I was able to increase my range of motion. My lower back was grateful, and I felt like my spine was curling up in places it normally can’t reach. Win!
This doesn’t mean we completely stopped using our core, but rather that all of the movements we tried with the ball required some degree of core activation.
On day five, I tried some plank holds. I’d go so far as to say they were harder than usual. I really had to work hard to keep my hip flexors from sinking and hyperextending my knees, which already have a good range of motion. This was hard, but it felt good to engage my deep core muscles again.
Over the past few days, I’ve been feeling really good with the ball (literally!). It could be a coincidence, but I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in my balance and stability during my evening calf raise workouts. Who knows if that’s because I’ve focused more on my balance or if I’ve actually improved, but I’m taking this as a win.
Anna uses a Bosu ball during the challenge
(Image courtesy of Anna Barter)
Conclusion
Will I continue to train with the BOSU ball? Well, the ball has brought some much-needed fun back into my exercise program, which can only be a good thing. My next challenge is to learn to squat with the ball. It’s good to have goals, right?
As for whether there has been a noticeable improvement in my balance and stability, the answer is yes. Even my ballet instructor commented last week that my balance is great. I am very happy with it. I am definitely more conscious of what I am doing with my body. I haven’t broken any glass in at least a week. That says it all.
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