Have you been to the gym and watched people using a half ball with a hard flat surface on the other side?  That is called a Bosu ball.  These bosu balls can be used to build and strengthen your core, balance and the rest of your body.  Bosu balls are great because anybody can use them whether you are just beginning or if you are already at an intense level with your workouts in Woodbury MN.

Exercises in Woodbury MN

Your safety is important, so make sure that you are careful when using the bosu ball and keeping your core engaged at all times.  There are many exercises, but let's start with some proper balance skills first.

• Step-ups: With the ball side up, keep one foot on the ground, then place the other foot in the middle of the ball and push yourself up then come back down to the ground. Repeat 10 times then switch legs.  You can do the same thing on the flip side with the flat surface side up.
• Double-leg and single-leg balance: with the ball or flat surface up, place both feet up on the surface of the ball. Try to stay up there as long as you can.  You can start at 30 seconds working your way up to a couple minutes.  Once you have mastered double leg balance, then you can safely move on to singe-leg balance.

Another exercise you can do to work on your balance is push-ups, planks and mountain climbers.

• Bosu Ball push-ups: You can do these push-ups on your knees or on your feet, and again you can also do these exercises on the ball side or the flat surface side. Keeping your abdominals tucked in tight, do as many push-ups as you can.
• Planks: with your elbows on the ball side and your feet straight out, plank from 45 seconds to a couple minutes. You can increase your strength with your planks to one-legged planks and leg lifts.
• Mountain climbers: Either on the ball or flat surface you can start with a straight arm approach to this exercise. Start by bringing in one knee at a time towards the chest.  Adding levels of difficulty, you can come down to a plank position or you can add twists while you bring the knees in.

Starting with these few exercises will help your body be stronger.  Get your body moving to better and healthier you!

Thank you for reading!  Be safe and have fun!

Dr. Christine