BOSU Trainer Review – The At-Home Powerhouse

It’s been a little bit BOSU on Fine Fit Day recently, right? In case you missed it, I’ve been participating in the #BOSUstrong challenge with Fit Approach and BOSU. (Disclaimer: This BOSU Trainer review post was sponsored by BOSU – all opinions expressed are my own. I’m happy to be part of the Fit Approach (Sweat Pink) community and I love helping to support the brands they work with.) And if you’re getting in on the challenge fun, we’re just starting the last week and you can find all this week’s Instagram and Twitter prompts here! This is your last chance to be in the running to win your own BOSU Trainer, so get on it!

I’ve been trying out new workouts (like this abs workout I posted last week), using it for cardio and most importantly, challenging my balance.

Suffice to say, I am so happy to have been one of the selected bloggers for this challenge, because the BOSU has been such a great new tool for my at-home workout arsenal. Here are some of the major reasons having the BOSU trainer has been important for my strength and cardio training:

What’s so important about balance?

Well, for a runner, working on balance when strength training can be hugely beneficial. If you’ve ever been injured, or are prone to injury, working with a balance tool like the BOSU can be a great way to rehabilitate and prevent future injury. Let’s say you’re squatting on the BOSU…which, as I discovered, is waaaay harder than you might think:

 

Good morning! ☀️ Today is #totalbodythursday for the @bosu_fitness and @fitapproach #BOSUstrong challenge! 💪 Balance is a tough one for me but I am having so much fun doing Bosu squats! ✅ Don’t forget, every week there’s a Bosu ball being given away to the most engaged participant in the challenge and you *don’t* need a Bosu to join in! 💣💥 #sweatpink #ad #spon

A video posted by carlypizzani (@carlypizzani) on Sep 24, 2015 at 5:24am PDT

Adding the balance component to this simple strength move means that not just your major muscles are working in triple extension, but all the smaller muscles around your hips, knees and ankles are also working hard to keep you upright on the dome. (Remember, you should never squat or do balance work with the BOSU dome side down! It can be dangerous. Yes, BOSU stands for BOth Sides Utilized, but dome-down work should be confined to upper body and abdominal work, like mountain climbers, burpees with the BOSU, etc.)

Injury Prevention

After an injury to one of my adductors in 2010 following the NYC marathon, I was on crutches for a couple of weeks and ever since I have done a lot of work to keep my adductors and abductors (inner and outer thigh/hip muscles, in layman’s terms) strong and flexible to avoid any further injury. While using the BOSU for lunges and squats for this challenge, I can actually feel how much those muscles are working in exercises that usually only target my glutes and hamstrings.

Recovering from Pregnancy, Labor and Delivery

Injury isn’t the only reason it’s essential to work those smaller muscles and keep them strong. You guys know I was active throughout my pregnancies and ran up (nearly) to the end.

Relaxin, a hormone released during pregnancy to loosen up your joints and ready your body for the delivery process, can do a number on your stability and strength. Because I was continuing to run and do prenatal yoga, I was careful when doing strength training to focus on working muscles surrounding my hips and pelvis, to try to minimize any discomfort from the joints being compromised. While I’m obviously no longer pregnant (Baby T is fast approaching 6 months – HOW did that go by so quickly??), continuing to work on balance has been super helpful in the recovery from nearly ten months of pregnancy, then labor and delivery.

At-Home Versatility

Any parent, particularly those who are primarily stay-at-home parents, know that at-home workouts are just a fact of life if you want to get consistent, regular training done. If I have a spare hour or so to myself without having to be home with the boys, I’m going to use that to go for a run rather than the gym, so having workout tools at home is essential.

Here I’m showing off my #fitmama skills of retrieving a Lego piece while squatting on the BOSU. Multitasking!! 🙂

Here’s why the BOSU is so versatile for someone working out at home:

• It can be used as a step, a bench, a weight in and of itself, as well as a balance trainer. You can lunge on it, squat on it, use it for push ups, sit ups, bench pressing, back extensions, lift it for overhead pressing or to add some weight to burpees…the list is (almost) endless.
• It’s so easy to store. While I only used it for a red-hot minute in our Brooklyn apartment before we got all packed up for the Vermont move, we are still apartment living while we decide where we’d like to buy a house. So something that can literally just slide under my couch is key.
• It’s ridiculously fun. I used to have clients use the BOSU for skaters or fast feet as cardio “breaks” during HIIT workouts. They’d complain, of course, but once you get going, it’s just so fun to start bouncing on it! It’s like a mini adult trampoline. 🙂
• Finally, it’s strength and cardio all in one, taking up only a small footprint when you’re using it. Perfect for the living room!

BOSU comes in the Sport model, at $99.95, which is a smaller, more compact BOSU. I have the BOSU Home Balance Trainer, which retails at $129.95. If you’ve ever used one in the gym it is most likely the BOSU Pro Balance Trainer, which is priced at $159.95. Any of these would be great additions to your home gym! Check out the BOSU website for more details and remember you can use the code BOSUSWEATPINK15 to receive the BOSU Sport-Kids DVD OR either of the new program downloads BOSU Total Body Basics OR BOSU Core Basics  for free with your purchase of a BOSU balance trainer.

What do you love to use for workouts at home?

Do you work on your balance?