Bosu...Gesundheit

I've written a few times about my morning workout using a fitness DVD. The video came with a piece of fitness equipment my wife and I bought almost a year ago only to pretty much unused until two weeks ago. This workout tool is called a Bosu ball, and for an inanimate object, it's pretty mean.


I was first exposed to the Bosu ball at the Summit Family Fitness Center. They have a few near their stretching station when you first enter the building, and, like a fool, I tried one. The resulting 45 second workout left me sore and fixated on the seemingly simple device.

The principle of the Bosu is that it adds an element of instability to your workout. In other words, movements that would otherwise be quite inane become downright difficult. Where once I would grunt my way through an ab crunch without too much trouble, on a Bosu your body is struggling not just to sit up but to keep you on top of the ball.

The beginners DVD I've been watching using the ball as a base for step aerobics, abdominal and back exercises and as a tool for upper boy moves like push ups. After a few years of dedicated couch-potatoery, I have trouble completing pretty much every segment of the workout. When it's over, though, I feel like I've accomplished something.

I would encourage Summit members to check out their Bosu's. There a few diagrams of example exercises posted near them. I think you'll find, as I have, that by destabilizing your workout, you move the dial up to 11.

For folks you who aren't members of the Summit, you can mirror that practice of destabilization by balancing on one leg while doing ordinary moves like bicep curls or even squats. Just don't hold me accountable for how sore you feel afterwards.