Benefits Of BOSU Ball Exercises & Best BOSU Ball Exercises

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In my opinion, the BOSU ball is a highly useful tool that can add variety and unique challenges to a training routine. However, it shouldn’t be a core component of your overall program.

The BOSU ball provides significant benefits, such as improving rhythmic stabilization during squats and enhancing proprioception, but it doesn’t work for every exercise or individual.

When used appropriately, the BOSU ball can complement your workouts and help develop balance, stability, and functional strength.

What is a BOSU Ball?

The BOSU ball, also known as the “Both Sides Up” or “Both Sides Utilized” ball, was developed in the late 1990s by David Weck, a fitness enthusiast, and inventor.

A BOSU ball is a versatile fitness tool designed to challenge balance, stability, and coordination.

It features a half-dome inflatable surface on one side and a flat, sturdy platform on the other.

The name “BOSU” stands for “Both Sides Utilized,” emphasizing its dual-purpose design that allows exercises to be performed on either the dome or the platform.

This unique construction offers endless possibilities for fitness enthusiasts, from standing balance drills to dynamic strength training exercises.

The dome side provides an unstable surface that enhances proprioceptive challenges, engaging your core and stabilizing muscles during each movement.

When flipped, the flat platform offers a stable base while maintaining an element of instability, making exercises like push-ups or planks more demanding.

Whether you’re looking to improve balance, build strength, or add variety to your routine, the BOSU ball can be adapted to suit all fitness levels and goals.

Its compact size and portability also make it an excellent addition to home gyms, personal training sessions, or group fitness classes.

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Benefits of BOSU Ball Exercises

Although many personal trainers, physical therapists and strength and conditioning coaches are strongly against the use of BOSU ball exercises, there are many benefits of using a BOSU Ball when integrated into a workout routine properly.

Using a BOSU ball can provide unique challenges and benefits because it requires you to engage more stabilizing muscles to control your body.

Doing BOSU ball exercises will uniquely train your body and provide you with benefits you would not normally receive on a stable surface.

Here are some of the most important benefits of BOSU ball exercises:

Functional Balance Training

Functional balance training (FBT) emphasizes integrated movement patterns over isolated muscle training.

By incorporating unstable surfaces, the BOSU ball forces the body to recruit multiple muscle groups, improving coordination and balance while mimicking real-world movements.

Neuromuscular Coordination

The BOSU ball enhances the interplay between the nervous and musculoskeletal systems.

It stimulates proprioception—your body’s ability to sense its position in space—through feedback loops that engage stabilizing muscles, motor reflexes, and central nervous system responses.

The results of a 2020 study on using BOSU ball exercises combined with other strength training techniques concluded that integrative neuromuscular training (INT) improved 10- and 20-m speed, strength, and jumping ability in early-adolescent soccer athletes.

Although this study is limited in population size, it is apparent that properly utilized BOSU ball workouts can benefit a variety of athletic populations.

Muscular Symmetry

According to the ACSM’s Health and Fitness Journal, BOSU ball exercises are beneficial because they enhance coordination by improving symmetrical strength.

Muscular asymmetries occur when one side of the body is stronger than the other, and these asymmetries can lead to pain, weakness and promote the risk of future injuries.

Using the BOSU balance ball can help the weaker side improve and catch up with the stronger side, making your body stronger and healthier.

BOSU ball exercises are particularly beneficial for improving muscular symmetry during injury recovery.

For example, a research study published in 2021 demonstrated that 12 weeks of BOSU ball balance and strength training significantly improved muscle strength and proprioception in the injured knee of individuals after PCL surgery, helping promote comparable levels to the non-injured knee.

This study demonstrates that combining BOSU ball balance and strength training can promote muscular symmetry when properly utilized.

Muscle Recruitment & Activation

Research indicates that BOSU Ball exercises are effective for improving muscular recruitment during various exercises as the unstable surface promotes the recruitment of various stabilizing muscles.

However, the increased muscular recruitment may lead to reduced force output, which means BOSU ball exercises are more beneficial for rehab and prehab exercises compared to power and strength exercises.

Furthermore, BOSU ball exercises are particularly beneficial for improving muscular recruitment and the ability of individuals in aging populations looking to prevent falls and other related injuries.

Best BOSU Ball Exercises

Let’s dive in and explore some of the best BOSU ball exercises that challenge your balance, stability, and core strength.

You can do tons of exercises with a BOSU Ball, but these are a few of my favorite options:

BOSU Ball Squats

BOSU ball squats are a great leg exercise and my favorite BOSU exercise.

I have always been a fan of BOSU ball squats, especially for a warm-up before doing heavy back squats or 20-rep squats.

Although some research indicates doing BOSU exercises before heavy weight training can reduce force output, I have noticed that my movement patterns and subsequent weightlifting performances for heavy squats are much better after doing BOSU squats because the stabilizing muscle of my legs are more activated.

Additionally, BOSU ball squats have helped reduce Jumper’s Knee and other forms of knee pain, which I used to deal with chronically.

If you are comfortable with bodyweight squats on a BOSU Ball, you can also try BOSU ball goblet squats.

I would ever suggest attempting to perform barbell squats on the BOSU, but a goblet squat can be a nice advancement to squatting only with your body weight.

BOSU Ball Single-Leg Deadlift

Similar to BOSU ball squats, single-leg deadlifts on the BOSU ball can have a great effect as a warm-up, rehab, or prehab exercise.

Performing the single leg deadlift on the rounded side of the ball will be more difficult for your knee and ankle stability, while performing them on the flat side will be challenging but allow you to add some weight to the hip-hinge pattern.

Here is an example of me performing BOSU ball single-leg deadlifts with one kettlebell:

I enjoy using BOSU ball single-leg deadlifts for overall leg stability, especially when rehabilitating a lower-body injury.

BOSU Ball Mountain Climbers

BOSU ball mountain climbers are a great core exercise and one of the best alternatives to crunches.

Additionally, they are excellent for helping you get healthy shoulders.

For beginners, start from a regular push-up position with your hands gripping the flat side of the BOSU ball.

Then, bring your right knee forward towards your right elbow.

Then switch legs, bringing your left knee toward your elbow. That is one rep.

For the intermediate level, repeat the same as the beginner’s exercise but with a cross-over so that your right knee goes towards your left elbow and your left knee towards your right elbow.

To perform advanced BOSU ball mountain climbers, switch feet with a small “hopping” motion instead of being slow and controlled.

BOSU Ball Push-ups

The BOSU ball push-up is a challenging variation of the traditional push-up that targets the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles. For BOSU ball push-ups, place the dome side down and the flat side up.

Here’s how to perform the BOSU ball push-up:

Begin in a high plank position with your hands on the outer edges of the BOSU ball and your feet hip-width apart. Make sure your wrists are under your shoulders and your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels.
Lower your body towards the BOSU ball, keeping your elbows close to your sides and your core muscles engaged.
As you lower your body, try to maintain your balance on the unstable surface of the BOSU ball. This will challenge your stability and core strength.
Push your body back up to the starting position, focusing on squeezing your chest and triceps muscles.

The BOSU ball push-up can be modified for different fitness levels by adjusting the hand placement on the ball.

For beginners, it may be easier to place the hands on the outer edges, while more advanced exercisers can place their hands in the middle for a greater challenge.

Additionally, this exercise can be modified by performing it on the knees instead of the toes.

Overall, the BOSU ball push-up is a challenging and effective exercise that can help improve upper body strength, stability, and core strength.

BOSU ball push-ups are excellent for people like me that have nagging shoulder issues but still want to train their upper body for size and strength.

I have found that the BOSU ball push-up is easier for my shoulders than any weighted pressing exercise, and it improves how my shoulders feel day-to-day.

It is difficult to find upper body movements that don’t bother my shoulders, but the BOSU ball push-up is a great option.

BOSU Ball Plank

The BOSU Ball plank exercise is a challenging yet highly effective exercise for improving core strength and stability.

The plank exercise is a static exercise that targets the entire body, but especially the core muscles. Adding the BOSU ball to the exercise increases the difficulty and adds an extra challenge.

To perform a BOSU Ball front plank, start by placing the ball flat-side down on the ground.

Then, place your forearms on the BOSU, with your elbows directly under your shoulders.

Extend your legs behind you, with your toes on the ground, and engage your core muscles.

Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds or as long as you can maintain proper form.

The BOSU Ball plank exercise targets the deep stabilizing muscles of the core, including the rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and obliques. It also engages the upper body’s muscles, including the shoulders, chest, and back.

The unstable surface of the BOSU ball adds an extra challenge, forcing the body to work harder to maintain balance and stability.

Incorporating the BOSU Ball plank exercise into your regular workout routine can help improve your posture, balance, and overall core strength.

It’s important to maintain proper form and gradually increase the duration of the exercise to avoid injury.

With consistent practice, you can build a strong and stable core, improving your performance in a wide range of physical activities.

BOSU Ball Burpee

The BOSU ball burpee is a challenging full-body exercise that targets multiple muscle groups, including the chest, shoulders, arms, back, legs, and core muscles.

For BOSU ball burpees, place the BOSU on the floor with the dome side down and the flat side facing up. Here’s how to perform the BOSU ball burpee:

Begin by standing on the flat side of the BOSU ball with your feet hip-width apart. Bend your knees and squat down, placing your hands on the dome side of the ball.
Jump both feet back into a plank position, making sure that your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels.
Perform a push-up by lowering your body towards the BOSU ball, keeping your elbows close to your sides and your core muscles engaged.
Push your body back to the plank position, and jump your feet forward towards the BOSU ball.
Stand up, lifting the BOSU ball up with you as you come up into a squat position.
Jump up, extending your arms overhead and lifting the BOSU ball as you jump.

The BOSU ball burpee can be modified for different fitness levels by removing the push-up or jumping part of the exercise.

For beginners, it may be easier to step the feet back and forward instead of jumping, while more advanced exercisers can add a jump at the end of the exercise for a greater challenge.

The BOSU ball burpee is a challenging and effective exercise that can help improve cardiovascular endurance, strength, and agility.

Final Thoughts: Are BOSU Ball Exercises Good for You?

The BOSU ball is a versatile fitness tool that offers a wide range of benefits for individuals at any fitness level.

Whether you’re an athlete, elderly, fitness lover, or bodybuilder, the BOSU ball can be a valuable addition to your workout routine.

The benefits of using the BOSU ball include improved balance, stability, core strength, muscle activation, cardiovascular endurance, and more.

The BOSU ball is a popular device for balance training that can fit into almost all comprehensive fitness routines. However, it’s essential to use proper technique and gradually increase the difficulty of exercises to avoid injury.

Always consult a doctor before trying any new exercise routine, and be safe with your training.

Incorporating BOSU ball exercises into your regular workout routine can help you achieve your dream body and improve your overall fitness and wellness.