Viewer Mail.

by

Have you ever tried the Bosu ball for a workout? I was wondering what kind of cardio I could achieve from this.

Thanks!

As I mentioned before I like to use emails (or questions left in the comments) that will apply to more than one person. Questions that many of us probably have even if only a few people take the time to send them in.

Surprisingly (to me anyway) a bunch of you wondered about the BOSU ball as an option for a cardiovascular workout.

I love the promise of the BOSU ball (translation: I need to do it more often as evidenced by the Coming BOSUtractions video) yet had never considered it a form of true cardio.

MizFit is nothing if not easily made to question her beliefs so I searched high & low and discovered that I had, in fact, kind of been correct (*mops brow in relief*).

the short answer to our emailers? yes and minimal.

now the long version:

BOSU stands for both sides utilized (MizFit snark: I dont love the name. Not that they asked my opinion but wouldnt the acronym then be BSU?) and the ball, in short, is a swiss ball for the 2000’s. Unlike the swiss ball the BOSU is far more compact and, since it’s essentially a “half-ball,” there isnt a risk that the ball will shoot out from underneath you causing you to fall on your arse (not that Id know anything about that).

That said, you can use the BOSU for many of the same exercises you would the swiss ball and reap increased benefits to your core.

When used ball side down/flat surface UP the BOSU is consistently unstable. As a result your core *and* whatever muscle group you are currently working are both forced to work—and hard.

Are you confused?

You can sort of get a sense of what a BOSU ball is like by attempting to do bicep curls while standing on one foot.

would you have to think about your bicep muscles?

would you have to focus on your core staying tight so that you dont fall over?

That, in broad sweeping strokes, is the BOSU ball balance experience.

The BOSU can be used for myriad other exercises (everything from push ups to lunges) and, as the lovely acronym states, utilized both rounded side up and down.

Now on to the cardio component. The kind of portion of my response.

The BOSU can be a tremendous tool for cardiovascular BURSTS as with those used in circuit training.

Squat jumps, lunges, and side hops are three examples of great ways to elevate your heart rate using the BOSU. The reason behind my answer of minimal is that those arent exercises *I* could keep up for longer than (maybe) a minute at a time.

While studies have shown that breaking up one’s cardiovascular exercise into short spurts does work, I think this is a smidge TOO short (read: would require too many bursts).

In the MizFit’s mind BOSU cardio is a fab addition to one’s workout, a great way to burn a few extra calories (hello stashed away cadbury eggs!) but wouldnt replace a true cardiovascular routine on a regular basis.

What do you think, MizFits? Love the BOSU? Hate the BOSU? Disagree with me about the cardio?

Hit me up in the comments.

never checked out a BOSU?

Voila (Who knew I possessed such fab mime-skills?)

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

  1. I just got off the BOSU ball! A woman was using my favorie regular ball so I grabbed the BOSU/BSU 🙂 and did crunches with the dome nestled in my lower back. I pretended I was leslee bender of the infomercial-famous Bender Ball. It was fun.

  2. you can do mountian climbers and squat thrusts with them too….i do those with clients and it usually lasts about a minute or two. if you put plates under their feet during the mountian climbers. and up and overs, you can go as long as you want doing those, just watch your ankles, its easy to twist them.

    i had no idea thats where the name came from, i just thought it was the company.

    you learn something new everyday!

  3. hey Kelly—thanks for stopping by!
    so in your opinion it would work for the typical/traditional client to use the BOSU and count as cardio?

    I just dont see it as being enough…

    Id love your thoughts!

    M.

  4. Hey Miz – I do a bosu cardio class once a week and it is def. good cardio. The instructor uses both sides, natch, but when it is dome side up we use it kinda like a big squishy step – think step aerobics but… harder. We also do jumping kicks and lunges etc. The class is structured with about 5 minutes of cardio followed by 1 min of upside down work (we do pushups, burpees, plank jacks, mountain climbers etc.) for a seriously intense interval. We cool down with leg & balancing exercises followed by abs. It really is a great workout and very fun! Reminiscent of trampolines, which I love.

    One caveat: mothers who have had multiple babies? Pee right before class. Pee again during the water break. And maybe wear a day liner:) I say this from experience.

  5. Oh, the Bag Lady can see a lot of potential for OTHER people to get fit using that. (the Bag Lady herself can’t even do those squat things you were doing when she is standing on solid ground!!) Sigh.

  6. Charotte, is this a class geared toward the uber conditioned? or are there all levels taking it?
    sounds SO FUN as MizFit loves the trampampoline.

    and BagLady? I HEAR you. MizFit is hard at work (when she’s not procrastinating) on a mag article ALL ABOUT balance. Let’s hope none of the readers come here and see my lackthereof.

    M.

  7. i love the bosu. My trainer, Kelly, over at FitnessFixation uses it in so many evil ways! And I have to be mindful of my knees. So it works! They also have their own web site that has a lot and shows you how to run on two bosu’s, altho. I haven’t tried it.

    Enjoy your site, thanks!

  8. Surfmom?

    DARN YOU for distracting me!

    Running on *two BOSUs*?!

    Not only must I surf (haha. Im puny) over to check that our for my very own eyes but Im now longing for *two* BIRTHDAY BOSUs (take note Renaissance Man) so I can film a Monday FallingFaceTime with them.

    M.

  9. I’ve never used the BOSU, and though it looks like I could incorporate it here and there, I’m not so sure I would get that much benefit from it. Maybe I will have to try it one day.

    Thanks for your comment and offer to help. When I start training, I might depend on you and your blog to keep me on track. 😉

  10. I love my Bosu! There are so many things you can do on one, and if I had two?! That would be way too much fun

    My son loves to play on it too, so it’s a double bonus!

  11. I need to get me on of these, so I can practice on it in the comfort of my own home! They have them at the gym, but I can just see me falling on my face and as trainer there, probably not good marketing..lol!

  12. Now I want one! OOMPH, and no Renaissance man in my life or future and my birthday is too far off. grrrr. Trainer Bob on Biggest Loser uses one, but he is evil!

  13. Meribeth?

    my b-day is far off as well and, alas, Renaissance Man doesnt read this so we are both on our own.

    gurl(earning)power, huh?

    M.

  14. I’ve never tried the BOSU. I’m so horribly unbalanced and uncoordinated on my non-ball-shaped feet that I fear escalating to a ball, or even a half ball. Perhaps I’ll work up the courage some day…

  15. I have used the BOSU and find it quite a challenge, but not what I would call a cardio workout. I love it for core training… I really like it and find I have decent balance from my years of skateboarding (longboard style)

  16. Bosu looks fun but for a serious cardio workout? I just have a hard time imagining it would be as heart pumping beneficially as running 5 miles or a spin class.
    (although Charlotte’s class sounded very cool! maybe I’m totally off there…)

    And seriously I get excited every time I see a little video square on your blog. Love’em.

  17. from YOUR FINGERTIPS, O’Katie 🙂 to the TELEVISION WORLD’S ears.

    Or as Martha Beck (my lifecoachcrush) would say:

    Im Secreting that from my core of peace (and not the shallows).

    M.

  18. Oh the things you do in the name of educating your readers (you looked like perhaps you felt a little odd filming yourself at the gym).

    I’ve never heard of a BOSU ball…but my gym days were a few years ago (then I bought a treadmill that gets rather dusty at intervals). I must say that the opportunities to humiliate myself seem many – but always up for new ways to strengthen my core.

    Found a great gym possibility for after the baby is born – doesn’t force yearly membership (for those of us afraid to commit and not follow through) and has childcare for any child 6+weeks. No excuses here.

  19. Miz…Yes, I guess we are.

    I knew I should have gotten the Bosu instead of my Rebounder. Couple of ups and downs on that thing and I was bored silly.

  20. I’m more a tennis/trip to the zoo/running in the park gal for getting my heart pumping, but the bosu looks like a fun balance toy. Sadly, I just had my birthday . . . but there’s always Mother’s day.

    Impressive miming. I was waiting for a “MizFit in a box” routine, though.

  21. I have to give a shout out to Leslie (Weighting Game) because she obviously was on that Bosu hours before her awesome Today show piece this morning. 🙂

    and also forgot to mention that I got to “interview” the bosu creator on my blog. David Weck is his name…quite the genius for inventing this thing!
    http://workoutmommy.com/index.php/2008/02/13/interview-with-david-weck-inventor-of-the-bosu-balance-trainer/

    (sorry for the long link, I don’t know how to make it look pretty with HTML!)

  23. I had to laugh with the “ball shooting out from underneat…” I almost did a backflop on our hardwood floors attempting to complete flys with a toddler finding it to be quite entertaining to swing dangling off my legs last night!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This