BOSU Ball Exercises

Learn What BOSU Ball Exercises Can Do for YOU!

The BOSU balance trainer is a very versatile tool. It is great to use for balance, core, and abdominal exercises, but you can also use it for a full-body workout.

If you want to get a good workout from a single, affordable piece of equipment that does not take up too much space, you should consider the BOSU balance trainer.

The BOSU balance trainer is one of the best exercise balls. The BOSU balance trainer allows you to perform balance, strength, and power exercises.

No Other Exercise Ball Has the Versatility of the BOSU!

Benefits of BOSU Ball Exercises

The BOSU Can be Used at All Different Activity Levels

The BOSU is great for beginners, experienced fitness enthusiasts, athletes, bodybuilders, and anyone who wants challenging and fun exercises. If you are a beginner, most BOSU ball exercises are easy to learn. You can get a great BOSU ball workout with just the BOSU or you can use the BOSU along with other equipment.

If you use the BOSU with other equipment, you can challenge your balance while your perform resistance exercises. You can also use the other equipment to increase the difficulty of the BOSU ball exercises.

Why Use BOSU Ball Exercises Rather than Stability Ball Exercises?

To Compare the BOSU Ball to the Stability Ball is Like Comparing a Truck and a Car

Trucks and cars perform the same basic function: drive you around. Yet there are functions which a car can do that and a truck cannot, and vice versa. There is no reason to say that BOSU ball exercises are better than stability ball balance training exercises or that stability balls are better. You should incorporate both into your workout regimen. This will ensure you receive the benefits of both while developing a fun, interesting exercise program.

What Are Some Effective BOSU Ball Exercises?

Use BOSU Ball Exercises to Complement a Full-Body Complete Exercise Program

As with most exercise balls, it is best to use the BOSU as a complementary tool. Use the BOSU to progress floor exercises. As with any exercise progression, make sure you are solid on the basics before attempting to progress. In this case, you should master the floor exercise before you attempt the BOSU ball exercise.

Here are Some of the Best BOSU Ball Exercises Which Require No Extra Equipment

BOSU Exercises for the Core

BOSU Ball Supine Bridge

Start: Lie on the floor with the BOSU ball at your feet. Place your feet on the top of the BOSU ball. Your knees should be directly above your ankles. The round side of the BOSU can be facing up, or you can have the ball upside down. To have the ball upside down makes the exercise more difficult.

Begin the motion: Draw in your core as you lift your hips up towards the ceiling. Make sure not to arch your back at any point of the motion. The goal with this movement is to use your glutes primarily, not your hamstrings or lower back.

You can either perform a static hold or as a dynamic exercise. To perform a static floor bridge, squeeze your butt and hold at the top position for several seconds before lowering back down. To perform a dynamic floor bridge, slowly lift and lower your hips as described above for a set of your desired number of repetitions.

BOSU Ball Plank

The plank is one of the best BOSU ball exercises if you perform it correctly.

Start: Place your forearms on the very top of the ball. Bring both of your feet back so your body is in the plank position. Alternatively, you can have your forearms on the floor and feet on the BOSU.

Hold this position: Make sure to keep your core drawn in and your glutes contracted. Your back must not arch, if it does, you should regress to the floor plank until you master perfect floor plank form.

Begin the motion: Once you have mastered the BOSU plank you can progress to increase the difficulty. Some of the progressions to the BOSU ball plank include:

• Hip Extension- Keep your core drawn. Make sure your back does not arch. Slowly lift a foot off of the ground and hold.
• Leg Abduction- Same set up as above, but when you lift your leg, slowly move it away from your body. Make sure your toe points straight down towards the floor.
• 1 Arm Plank- Slowly take one arm off of the ball and hold the position.
• 2 BOSU Ball Plank- Either place one arm on each BOSU or your arms on one BOSU and your feet on the other.
• Upside Down BOSU Plank- Perform the plank on the BOSU ball with your arms on the flat part of the ball while the ball is upside down.
• Combination- Combine any 2 of the above.

BOSU Ball Side Plank

Start: Lie on your side and place one arm and forearm on the top of the round part of the BOSU. Have your body completely outstretched and place your feet on top of each other or next to each other.

Hold this position: Lift your hips up until your spine is aligned. Hold this position. Alternatively, you can perform the dynamic side plank. Lower your hips until they touch the floor, then raise them back to the original position, repeating for your desired number of reps.

BOSU Exercises for the Abdominals

BOSU Ball Exercises for the Abdominals are Some of the Most Effective Abs Exercises

This is because the round and semi-stable surface of the BOSU allows your back to bend around it. This means you will get more range of motion for crunches which equals more work and most likely better results.

BOSU Ball Crunches

Out of all BOSU ball exercises, crunches provide the most benefit when using the BOSU.

Start: Lie face up on the top of the BOSU ball with your lower back completely supported. If you put your butt below and almost off the BOSU you will be in a good position for a beginner. Put your hands either across your chest or behind your head.

Begin the motion: Draw in your core.Using your abdominal muscles, lift your chest and elbows up towards the ceiling, lower under control, and repeat.

Modifications: To vary the difficulty of these BOSU ball exercises, you can adjust your starting position. If you move back to where your butt is on top of the ball, you must lift more of your upper body weight. This will make the exercise more difficult. If your hands are behind your head, the weight of your arms will also help make the BOSU ball crunch more difficult.

If at any point during this BOSU ball exercise, you feel pain in your lower back, stop and rest before trying again. If the pain persists, you should regress to an easier exercise.

BOSU Ball Multi-Crunches

Start: Same as above.

Begin the motion: You can perform twisting crunches on the BOSU as well as many other exercises. Twisting crunches resemble the ab bicycle.

Modifications: As you perform a crunch with your hands behind your head, lift one knee up in the air as you turn your opposite elbow toward the knee. Lower your upper body and leg slowly back to the original position and alternate.

There are so many different varieties of BOSU ball crunches that it’s impossible to cover them all here. Please watch the videos of BOSU ball exercises to get some more ideas.

BOSU Ball Leg Scissors

Start: Lie the round part of the BOSU with your lower back completely supported. Both arms should be touching the BOSU to help balance you on the ball.

Begin the motion: Keep your core drawn in and lift your legs off the ground. Lift your legs as low as possible off of the ground. If your lower back arches, lift them higher.

Keep your legs either completely straight or slightly bent with no movement at the knees for the entire motion. Alternatively lift and lower your legs up and down in a scissor-like motion.

You can also go side to side. Abduct your legs at the same time out to the side. Adduct them together and overlap when they meet. Alternate which side overlaps each time.

This is one of the best BOSU ball exercises for your lower abs if performed correctly. Stop immediately if you feel pain in your lower back. Make sure you keep your core drawn in at all times.

BOSU Ball V-ups

Start: Lie face up on the BOSU. Make sure your lower back is supported by the BOSU. Draw in your core.

Begin the motion: Lift your arms and feet off the BOSU at the same time until they meet in the middle. Hold this position.

Modifications: You can also slowly lower your arms and legs at the same time and repeat. If you can do this dynamic BOSU ball exercise you are are on the right path to master BOSU ball exercises.

BOSU Exercises for the Chest

BOSU Ball Push-ups

Start: Place your hands on the BOSU about shoulder width apart. It is best if your palms face each other so you can squeeze the ball.

Begin the motion: Slowly lower your chest towards the ball, keeping your body straight as a plank by engaging your core. Push yourself back up to the beginning position and repeat. Keep your head up and your spine in neutral alignment during the entire duration of the motion. Do not drop your head toward the BOSU.

Modifications: You can also perform push-ups with your hands on the flat side of the BOSU, or with your feet on either side of the ball and your hands on the floor. Push-ups are one of the most modifiable BOSU ball exercises.

BOSU Dynamic Hands Plank

Start: Begin from the plank position with your forearms on the round part of the BOSU.

Begin the motion: Push one hand into the ball and push yourself up until you are in the push-up position. Place one forearm onto the ball and lower yourself back into the plank position. Alternate arms as you repeat.

Modifications: You can also perform these BOSU ball exercises with 2 BOSU balls. Put your feet on either side of a BOSU and your hands on the round side of the other BOSU. You can also perform this with a separate BOSU ball for each hand.

To progress this exercise further, you can add a push-up or 2, or 3 every time you push out of the plank to the top push-up position. These are all great BOSU ball exercises for your chest and shoulder muscles.

1 Hand on BOSU Push-ups

Start: Assume the push-up position. Position a single BOSU to one side. Put one hand on the BOSU and the other hand on the floor.

Begin the motion: Slowly lower your chest towards the floor and push yourself back up. Keep your head and spine in neutral alignment. Never drop your head during any part of this movement. Your butt should not rise, and most importantly, your back should never arch.

Modifications: You can perform a certain number of repetitions on one side and move the ball to the other hand for the same number of reps. You can also alternate which hand you put on the BOSU for each rep.

Dual BOSU Ball Push-ups

Start: Place 2 BOSU balls next to each other. Put each hand in the center of each ball. Bring your feet back until your body is fully outstretched.

Begin the motion: Slowly lower your chest towards the balls, preferably until you touch your chest to the balls. Push yourself back up to the original position slowly and repeat.

Explosive Plyometric BOSU Ball Clapping Push-ups

Start: Same as above.

Begin the motion: Lower your chest down to the ball and explosively push yourself off the BOSU balls as high as you can. As soon as you leave the ball clap your hands. Land in one smooth motion and repeat.

BOSU Exercises for the Legs

If you have been trying to decide whether or not to buy a BOSU ball, get ready to learn the most important reason to do so. The legs exercises possible on a BOSU are what makes the BOSU one of the best fitness buys for anyone.

With the BOSU, you can perform the complete variety types of leg exercises, improving strength, power, endurance, flexibility, cardio, and balance.

BOSU Ball Squats

Start: You should always start by standing on the round side of the BOSU. Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Keep your core drawn in. You are only ready to begin when you can balance on the BOSU. You can extend your arms in front of you or to the side for balance if you want.

Begin the motion: Slowly squat down. You can squat all the way until your butt touches your calves if you have healthy knees. Slowly stand back up to the balanced position and repeat.

Squats are another the most versatile BOSU ball exercises which you can modify many different ways. Stop if you ever experience knee or lower back pain.

BOSU Ball Squats (Upside Down BOSU)

Start: Tilt the BOSU to one side. Step on it with one foot and then the other. Just to stand on the upside down BOSU the first time is a challenge in itself. Make sure your core is tightly drawn in while you stand on the BOSU and stabilize.

You may experience violent side to side shaking while you try to maintain your balance. This is due to lack of neurological control of the muscles in your legs. After some practice, you should be able to control the shaking.

Begin the motion: Slowly squat down. If you have healthy knees, you can squat all the way until your butt touches your calves. Slowly stand back up to the balanced position and repeat. You can also hold any part of the squat to get a good isometric contraction.

BOSU Ball Hip Extensions

Same as the dynamic BOSU Bridge.

BOSU Ball Twisting Lunges

Start: Hold a BOSU ball with both hands with the flat part against your chest.

Begin the motion: Lunge forward until your right heel is directly below your front knee and your back knee is about 1 inch above the floor. Extend your arms in front of you and twist the BOSU over your forward leg.

Only turn to the point where you can maintain the drawn in core. Bring the BOSU back to the middle, and bring your back leg up to the standing position. You can perform these walking or in place.

Modifications: To increase the difficulty you can perform a stationary lunge or as many stationary lunges as you want in between each step.To make the lunge more difficult, try a backwards lunge. Make sure you push back off of the front foot to the original position. Lunges are one of the best BOSU ball exercises.

BOSU Ball Side Squats and Hops

Start: Stand to the side of a BOSU ball. Step on the middle of the round surface of the BOSU ball with one foot. You can hold your arms straight out in front of you as a counter balance or hold dumbbells in a high hang position (at your shoulders).

Begin the motion: Squat down. Lower your hips towards the floor. Make sure you maintain a flat back and draw in core. Your chest should not bend forward towards the floor. From the bottom of your squat, hop laterally (to the side) to the other side of the BOSU ball and repeat your squat.

Modifications: This is one of the very toughest BOSU ball exercises. You can increase the difficulty by adding more resistance. Another good way to increase inner and outer thigh work is to put on ankle weights.

BOSU Exercises for the Lower Back

BOSU Ball Back Crunch

Start: Lie on a BOSU with your chest on the top of the ball and your feet fully extended behind you. Put your hands behind your head.

Begin the motion: Slowly bring your shoulders up toward the ceiling. Make sure you maintain a drawn-in core.

BOSU Cobra

Start: The same position as the BOSU ball back crunch (above).

Begin the motion: Slowly extend your arms out fully in front of you with your thumbs up. Keep your arms as high as they can towards the ceiling and slowly rotate your arms all the way around in almost a full circle until your arms are close to your hips.

Slowly bring your arms back the opposite direction until they are in the original position then repeat.

Keep your thumbs up towards the ceiling for the duration of this movement. BOSU ball cobra is one of the BOSU ball exercises which can also be performed on stability balls or the floor.

Along With BOSU Ball Exercises, The Following Exercises Will Complete Your Workout Routine

Purchase a BOSU Ball Now

In order to get the most benefits from any exercise modality, you must exercise your large muscle groups. You can use the best medicine ball, stability ball, and BOSU ball exercises to perform full-body exercises for a complete workout program.

• Read the Full BOSU Balance Trainer Review
• Exercise Information Articles
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    The lats (upper back) is the muscle group which is missing most BOSU balance trainer exercises. You cannot exercise your lats sufficiently with just a BOSU ball. Find out which exercises are the most effective for giving you that much-desired v-shape.
  • Best Ab Exercises
    If you have not yet mastered the basic versions of the best ab exercises, you should do before you take on all these new BOSU ball exercises.
  • Best Legs Exercises
    Weight training for your legs is very important because they contain a high percentage of your total body’s muscle mass. A heightened metabolism, which leads to accelerated fat loss, is among the top benefits of weight training the legs.
  • Best Arms Exercise
    Whether you are looking to tone your triceps or build bigger biceps, the best arm exercises will cut down your training time while improving your training results.
  • Best Chest Exercises
    If you thought the BOSU ball exercises for the chest were not challenging enough, here are some weight training movements to work your chest.

About Michael Behnken

Mike Behnken is a personal trainer who holds multiple NASM certifications and a MS in Exercise Science. Mike loves fitness, travel, and photography among many other interests.