A BOSU Balance Trainer (or BOSU ball) is a fitness
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. It ...
device, invented in 1999 by David Weck.
It consists of an inflated rubber
hemisphere
Hemisphere refers to:
* A half of a sphere
As half of the Earth
* A hemisphere of Earth
** Northern Hemisphere
** Southern Hemisphere
** Eastern Hemisphere
** Western Hemisphere
** Land and water hemispheres
* A half of the (geocentric) celesti ...
attached to a rigid platform. The device is often used for
balance training. When the dome side faces up, the BOSU ball provides an unstable surface while the device remains stable. This combination of stable/unstable allows a wide range of users, from the young,
elderly, or injured to the elite level athlete. With the dome side up, the device can be used for athletic drills and
aerobic
Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen.
Aerobic may also refer to
* Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity
* Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise
* Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cellu ...
activities. The device can be flipped over so that the platform faces up. In this position, the device is highly unstable and can be used for other forms of exercise.
The name initially came from an
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
standing for “Both Sides Up" - a reference to the two ways a BOSU ball can be positioned. It is also referred to as the "blue half-ball", because it looks like a
stability ball cut in half. The acronym now favored by the creators is "BOth Sides Utilised".
Criticism and benefits
In a scientific experiment conducted at
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...
in 2009, twelve men performed various physical exercises (back
squat,
deadlift
The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises, ...
,
overhead press
The overhead press is an upper-body weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight overhead while seated or standing. It is mainly used to develop the anterior deltoid muscles of the shoulder. The standing version was once a compon ...
, and curl lifts) with and without the BOSU ball. Using the BOSU ball did not create a real difference in the activity of their muscles. Therefore, it was concluded that the BOSU ball did not bring a significant improvement for these physical exercises and that these exercises performed on stable grounds were as efficient as the ones performed on the BOSU ball. A second study which concentrated on single-leg stance shows very similar results (no difference in muscle activity with and without the BOSU ball). However, an unstable surface increases activation of the
rectus abdominis and allows for greater activity per exercise when compared to a stable surface. Exercises such as a curl-up on an
exercise ball yields a greater amount of
electromyography
Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph to produce a record called an electromyogram. An electromyo ...
(EMG) activity compared to exercises on a stable platform.
[Clark, K. M., Holt, L. E., & Sinyard, J. (2003). Electromyographic comparison of the upper and lower rectus abdominis during abdominal exercises. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 17(3), 475–483. doi:10.1519/1533-4287(2003)017<0475:ECOTUA>2.0.CO;2]
References
{{Reflist
External links
BOSU homepageBOSU inventor's homepage
Exercise equipment
Exercise-related trademarks