Balance Trainer Workouts – Challenge Your Balance, Stability and Core Strength

Since a Balance Trainer is #5 on my list of How to Create an Inexpensive Home Gym, I thought I would explain why and what you can do with them.

A Balance Trainer is great piece of equipment for working on your balance, core strength and stability. There are two sides to a Balance Trainer, the dome side and the platform. The dome side is great for exercises working on cardio to strength training. The platform side is great for core exercises. Both sides offer a variety of workouts and exercises.

The Advantages of Using a Balance Trainer

The balance trainer offers several advantages that no offer exercise equipment offers. By adding a balance trainer to your workouts, you will work on balance, core strength and stability, which require you to use more muscles in your body, increasing the effectiveness of each exercise.

When using a Balance Training, Remember these Tips

When first performing exercises on the balance trainer, you should add a contact point (a chair, wall, or bar) to keep your balance. Once the exercises become easier, then you should take away the contact point to create a more challenging exercise.

If you are getting sore using the balance trainer, take a break from it and use the floor. Then go back to the balance trainer when you’re ready.

Balance Trainer Exercises

A great tool for working on balance, stability and core strength is the balance trainer. Here are 5 exercises that you can perform on a balance trainer to work on those three.

1) Basic Stance

To perform the basic stance, stand on the dome side with both feet. Your feet should be on either side of the bull’s eye. By just standing on the dome, you’ll feel your feet moving and your torso contacting to find balance.

Once this becomes easier for you, try simply closing your eyes or lifting your arms.

2) Squats

To perform the squat on the balance trainer, stand on the dome side with your feet slightly forward of the center. Then, bend your knees and perform a squat by slowly descending down while keeping your back straight. Extend your arms straight out to help keep your balance. Once you reach as low as you can, push up with your legs. Don’t just stand up. Perform this exercise for 3 sets, with 10-12 each reps each.

3) Basic Crunch

To perform the basic crunch, sit down on the dome side of the balance trainer with your hops toward the bottom of the dome and your knees bent. Place your hands behind your head or even across your chest, then roll back until you feel your abs stretch. Then, by contracting your abs, curl up.  Perform this exercise for 3 sets, with 10-12 each reps each.

4) Ball Tilt

To perform the ball tilt, turn the balance trainer over and grab the handles on each side. The dome should be face down. Then get into a plank position on your toes. Then, keep the body in a straight line and without bending your arms, tilt the balance trainer forward and then bring it back. Perform this exercise for 3 sets, with 10-12 each reps each. After each 10-12 set, switch to your other side.

For a more difficult exercise, instead of just tilting the trainer back and forth, go in a circle. Rock it forward, right back, and the to the left.

5) V- Sit

The V-Sit is when you sit in the center or perhaps slightly forward on the dome. With hands on either side, keep your support. Then, lift your legs with the knees bend and balance keeping your torso straight and your shoulders relaxed. You should feel your abs tight. Hold this position for 25-30 seconds. You increase the difficulty of the v-sit, take your hands away from the sides and hold them straight out in front of you. Then, straighten your legs, adding a lower leg crunch.

These are just a few workouts that involve the balance trainer. There are plentty of others which involve dumbbells, resistance bands and medicine balls. These are just a few of the begginner exercises. Balance Trainers are a fantastic piece of equipment to have at your home to increase balance, stabilty, and core strength by increasing the number of muscles used in each workout and increasing the variety of workouts possible. If you want to workout at home, I strongly suggest getting one, plus everything else on How to Create an Inexpensive Home Gym.