As an instructor I have seen clients walk into the studio, take one look at the wobble boards and they either hop on without a seconds thought or sigh with anxiousness and declare (before even taking their trainers off) that they are completely hopeless on it. This is completely normal, depending on which camp you fall into; the board is there to challenge you, to test your balance and encourage you to connect your mind with your body. So yes, some of us struggle with it at first but I guarantee you by the end of the class everyone is flying through the exercises and enjoying it!! As an instructor we encourage you to get on a Wobble Board, get a feel for it, slowly introduce movements into it and build from that…

The reason why we, as instructors, incorporate Pilates exercises into training with a Wobble Board is that it provides many added benefits you would not experience just on a mat workout, and not to mention it gives a whole lot of fun and new creative inspiration!

As you know, balance training and exercise can be extremely beneficial to improving your everyday health and well-being (that is why you come to Pilates). Did you know maintaining and challenging your balance is something that requires your entire body’s effort (including your mind) and therefore works many muscles and joints that don’t normally get as much attention. Wobble Board really does lend itself to help us do all this!

5 Benefits of Wobble Boards

Here are Top Five Benefits of using Wobble Boards…

1. Improve Flexibility and Joint Strength:

Not only does using a Wobble Board work lesser used muscles, it also greatly improves flexibility and joint strength: ankles, knees, hips, shoulders etc. This is because the Wobble Board simulates various types of instability that you don’t typically encounter on a day to day basis.

2. Challenge Existing Pilates Exercises:

The great thing about a Wobble Board is that it’s extremely versatile. There’s an unlimited number of Pilates moves that can be incorporated. Standing movements, sitting movements, movements on the hands, knees etc are all possible. Keeping things fresh and challenging for you each time!

3. Engages Your Whole Body:

Maintaining your balance and body control requires the whole body working in unison, including the mind. This means every single muscle, joint, tendon, and even the brain is being challenged and strengthened. After a standard workout with a Wobble Board, many clients express they feel the burn in muscles they didn’t even know they had! (psst…it activates your smaller stabiliser muscles which help your body burn up to 100 calories an hour)!

4. It’s Fun…I promise!

We hear it all of the time, you hop on a board and 5 minutes…10 minutes… 20 minutes later you are having so much fun you don’t even realise you are getting a quality workout. For beginners especially, you can feel it even if you have just been simply standing on the board for a few minutes.

5. It Supercharges Your Core Strength:

In Pilates a strong core is the foundation of the practice. It is well known, but sometimes unexpected, that training with a Wobble Board directly engages the core (in addition to the rest of the body). This translates to not only toning your core, but improving core strength for all of your Pilates movements that take place on the floor or on other equipment.

So, next time it is Wobble Board week, remember the five amazing benefits you are going to experience from it. Hop on it and have fun!

Sol May