Accessory Analysis: BOSU Ball

This is a BOSU Ball. BOSU stands for Both Sides Up and its is one of my favorite and most versatile pieces of fitness equipment. When the dome (blue) side is up it provides a great unstable surface to stand on and do any number of upper or lower body exercises from bicep curls and shoulder presses to squats and lunges. The great thing about an unstable surface is that it gives you the added bonus of getting a great core workout no matter what exercise you are doing. I love anything that allows me to get more bang for my buck because, let's be honest here, no one wants to spend a ton of time in the gym. The BOSU is also great when the platform (black) side is up since you can use it to make push ups harder, since push ups aren't hard enough anyway, right? There are a few gyms that teach BOSU cardio classes where you use the ball in the place of a step and those classes are killer! Seriously, I have taken them and they are nap inducing. Finally, the BOSU is amazing for abdominal workouts. You can use it in place of a regular stability ball for crunches and it's fantastic for plank exercises. So if you are in the market for some fitness equipment, I highly recommend the BOSU ball since it is so effective and the BOSU with some dumbbells or bands is all you really need. Plus it stores really nicely under a couch or in the corner so it is always out of the way.