Bosu Ball Exercises: Lunge & Lateral Raise

Series Summary

Many people want to lose weight, and despite claims for quick fat burning pills and powders, the best way to lose weight is still through proper diet and exercise. Exercise does more than just maintain physical fitness. Working out also builds healthy bone density, muscle strength, and improves joint mobility. It can also reduce general health risks, boost the immune system and help with depression and insomnia. Whether exercising is to lose weight, or improve muscle mass, working out is always a good idea to help promote a healthy body and mind. In this free video series, a personal trainer demonstrates a variety of Bosu Ball exercises. This unique fitness training apparatus is similar to a balance ball but has one flat surface connected to a round globe half. Using a Bosu Ball for basic exercises can increase core muscle strength and balance. Learn to do Bosu Ball push ups, lunges and squats. Get tips on doing planks, oblique crunches and basic crunches with a Bosu ball to increase the effect of each exercise. Pump up a normal workout routine by letting an expert demonstrate how to incorporate the Bosu Ball into any fitness regimen.

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm going to demonstrate how to do a lunge on the flat side of the bosu ball, with a lateral raise for your shoulders. First thing I'm going to do is flip the ball over, so that the round sides on the floor and the flat sides toward you. Take your foot, right in the middle of ball, and then slide it down towards the very end of the ball. And, you're going to drop yourself first into a lunge position. We want the weight into the heel, as opposed to the knee or the toes. So, as you're coming down, I'm going to show you the lower body execution first. Back leg needs to be tucked under, hip down, straight down towards the floor, two ninety degree angles running north and south. We're dropping down into our lunge, as you push up, push into the heel, as opposed to the bottom of your foot. You're going to feel the ball moving quite a bit, but that's OK. It's going to make you recruit the abdominal muscles, hands down by your sides. Weight selection, we want to be around five to eight pounds, if you just started. If you've been working out for awhile, and your shoulders are pretty strong, and you feel like you're pretty stable, go ahead and use between eight and twelve pounds. We're going to drop down into our lunge, and you can come up into a lateral raise. We've got a couple different variations on this one, bent elbow is modified, full version, extension through the elbows, is going to be a little harder. We're going to go down as we spring up, everything comes up together, everything comes down together. Ultimate goal is to stabilize, so that your knee does not go over your toes. Keep it in line with the ankle, inhale and exhale. Nice and strong motion up and down. If you feel like you're not stable yet, or ready for this one, put your foot flat on the floor and keep going. We're going to try to do between eight to twelve repetitions and two to three sets. Again, set up, foot's close to the back end of the ball, toe is right in the middle of the ball, right where the circle of the ball is, it's inhale and exhale. If you feel like your body's all over the place, re-adjust, so that your butt comes up on the ball again. Drop it back, tuck the hip under and continue on with your motion. Inhale to exhale, muscles that you will feel, mostly hamstrings and glutes, a little bit of your quad in the back leg, the one that's on the floor, a lot of work into the shoulders. So, we're doing this exercise correctly, you're going to get a lot of work out of it in upper and lower body and so you'll enjoy this one. So, this is how we do our lunge, flat side of the ball with shoulder lateral raises."