Are you looking for a piece of affordable workout equipment that is not only easy to integrate into your daily routine, but also a lot of fun? Are you looking for a way to spice up your rehab-sessions and gain a lot of benefits for your patients?
Adding a wobble board to your daily workout/routine doesn’t require a lot of time to change things up. It is not only the perfect rehabilitation tool, but its countless possibilities and benefits will blow your mind.
There is so much more to a wobble board than balance exercises.
If you ever had a sprained ankle, weak ankles, back pain, overall weak muscle tone (especially core, thighs, calves and lower back) or a lousy body posture, you are well-advised to implement a wobble board in your daily routine.
Wobble boards can be used alongside other training exercises to enhance and maximise your efforts and strength. Placed under a desk, your workspace or if you simply sit on a couch watching TV, a wobble board helps you to keep your ankles mobilised and therefore helps to prevent injuries.
As we said, it doesn’t require a lot of time or effort to change things up. But the small changes make the difference. It is also widely used in rehabilitation due to its versatile properties. It is whole-body training that not only reduces the risk of injuries, chronic back pain and bad body posture but at the same time enhances stability, strength, endurance and coordination. Professional athletes, physiotherapists and sport beginners are thrilled about the wobble board.
Benefits
What are the benefits of using a wobble board? We could fill pages to list all the benefits that come with using a wobble or balance board. Take a look at the following:
Great for proprioception/body awareness
How to improve your body awareness? Proprioception refers to the perception or feeling of self-movement and how all parts of the body relate to each other. Sensory receptors transmit inputs to the brain that are received from the outside. Once a movement is learnt, it’s not easy to unlearn. A wobble board triggers the proprioceptive receptors enormously, because one must constantly adapt to unexpected, ever-changing movements.
Strengthens connective tissue / fascia
What is fascia, and how to work with it? Fascia is a connective tissue that fuses all internal body parts (organs, muscles, ligaments and so on) from head to toe. When blockages occur, circulation of body fluids such as blood and lymph can be impaired, which can lead to pain, under-supply, tight spots and many more. The wobble board is designed to provide whole-body training, which strengthens the fascia magnificently.
Enhances stability, strength & ROM
How to improve strength, balance and range of motion? Exercising on a wobble board brings countless benefits. One is that it improves your basic stance enormously. You feel more grounded and secure in walking on even and uneven surfaces. It strengthens joints, ligaments and muscles and simultaneously increases your range of motion.
Exercises
We have gathered the top 5 moves for you to make you feel healthy and balanced.
Get ready for the Wobble Board:
Place the wobble board on an even and dry floor in front of you and sit down on a chair. Place your feet on the board and play ‘around the clock’ with it while sitting, to get a feeling for the range of motion. Adjust the interspace between your feet as it feels good to you. The wider, the easier. The closer, the harder.
1 BASIC STANCE
Place the wobble board on an even and dry floor close (you should be able to move freely) to a wall or a steady object. For support and balance hold on to the wall or stable object and place your right foot at the outer right edge of the board. Find balance and put your left foot on the outer left side. Play ‘around the clock’ with the wobble board and when you feel safe, stand freely without holding on to something. It might take a while to figure it out.
Make sure to align your spine, draw the shoulders back and away from the ears and engage your core.
Always come back to the steady object for support if you need to. Try to play around with the board (as you did while sitting) for 1 minute.
In the beginning, the edges will still touch the ground, but the longer you play with it, the more comfortable you can let the edges ‘hover’ above the ground without letting them touch the floor.
2 BACK AND FORTH & SIDE TILT
Find your stance at the board as described in #1. Now, tilt the board forward and backwards by letting the edges touch the floor. Always hold on to something for support if you need it. Tilt back and forth for 30 seconds.
Come back to centre and tilt the board sidewards by letting the edges touch the floor. Tilt from left to right and from right to left for 30 seconds.
3 SEMI-CIRCLES
Find your stance at the board as described in #1. Tilt the board forward, so it touches the ground. Draw with the edges of the board now semi-circles (‘half around the clock’) on the ground starting from left to right and from right to left. Semi-circle for about 30 seconds. You can do the semi-circles in all four directions (left, front, right and back). Per 30 seconds.
4 BALANCE PLANK
Place a yoga mat on the floor and your wobble board on the ground above. Come down on your knees and place your hands on the board. Make sure to keep your hands on the board and not on the edges to prevent squeezing your fingers in between ground and board.
Find your balance on the board by adding more weight to your upper body. Slowly and with control, step your feet back and come into a plank position. Keep your elbows close to your sides, and do not exceed a 90° angle. Make one straight line with your body, engage your core and hold that plank for 10 seconds. Pause. Repeat for another 15 seconds.
5 BALANCE LUNGE
Hold on to a steady object and place your right foot in the middle of the wobble board. Find your balance and step your left leg back into a lunge position (take several steps if you need). Draw your shoulders back and away from the ears, lift your chest, engage your core and keep your hips square. Pay close attention to your lower back here to avoid overarching or pain. Do not exceed a 90° angle in your knee and keep your knee in one line with your ankle. Place your hands on your right knee for more support. Hold this position 15 seconds and repeat it on your other leg.
Summary
You are looking for a cost-effective and versatile tool that helps you to enhance your muscles strength and reduces chronic back pain? Take a look at our new Meglio wobble board that offers you precisely what you are looking for.