The BiziBoard is the ideal way to improve balance, suitable for beginners, it also provides a challenging workout for intermediate to advanced, depending on how it’s used.
Balance is fundamental to everything we do, whether sitting, running, carrying parcels or just standing still and it’s something that so many of us take for granted. It’s a natural movement category that should come naturally to us, but whether due to our current lifestyles or previous trauma, it’s often missing.
I was never really a big fan of Balance Boards, personally. I found that they’d only challenge me in the first two to five minutes, then I’d have the hang of it and be unsure of what to do next. Of course, that’s more because of my sports and yoga background (which already both improve balance), than any reflection on the boards themselves.
Once I got to know a bit more about the BiziBoard, I started looking at how else to incorporate it into one’s lifestyle that would increase the benefits, provide more of a challenge to those who have already aced it and keep someone like me engaged for more than five minutes.
One way is to combine it with a standing desk, of which I’m already a big fan. Sitting at a desk for prolonged periods of time (in fact, just being sedentary for too long) can bring with it a whole host of orthopaedic issues. A standing desk is a great way to avoid these issues and using a Biziboard in conjunction to the standing desk, well that’s a full body workout! We spend so much time at our desks anyway, so why not turn it to your advantage?
The BiziBoard includes the half round (as opposed to the full round) pin on which to balance the board – ideal for balancing while you work. You don’t need to worry about falling and injuring yourself, but it’s still a challenge to keep your balance while focusing on work too (a little bit of brain gym – bonus!).
I decided to push the envelope by attempting some yoga on the Biziboard and I was pleasantly surprised! You can do most yoga asanas on the board, whether balancing on your feet, hands or sitting – there are so many options! And it proved to be quite a serendipitous challenge too: it adds another layer to your yoga practice. It actually aids in focusing the mind so that when some asanas become easier over time (potentially allowing the practitioner to lose focus), the Biziboard adds just enough of a challenge to sharpen that focus without it being difficult enough to become a distraction.
If the thought of attempting yoga on a Biziboard scares you, but piques your curiosity anyway, keep checking in on my blog or social media. I will be offering a free introductory Biziboard yoga class soon, if there’s enough interest.
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BiziBoards Benefits
Improved Agility & Motor Skills
Balancing on the BiziBoard improves agility by improving balance in a fixed position under shifting conditions. This in turn improves your ability to stabilize your body and allows you to make quicker transitions, thereby improving reaction time.
Co-ordination is also improved, enabling you to move more fluidly from one position to another.
Injury Prevention
Whether in the sports arena or at home, most injuries are a direct result of poor balance or co-ordination.
Training with a BiziBoard also helps to strengthen key joints, therefore preventing injuries such as ankle sprains. Regular training on a balance board helps to strengthen and improve flexibility of the ankles, thereby reducing the risk of related injuries.
Core Muscle Development
BiziBoard training targets the core muscles constantly. The imbalance of your position on the board keeps the intercostals, abdominals and infraspinatus firing while you make tiny adjustments to stay standing, thereby stabilizing them.
These micromovements are a great, low-impact way to keep moving, even when working.
Improves Posture
A stronger core leads to an improved posture, helping to reverse all the damage of sitting hunched over at a desk, giving you the strength to straighten your shoulders and properly align your joints. Which, in turn, reduces injuries to areas such as the back.
Brain Improvement
Improving your balance and posture also improves your brain’s ability to focus. Co-ordination between your brain’s two hemispheres and perfecting fine motor skills depends on your body alignment – known as "vestibular processing". Balance training forces you to constantly use these neural networks to co-ordinate mind and body, in turn boosting your ability to learn.
It also improves your subconscious ability to sense joint movement and body perception (proprioception) via receptor nerves in muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints.
Strengthening Smaller Stabilizer Muscles
It’s not just the larger core muscles that are activated with the Biziboard. As soon as you start balancing on the BiziBoard, the smaller stabilizer muscles (e.g., chest, thighs, back) are immediately activated. Exercising on a flat surface, these muscles are not called into play, but as soon as you are on an unbalanced surface, these muscles contract.
Already doing regular weight training, squats, push-ups, etc.? Challenge yourself: try them on a BiziBoard and see the difference. Already doing push-ups with your hands on the BiziBoard? Balance your hands on one BiziBoard and your feet on a second Biziboard for push-ups to get maximum benefits! See below for more exercise ideas.
The BiziBoard also boosts the mind-muscle connection, forcing you to be fully engaged in your workout. To maintain your balance, you can’t afford to lose focus for an instant. Your mind becomes more tuned in to what your body is doing.
Great for Kids
In the same way that the BiziBoard can benefit you, it helps kids of all ages too. Being so low to the ground and using the half round pin to balance makes the BiziBoard safer than many options in the playground (but parental supervision is still recommended).
Exercises to try
Starting with feet hip-width apart, try to maintain perfect posture, keeping your feet pointed straight ahead. When you’re able to stand still and keep your balance, try moving your head side to side, as well as rotating your eyes left to right and up to down.
Once you’ve mastered this, you can try the following:
- Mini squats
- Catching a ball (with a partner or bounced off a wall)
- Side to side tapping the board on the ground
- Kneeling
- Plank
- Push-ups (hands on board)
- Half bridge (feet on board)
Buy your BiziBoard now and receive a 10% discount until the 10 September 2021:
