Being a former gymnast [1], I'd like to think my balance and stability [2] is still on point. In reality, though, I'm not as nimble as I used to be (she says as a mid-twenty-something), so I'm always up for a challenge to build that stability and get stronger. During an interview with The Ultimate Surfer semifinalist Malia Ward I had last month, she mentioned that BOSU ball squats help her work on balance, but they're not just any BOSU ball squats: she does them on the flat side of the ball, making the surface particularly unstable.
Ward inspired me when she said she performs these BOSU ball squats — weighted and bodyweight — with twists. "That helps me practice for when I want to turn my body on a wave," she explained. Sure enough, I needed to test these twists out for myself. They challenged not only my core strength, but also my lower- and upper-body strength (I felt it in my upper body when holding a dumbbell). And don't even get me started about the stability aspect. Brutal!
This move is advanced; however, you can modify it by doing the twisting squat on the ground, which still requires you to engage your core and channel your stability. I've incorporated the BOSU ball squat twists into my workout circuits or added them as finishers. I don't own a BOSU ball, so I've been utilising my Terra Core [3]. It's similar though is more of a cylinder shape and has a wider range of uses.
Ahead, check out footage of how I did bodyweight and weighted BOSU ball squat twists on either side of my Terra Core — because I couldn't just balance on the flat surface from the get-go. I had to work my way up. I did not shy away from this challenge despite the difficulty, and I learned a new move in the process that I'll keep doing in workouts to come.
Squat and Twist on a BOSU Ball / Terra Core
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed slightly out. Hold your hands at chin or chest level. This is your starting position.
- Keeping your back flat and core engaged, push your hips backward, bend your knees, and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
- At the bottom of your squat, twist your torso to one side. Try to keep your knees facing forward.
- Twist back to centre, and with your weight focussed on your heels, push yourself up to the starting position to complete one rep. Alternate your twist to the other side on your next rep.
Weighted Squat and Twist on a BOSU Ball / Terra Core
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed slightly out. Hold a dumbbell at chin or chest level (I used a 15-pound weight here). This is your starting position.
- Keeping your back flat and core engaged, push your hips backward, bend your knees, and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
- At the bottom of your squat, twist your torso to one side. Try to keep your knees facing forward.
- Twist back to centre, and with your weight focussed on your heels, push yourself up to the starting position to complete one rep. Alternate your twist to the other side on your next rep.
Squat and Twist on a Flat-Top BOSU Ball / Terra Core
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed slightly out. Hold your hands at chin or chest level. This is your starting position.
- Keeping your back flat, push your hips backward, bend your knees, and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
- The flat surface here is harder to balance on than the "bouncy" side, so perform this move slowly and with control, keeping your core engaged.
- At the bottom of your squat, twist your torso to one side. Try to keep your knees facing forward.
- Twist back to centre, and with your weight focussed on your heels, push yourself up to the starting position to complete one rep. Alternate your twist to the other side on your next rep.
Weighted Squat and Twist on on a Flat-Top BOSU Ball / Terra Core
- Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart with your toes pointed slightly out. Hold a dumbbell at chin or chest level (I used a 15-pound weight here). This is your starting position.
- Keeping your back flat, push your hips backward, bend your knees, and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
- The flat surface here is harder to balance on than the "bouncy" side, so perform this move slowly and with control, keeping your core engaged.
- At the bottom of your squat, twist your torso to one side. Try to keep your knees facing forward.
- Twist back to centre, and with your weight focussed on your heels, push yourself up to the starting position to complete one rep. Alternate your twist to the other side on your next rep.