Balancing board fun

Just thought I'd share a fun little thing I've been doing this winter.

A few months ago I wanted to supplement my exercise & kiteboarding learning with something fun & related to the sport; I was looking around online (wiki it), read about balance boards and the different types, so I thought I'd make myself one.

I made mine out of ply wood, 1200mm long x 410mm wide, shaped kinda like a kiteboard, I used pine to make 50mm wide rails shaped to the edge of the board and bought a cheap soccer ball to balance on.

Apparently these & similar types of balance boards are used a lot as surf trainers.
When I progressed into learning to get up on the board in the water, the balance board had given me that little bit of extra awareness of how the board was positioned & what I was doing with my feet & legs, which I feel helped me progress a little bit quicker than if I hadn't been using the balance board.
Obviously it didn't make me a kiteboarding champ straight off, that'll only come from on the water training.

I've gotta say, the balance board is a lot of fun to use, gets you puffing & gives you a good workout & exercises muscles that you may not normally be using in daily life.
It really improves your balance & body awareness, which has good carry on effect into your everyday activities.

When you first get on its tough just to keep your balance, lots of falling off , but as you get better you can progress to doing spins, 90 degrees, 180 degrees etc without letting the board touch the ground.
Apparently there's a lot of other exercises you can do with them as well, balance push ups etc, but I'm still having fun just trying to keep my balance on it & spin.

I highly recommend making one.

It's also good entertainment to get your mates on one after a few drinks. [}:)]

Cue the cheesy pic (ugly mug censored to protect your monitors):




P.S.- no, the thongs aren't joined onto the board, it's strapless- wake skate style ; I had thought about fixing some thongs to the board, but determined that it'd only end in tears

I didn't invent it, but you can pay me royalties if you want.

Spot on Oceanfire. Its seriously good exercise.
Clinical Pilates uses very similiar (but way more expensive) bits of equipment to develop core strength and balance by training all those reactor muscles to work better/more naturally.
I dont know all the right terms etc but it works magic. Get someone who knows to explain it to you. OR just do it!

And Oceanfire if you can find someone who does clinical pilates they could give you lots of different moves - all for different muscle groups, purposes etc.

try throwing and a tennis ball or a bouncy ball at a wall while standing on it, it destabilise you forcing you to constantly correct and it gives you something to do.

you can also mix it up, do it half squatting, standing on one leg, half squatting on one leg etc.

A bottle of rum will give you the same sensation

Hey, why dont you move it over to the swing set and you can practice unhooking too!!

Dont forget the death lease. In case it gets away from you.

wobble balance board from ebay........one setting only..........way too easy for someone with decent balance.

wish I had just made one.

wow i used to use one of those (a proper skateboarding one) when i work and skated for skatebiz back in 1997.

Ps make the board smaller u can do kickflips, shovets etc if u practice enough even just standing on it is excellent for ya balance

If you like that one, try it with a ball underneath instead of a cylinder.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_board