While crunches and sit-ups can strengthen your abs, they tend to fall flat everywhere else. 

For many fitness enthusiasts and those just starting out in the world of exercise, hitting the coreadeptly is an enormous priority. Whether you are seeking perfect abs, want to get rid of stubborn belly fat, or simply strengthen those essential muscles to relieve back pain, core routines are a main fitness goal across a myriad of workout routines.

While many folks believe crunches and sit-ups are the tried-and-true method to get abs and burn belly fat, they are not.

They do target the necessary muscles, but they don’t burn fat efficiently. Remember, there is no such thing as spot reduction. And even if you are intentionally targeting your abdominals, it’s always best to establish a workout that is broad enough to give your entire body some benefit.

In fact, crunches can often do more harm than good. Sit ups can lead to significant back and neck strain that will affect future workouts and the quality of your daily life. While having a strong core is great for overall health, you don’t want to trade your form, technique or spine to achieve this. 

Which leads to the million dollar question: How can I build a strong core and burn belly fat without hurting my back? 

Enter StrongBoard Balance® and StrongBoard MINI®.

One of the many wonders of StrongBoard Balance is how versatile it is. It will isolate and target your entire core musculature, while providing a full body workout and supporting proper spine

alignment in every position. The neck and back muscles that are being strained during an overload on crunches or sit-ups are strengthened directly while working out with StrongBoard.

When using StrongBoard in any exercise, you automatically activate a multitude of muscles just trying to stabilize. Since it’s impossible to actually stabilize on StrongBoard, your body is constantly working to find its own equilibrium. The instability created, once you stand on the platform and compress the springs, forces the most intricate muscles around the joints to engage. This will aid in the development of better posture, building on (and maintaining) essential core muscles for everyday life, and providing a complete and well-rounded workout. And because you are working so many muscle groups simultaneously, your body is on a calorie burning mission to deliver mass amounts of oxygenated blood to those working muscles. 

The endless versatility of StrongBoard allows for an everyday exercise routine that always aims for more. Anyone who is diving headfirst into exercise should consider a routine that does a lot with a little, and StrongBoard Balance is exactly that: a top-of-the-line tool that takes every workout to its maximum potential. It trains the entire body, central nervous system and expedites calorie burn. 

Did you know working out with your partner offers a ton of benefits?

• Having someone else there provides accountability.
• Exercise endorphins make you happy.
• Collaboration can increase your emotional bond.
• A mutual commitment to fitness establishes common goals and values.

So, grab your S.O., a bottle of water, and your StrongBoard(s) and try some of our recommended partner exercises – ranked from beginner to advanced.

V Sits with Counter Clocks (Beginner)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double Lunge SeeSaw (Beginner)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surfer Lunge with Partner Clap (Intermediate)

 

 

Squat and Catch (Intermediate)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Medicine Ball Rotation (Intermediate)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seel Drops – Extreme Plank Challenge (Advanced)

 

 

By Missy Berkowitz at DigYourDeepest

Like so many trainers around the world, I shifted my entire business model from in person to virtual back in March (of 2020). Fortunately, I have never been reliant on a whole lot of equipment, particularly machines. So transitioning has been seamless.

I am not exactly anti-machines but I do believe that for one, our own bodies are machines.  Secondly, there are other types of equipment that can do the job the same, if not better, than machines.

Machines have a tendency to isolate specific muscle groups, which is not a bad thing. For my style of training though, particularly now that clients are working out at home, I prefer and love equipment like dumbbells, kettlebells and resistance bands since they are so versatile!

Dumbbells can be used for curls, presses, squats, step-ups, carries… The list goes on and on. Especially since so many clients are working out in smaller spaces at home, being efficient with limited equipment is essential. I often program with one piece of equipment for a full-body workout that is challenging and hits all muscles.

I was introduced to StrongBoard Balance about a year and half ago and it has been the perfect complement to my training style and client workouts. It aligns so well with my ethos: be efficient in workouts, keep equipment minimal and be able to always challenge and level up. StrongBoard is so versatile and I have more and more clients of all ages and all levels getting on board.

I want to share my Top 3 Reasons my clients and I love our StrongBoards and how they are continuing to help us reach our fitness goals even from home.

1.) StrongBoard Balance levels up movements.

Often we think about “leveling up” in terms of adding weight and making something heavier. Or by increasing reps. Or maybe adding a plyometric element to an exercise. Take the air squat for example. It can be leveled up by performing holding a kettlebell as a goblet squat. Or it can be performed for higher volume. Maybe instead of 10 reps, do 15. It also can become a squat jump where as you stand up, you jump and explode.

The StrongBoard Balance is another way to level up an exercise. Air squats on land (as I now like to refer to doing movements NOT on the StrongBoard Balance as) can be tiring and challenging after a few. Try doing an air squat on a wobbly surface that requires you to really engage your core and legs to get full depth without falling off.  You will experience a new kind of physical and mental challenge to push through.

You could put together a workout on a StrongBoard Balance comprised of plank jacks, mountain climbers, squats, shotguns and push-ups. You could play catch on it with your kid. You could even put together an old school step aerobics routine using one. You can do yoga on it!

The list is endless and shows you can easily adapt exercises you are already familiar with to make them even harder as you level up your fitness.

2.) StrongBoard Balance builds confidence.

One of my fundamental training principals is to keep client’s workouts simple. If I gave 10 different movements to a client in every session, they likely would feel overwhelmed and like they weren’t actually progressing.

Instead, I rotate in the same movements for the first few sessions (and then start to sprinkle in new movements). I can use the movements they are familiar with and strategically progress them which offsets that anxiety kind of reaction that comes with learning new exercises.

The air squat, again, is a perfect example.  It can take many tries to feel comfortable and many sessions to perform them correctly and to full depth. The more a client does them, the more confident they become.

Once they are comfortable with a movement, I can level them up. An air squat becomes a goblet squat. And similarly, it can be done on a StrongBoard Balance. They recruit the same muscles to work harder on the board and it gives a client even more confidence that they rose to the occasion!

When anyone stands on the board for the first time, they feel wobbly and unsure of themselves, which is the intent. But once they understand how to stabilize themselves on it, and perform exercises on it, they get excited and empowered.

Doing movements on land are by no means easy, but they tend to feel more comfortable because, duh, they are on stable ground. Movements performed on an unstable surface, like the StrongBoard Balance, takes people out of their comfort zone, and that is what creates confidence.

3.) StrongBoard Balance fixes imbalances.

One of the reasons I love dumbbell exercises is because it helps identifies imbalances a client has. It is far easier to, for instance, to shoulder press a barbell and have an imbalance go unnoticed because at the end of the rep one way or another, typically the barbell is straight and parallel to the ground.

With dumbbells, in the same movement, it is far easier to see if someone is imbalanced as typically the dumbbells are going from shoulders to overhead at two very different speeds. Often, one is obviously lagging and a client will have one dumbbell overhead already before the second one makes it there.

The StrongBoard Balance is a great tool to help fix imbalances. If you want to stay on it and not feel all over the place in any movement, your muscles are going to have to work harder to maintain stability. And if one shoulder is weaker than the other, for example, it’s going to work that much more to get into the right position for a plank or push-up.

One of my awesome OG clients has a goal to get a push-up. She has that same imbalance I mentioned where her right side is stronger than her left. Anytime she does a push-up progression (like to a box), after about 5 reps, she inevitably caves into her left side and has a harder time pushing up. Not to mention, her form goes because both arms and shoulders are not working at the same speed.

So with her, I am excited to have her use the StrongBoard Balance as part of her strength work so that she will get a push-up! Movements on it like plank jacks and teeter totters (arms at the top of a push-up on the board and pressing one arm in at a time) are going to force her weaker side to work harder to recruit the muscles she needs for a push-up like her delts, pecs and triceps.

There are plenty of more reasons that support and embody my love for the StrongBoard Balance. It has really been an appropriate addition to my business, and I am excited to see so many more incorporate them into their own workouts.

Like so many things in fitness, the sky really is the limit. Anytime we discover a new tool or technique to help us hit goals and set new goals, we not only realize our potential, we surpass it.

by Cody Dean

One of the best things about StrongBoard Balance is the fact that it was made with all users in mind. While many stability trainers on the market are geared toward adult workout regiments made for specific orientations, StrongBoard’s unique and patented MULTI SPRING TECHNOLOGY™ adapts to whoever wants to get on board. The more weight added to each unit, the more the springs interact with the user and shape the way a workout can be achieved. 

 

While a full grown adult typically weighs in over 100 pounds, StrongBoard is extremely responsive and provides the perfect amount of instability for a full body workout.  Because the springs compress under any weight  bearing load, and the  energy created is equal to the amount of compression, persons who weigh less will not experience the same amount of shake and responsiveness as heavier bodies. However, this doesn’t stop kids from gravitating to the stability trainer, opening the door for fun exercise options outside of the traditional workout regimen. 

 

One thing’s for sure: younger kids love the feeling of spring-enabled toys. Every playground in the world has a bouncy horse or spring rider for a reason — they’re loads of fun. Kids can replicate this feeling and go further with a StrongBoard Balance, capturing the feeling of a spring rider and finding more nuance in its build for variance in direction. While a spring rider can just go up, down, back, and forth, StrongBoard offers a full range of motion and can go everywhere.

 

The natural wobble of StrongBoard is fun but it also provides necessary movement to help with Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder  (ADD / ADHD). When using StrongBoard the body is always moving, searching for stability. Because of the natural stimulation and movement StrongBoard offers, simply standing on it while reading or doing homework at a standing desk is an excellent outlet for the extra energy that comes along with ADD and ADHD. According to ADDitude magazine, movement is proven to help kids concentrate and focus, as well as an active (and proactive) way to deal with issues related to ADD / ADHD. If your child (or spouse) has ADD or ADHD you can read a success story about this relationship here.   

 

Anyone that takes StrongBoard for a ride will realize immediately that it forces you to have good posture – it’s impossible to stay on board unless your center of gravity finds an inner core equilibrium. Kids who are using the board to help with fidgeting are also gaining the added benefit of improving posture, balance, and equilibrium. Kids that are more naturally inclined toward sports and physical activity in general will increase their stability stamina, which will directly impact their sports game for the best.

 

Considering millions of kids are currently schooling from home due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, StrongBoard is an excellent addition to any student’s Physical Education curriculum. Older kids who are wanting StrongBoard to be their main source of exercise, with or without regards to the pandemic, will be happy to find thousands of different exercises available for free to follow along with on StrongBoard’s Exercise on Demand channel. For a lot of kids, trying to capture the same energy output they had when doing in-person physical education is nearly impossible – using StrongBoard throughout the day will get them back into the game of fun and healthy activity. 

 

Whether a rider is a full grown adult, a teenager, or even just a kiddo, anyone can find an essential use for StrongBoard. Be it expediting caloric burn in a regular workout or using it while at a standing desk for doing homework, the stability trainer can reshape one’s thoughts about finding their inner balance to benefit their physical and mental health.

Follow us on Instagram @StrongBoardBalance and check out #StrongBoardKids for inspo.