Working out on a balance board for hockey is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Not only does it help you to build your balance skills, but it also helps to develop strong core strength. Core strength is essential for balance and mobility so when you strengthen your core, you actually strengthen your whole body. Once you get the hang of balancing a balance board, you can push your workouts to the next level and get even more out of every minute that you spend training.
Here are a few workouts that you can do on a balance board that will help you build strength and stamina.
Balance Board Squats
Balancing on the board is one thing, but doing squats while you balance is a big step upward. Once you are ready to push yourself to the next level, go ahead and do it.
The way to do squats on a balance board is to just relax and not think to hard about what you doing. You will already be balanced on the board, you just have to put a little bit of imbalance in your step and recover from it. That is how you build.
Stand on the board so that your feet are somewhere around shoulder-width apart. Depending on the length of your board, and how much space you have to work with, just do the best that you with it.
Once you are in position, just go ahead and squat down in the squat position. The best way to do squats is to put your weight on your heels and squat down. This can help to take pressure off of the knees. If you squat on your toes, it could cause pain or discomfort in your joints later on. It may be more challenging to balance on your heels than on your toes, but just try it…and be careful… you are balancing on a board.
Balance Board Pushups
Doing pushups on a balance board might not sound like an effective exercise, but go ahead and give it a try. You might end up learning a new secret to blasting your core muscles while you build your pecks and shoulders.
You can do pushups a few different ways on a balance board that are great for your body. Get creative and try some new ways that aren’t listed here.
- Pushup off of the board:
Put the board, while balancing on the roller on the floor in front of you. Place your hands on opposite sides of the board, then balance yourself on the board with your shoulders. Do a pushup from that position and see how it feels. Repeat 20 times, if you can.
- Pushup off of the floor:
Reverse your position by placing your toes on the balance board in the same way you have them on the floor when you do pushups. Now, push yourself up from the floor while keeping yourself balanced on the board where your toes are. Do a couple of pushups there and see how it feels. Repeat 20 times if you can.
Conclusion
Once you get accustomed to working out on your balance board you can push yourself to try different things that will force you to gain strength and muscle memory. Squats and pushups are just a couple of great suggestions, but you can use variants of just about any exercise and try it on a balance board. Have fun with it and maximize all of your workouts
***Sniper’s Edge Hockey loves Canada! We proudly ship all of our products to Canada and offer the same return policies as we do for everybody else. We realize the exchange rates for the Canadian dollar are not the best right now, so we’re trying to help by giving you free shipping and no customs/duty.***