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Her Active Gift Guide: “Both Side Up” With Bosu

Posted November 16, 2007 at 09:00 PM by Valerie Cerami

Section: Her Fitness, Athletics, Her Gear & Apparel

Gift-giving is everywhere this time of year, and Her Active Life wants to help you find or create that perfect, creative gift for your active friends and family. With our gift guide, the days of gym memberships and new hiking socks are long gone, and inventive new gifts (whether bought, made or experienced) are here, thanks to senior writer Valerie Cerami.

No one wants (or needs) another ho-ho-ho---hum gift this season. Step off the beaten track and skip on over to the novel side – Discover a place where “both sides are up.” Enter the realm of the unusual, usable gift idea…the BOSU.

BOSU™ is an acronym for “both sides up”. It is also a marvelously unique piece of fitness equipment. Beyond gadgetry and fads, this addition to any fit friends’ repertoire will be a hit. Be assured, it will never be in the company of the dusty, old ab-crunch doo-hicky – or the rusted weight bars in the basement. In fact, the only way this can be “re-gifted” is if you purchase another one for yourself!

BOSU is a bit of a hybrid, borne of the best qualities of existing fitness products. The main goal is balance – and the BOSU’s origin of usages inherently spring from a mix of functional and sports specific training regimens and areas in the medical field.

All areas of conditioning components work together to equal – the ultimate challenge – improved Neuromuscular physiology. What’s the point of that, you ask? Neuromuscular physiology explores and defines human movement, and is the science behind the BOSU approach to training. It has proven efficiency for overall balance development and enhancement. Balance is necessary not only for sports/recreation/fitness classes, but is essential for life – from the pedestrian crossing the street, to the quotidian hopping over a puddle.

This form of training is an unusual way to make exercise a more appealing and effective tool for: non-loving-exercise-un-enthusiastics, fitness professionals, medical rehabbers and highly trained athletes alike.

Improving balance is normally a tedious, frustrating task, but the BOSU makes the attempt enjoyable. And you will have numerous attempts to master the proficiency required. You must use (and be consciously aware) of every muscle in your body and how to precisely distribute your weight.

It may look bizarre, but this is outweighed by how curiously it works. It is a round platform (25 inches in diameter), with a firmly inflated rubber “dome” (like a muffin top). It has two recessed handles (tucked in and under the sides) for ease of flipping it over or carrying it. Offering differing types of a balance challenge, the platform side can be used either up or down. Beginners use “dome side up” (easier), a balance challenge similar to a seesaw, and the pros use “dome side down” (much more difficult), similar to balancing on a surfboard.

With the longevity of versatility (plus increased effectiveness), this is sure to be a favorite when compared to counterparts like the stability ball, resistance bands, yoga blocks and hand weights.

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Tags: athlete gift ideas, athletic gifts, bosu ball, bosu training, her active gift guide, holiday gift guide, sports gifts, strength training, women's gifts

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