The Bongo board provides even more dynamic balance training.
A Bongo board looks like a skateboard, but it has a single rotating wheel that allows you to maneuver it in any direction. It provides an even less stable surface than does a balance board or a wobble board, and is s great for improving balance and coordination, and for toning the muscles that are used to maintain stability. Training on Bongo boards will help you learn proper distribution of body weight to achieve constant equilibrium, and that makes it a great training tool for skiers, snowboarders, skateboarders, surfers, boxers, runners, golfers and soccer players.
Bongo boards create dynamic instability: start slow and put safety first.
Because the Bongo board creates such dynamic instability, it is very, very important that you have a spotter ¨C a friend or a trainer - until you are accustomed to the motion of the board. Also, remember that the Bongo board moves faster on harder surfaces. Start on a grassy or carpeted surface, then move up to a spongy surfaces, such as a mat or a weight-lifting floor, and then tackle very hard surfaces once you have mastered your basic balance. Most balance board exercises can be performed using a Bongo board ¨C theyˇŻll just be even harder! As you try more advanced exercises, you may want to re-enlist your spotter and move back to softer surfaces.
You can change the level of difficulty by changing your work-out conditions.
While performing an exercise, gently move your head up and down and side to side while keeping your eyes open. This changing field of vision will place greater demands on your proprioceptive organs. Another, even more difficult variation is to perform the exercises with your eyes closed. Taking away vision, a key input to your balance, will make your other sensors work harder. Make sure you have a spotter!