The ‘wobble board’ or balance board isn’t some new levitating device (though it may be a relatively new training product) and you won’t see it in some sci-fi film.  It won’t take you anywhere quickly, but over time, it might take you closer to your fitness goals.  And in the end, you might be amazed at how quickly it helped you get there.

Its construction is simple: the wobble board is a wooden platform suspended by a round or otherwise shaped rubber or plastic piece.  However, like a significant number of other high-powered training tools, the wobble board, though simple in design, can provide some good whole-body benefits to those who want to tone, train, and hone their body’s systems, or anyone who just wants more balance in their life…and who doesn’t?

Physicians love the wobble board as a therapy for ankle injuries.  Used in a proper context (not too soon after an injury, for example), the balance board can create a wide range of motion and help a weak ankle regain its strength by challenging it in natural-feeling ways.  In fact, some studies have shown that use of the balance board can lessen the chance of re-injury, making it a fixture in those swanky PT offices that post-surgical patients are referred to, and in the homes of those who want to beat a recent ankle strain, sprain or surgery, where they help thousands of us stay fit and avoid injury, as long as they’re not left out on the stairs.

But the benefits of wobble board training go beyond that specific physical therapy option: one of the great qualities of this board is in simulating what some might call dramatic motion.  What’s this? 

Well, like a skateboard, the balance board keeps you on your toes.  An individual working out on a wobble board can get the same use of reflexive actions that a skater whiz kid might get rolling down a banister or ‘getting air’ on the edge of a concrete staircase.  Unlike a skateboard, you can’t wipe out off of a wobble board.  Okay, you can, but you won’t have as far to fall, and since you’ll be stationary, you won’t get gravel rash, or get moved along by gruff old-school police officers, or crash into somebody’s dog…the list goes on.

Like a skateboard or other recreational device, the board helps your body strengthen itself in a variety of subtle ways by creating a low-scale resistance.  As you struggle to remain aloft, or gracefully alternate your stance, a lot of your body’s muscles are working together, building overall functionality and training you for better balance, which is why some other groups, like gravity-challenged restaurant servers, might also be able to get a lot out of this home training option.  Whatever your reason, you can find a variety of shapes and sizes that will test your balance and give you a unique workout anywhere you can find a little bit of floor space.