You can add the Bosu Ball to many movements but this is not always a good idea. Find out how to do Bosu Ball squats and whether they are good.
As the name implies, Bosu Ball squats involve doing bodyweight squats on one of the two sides of a Bosu Ball.
No matter what side you do them on, Bosu Ball squats tend to challenge your balance, ankle muscles, and core muscles more.
Besides that, you still work your quadriceps (front thighs), glutes (butt), and hamstrings to some extent.
The result of this combination is that you are only working on each of these areas in small amounts.
This does offer some benefits but Bosu Ball squats are not that great compared to keeping your compound leg exercises, ankle exercises, and core workouts separate.
One thing you can say is that Bosu Ball squats can be useful for improving balance.
How to do a Bosu Ball squat
As you can expect, you need a good Bosu Ball to do this squat variation.
Besides that, you can do the exercise while standing on either side of the Bosu Ball. As an example, take the following steps to do a Bosu Ball squat while standing on the flat part:
- Put the Bosu Ball on the ground with the rounded part downward. Stand in front of it with your face toward the ball.
- Put one foot right next to the center of the flat part of the Bosu Ball.
- Put your second foot on the Bosu Ball and move your feet until they are about shoulder-width apart.
- Slowly lower your body as far as comfortable by folding your knees. Keep your spine more or less straight.
- Raise your body in a controlled motion until your legs are slightly less than stretched.
How far you can comfortably go down during Bosu Ball squats will depend on the strength of your knees. There is no shame in starting with smaller ranges of motion to prepare your body for bigger efforts.
Muscles worked with Bosu Ball squats
Similar to the regular version, the main muscles you work with Bosu Ball squats are your quadriceps (front thighs), glutes (butt), and hamstrings (back thighs).
By adding a Bosu Ball you make the squat work your core and ankle muscles slightly more.
Especially if you put the Bosu Ball with the flat side on the ground, the muscles around your ankles will have to work a nice amount.
Even if you are using a different piece of fitness equipment, you still have to work the muscles above enough to see growth and strength results.
A big downside of Bosu Balls in squats is that the extra balance requirements make this hard to do.
Even for leg resistance training beginners, the balancing required will take attention away from training the leg muscles as much as possible.
Benefits of Bosu Ball squats
Bosu Ball squats are typically not recommended unless you are interested in training balance but you can still say doing the exercise can offer positive effects.
Some of these benefits are:
- Better muscle endurance: Even if you don’t reach the point of muscle growth, Bosu Ball squats can help you improve endurance in a few muscles.
- Can help with losing weight: Doing Bosu Ball squats will likely use up more energy than your typical activities. In combination with good lifestyle habits, this can lead to weight loss.
- Balance & coordination: By adding the Bosu Ball to squats, you train your balance and coordination more. This can also lead to more improvements in these areas.
- Can help you avoid injuries: Strengthening your ankle muscles to a larger extent with Bosu Ball squats can help you avoid injuries in this area.
You can likely find better exercises for these benefits than Bosu Ball squats but the positive effects are still worth mentioning.
Doing Bosu Ball squats will at least typically be better than sitting still.
Bosu Ball squat alternatives
By now, you are likely wondering what some of these more effective Bosu Ball squat alternatives are. A few of these include:
- Other squat variations
- Step-ups
- Jump squats
- Balance board exercises
- Bulgarian split squats
- Lunges
What muscles you want to focus on and what exercises you like doing will influence your choice between these Bosu Ball squat alternatives.
Are Bosu Ball squats a good exercise?
Bosu Ball squats can be a good exercise for training your balance.
For working your leg muscles, balance, ankle muscles, and core muscles you can not really call Bosu Ball squats a good exercise.
The main downside of Bosu Ball squats for these other training areas is the challenging balance of the movement.
This makes it harder to really work your muscles to the extent that they grow and strengthen. Especially if you need to add weights to squats to see progress.
And even if you want to stick to Bosu Ball leg exercises, there are more effective options than squats.
Besides that, more standard leg exercises are often even better for growing and strengthening your quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings.
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FAQ
Are BOSU ball squats effective?
No, BOSU ball squats are generally not that effective for growing and strengthening muscles. One thing you can say is that BOSU ball squats can help you improve balance.
How do you squat with a half ball?
You squat with a half ball by simply doing the movement on one of the sides of the half ball. What side you choose influences your training focus somewhat but both sides are an option.
