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 – 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 – they'll just be even harder! As you try more advanced exercises, you may want to re-enlist your spotter and move back to softer surfaces.

Balance Boards for Agility and Strength

One of the best, and safest, ways to work on balance, agility, and core strength is to use some sort of balance board. This can be as simple as walking forward and back on a two-by-four board. The wobble board is a simple and traditional training tool. Athletes may want to move on to something more advanced. If the wobble board becomes too easy for you, or you just want variety, get a board with more options and more angles so you can continue challenging yourself.

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!

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.

The Bongo Board is Still Here

Balance training devices have been around for a long time, though people may have originally used them for skills training, or just for fun. A good example of this is the Bongo Board, which was first used by surfers and skiers, and is now also used by skateboarders, in-line skaters, gymnasts, and snowboarders, and still by people who want to have fun. Riding a Bongo Board will automatically strengthen your core and improve your reflexes without you having to do anything special.