Are you looking for a new hobby? Then try out balance boarding. Maybe you still think this is only something for kids, teens, surfers or skaters. But far from it: a balance board is just as great a fitness, balance, and fun sports tool for adults. It is extremely versatile, you will achieve quick training results and have a lot of fun - whether at home or outdoors, alone or with friends. We'll show you what to look for when buying a balance board so that you can soon call a suitable balance board for adults your own.
Balance boards are available in a wide range of models. It can be difficult to keep track of them all. And even harder to choose the right one. With a clear summary of the different models, we would like to bring light into the darkness for you. But there is one thing we can say in advance: As different as the balance boards may look, they all work very similarly. It's all about keeping your balance on a (very) wobbly surface. With this simple principle you train many things at once: balance, deep muscles, coordination, motor skills, reaction time, your general posture... and much more.
Let's first look at the footprint of balance boards for adults, but also for children. Here there are round boards, which, with a hemisphere as the bottom, are mainly suitable for light wobbling exercises as well as a supplement to a workout. With them you can, for example, increase the difficulty of your push-up or other exercises. However, you can't really board on them, you need another shape for that: the so-called rocker shape. This elongated standing surface is also slightly curved inwards on both sides. So it offers you a very good stand and also perfect "flight characteristics" for jumps, flips and tricks. But more about that later. Between these two shapes - round and rocker shape - there are of course numerous gradations, e.g. without camber, with more or less width as well as varying length. The main consideration here is who will be standing on the board later on. A balance board for adults must offer a certain standing area, whereas a balance board for children can or must be smaller and thus lighter.
Now we come to the base of your board, which provides the wobbly movement. Here, too, you can choose between different shapes. They not only offer you different degrees of difficulty, but also slightly varying rolling or wobbling properties. With the ball, especially with the board-mounted version, you have a very good footing and only have to do a little balance work. With a roller it becomes more demanding. The smaller the diameter, the more effort you have to put into balancing. But the more potential it offers you. When buying a balance board, you should keep in mind that the power curve on the balance board usually goes up very steeply. So it can happen to you that you stand with a hemisphere already after a week slightly bored on your board, and then have to spend money again for a roller. We therefore usually recommend the same roller, but in a slightly thicker version. With it you can try everything from light wobble exercises to cool tricks.
So much for the balance boards for adults or children. For the sake of completeness, we would like to mention two special forms that often go under the label "balance board", but strictly speaking are not. On the one hand, there is the balance rocker, which can be found more and more often in children's rooms. It is very well suited for little balance artists, as it stands firmly on the floor in the middle and the raised sides serve as a standing surface. This reduces the risk of accidents enormously, although this is of course no challenge for adults or even athletes. We often find the mostly air-cushioned balance pad in the area of regeneration or therapy. Here the wobbling effect is much less. Small and for that very controlled movements are supposed to help with muscle building after an operation or an accident.
After this short overview, we would like to give you our recommendation for a suitable balance board for adults. We focus on the shape of the board and the roller on the one hand, and on the material of the board on the other hand. The shape of the board, as we already mentioned above, should be elongated and curved on both sides, as this gives you the most options for your workout. From workouts to balance training to tricks, everything is possible with the rocker shape on about 75 x 30 centimeters. It's the same with the roller as a base. If it has a diameter of about 10 centimeters, it's easy to get started and even as a pro you won't get bored. When it comes to the material, you should definitely make sure that it is robust and has been processed to a high standard. Thin boards are light, but also quickly broken when you make a more daring jump. Our wahu balance board for adults and children, for example, is made of 100% wood in 12 stable layers and with scratch-resistant real wood veneer. With this construction, material and clever shape, it fulfills three wishes at once - like a surprise egg:
Let's look at the three different uses of your balance board I just mentioned, one after the other, starting with the fitness aspect. A balance board for adults is a fitness device in its own right that you can use specifically for your workout with the right exercises. This way you can train different muscle groups or complementary to your sport. This way, you as a skater, snowboarder or surfer don't have to miss out on your board experience in bad weather. You train with the wahu board simply indoors and at any time, for example with a focus on your stabilization.
Especially for all sports that require a pronounced balance, such as ballet, yoga or gymnastics, a balance board for adults is ideal as a training supplement. This is because wobbling trains the deep muscles that are so important in the movement sequences of these sports. But a strong sense of balance is also necessary for everyday balance, e.g. when walking over uneven ground, lifting groceries or even jumping over a puddle, in order to avoid injuries. As we age, balance tends to diminish, in which case specific training can be helpful. If you have already suffered an injury, for example to your ankle, you can support regeneration with suitable exercises on the balance board for adults and effectively rebuild your muscles.
A little tip: Take a look at our beginner's guide and the many other exercise instructions.
The balance board for adults is not only suitable for different workouts, but also guarantees a lot of fun. Numerous cool exercises, jumps, flips and tricks are just waiting to be mastered by you. Of course, you can do this in the comfort of your living room or together with friends. Grab your wahu balance board with roller or hemisphere and start a trick challenge. If the weather is nice, you can of course go out to the lake or into the garden. If the weather is bad, just turn up the music within your own four walls. While you're at it, be sure to try our five balance board tricks for beginners!
So that you can soon really enjoy unadulterated balance board fun, we have compiled all the aspects that you should pay attention to when buying. A balance board for adults must:
