Likes:
- Lightweight
- Great for building balance and stability
- Can perform a variety of exercises on one disc or two
- Small and easy to store
Dislikes:
- The squishy surface is sometimes difficult to maneuver
- The small surface makes ankle rolling a possibility
Stability Discs are a great device to use in order to create an unstable surface so your body has to recruit more muscles and work harder when performing any given exercise. They are a great way to develop balance and core stability. These 13-inch diameter discs made from squishy rubber. They can be inflated to your liking.
Stability Discs are a very versatile piece of equipment. They are lightweight and can be used for a variety of exercises. What I like most is that they offer a feature that other core stabilization devices don’t, which is the ability to modify your stance width. The Reebok Core Board and Bosu Ball are other core devices that are also great for balance and core strength and can be used for a variety of exercises. But on each of those devices, you can only place your feet so far apart from one another. With Stability Discs, if you want the option of a wider stance, then simply use two Discs. Place one under each of your feet and you can place them however far apart from each other you like.
Stability Discs are perfect for squats. Performing this glute and leg-enhancing staple on an unstable surface increases the intensity and difficulty. But when you perform it with each foot on a Stability Disc, you get the added benefit of not only standing in a wider stance, which might make the exercise more comfortable (sometimes the roundness of Bosu Balls can be a bit disconcerting for exercises needing a wide leg stance as you might feel as though you could roll your ankle). Placing a Stability Disc under each foot actually makes the exercise even more challenging. A Core Board or Bosu Ball is a single surface that holds both feet. Therefore, both of your feet work together to stabilize on that surface. But when you place a Stability Disc under each of your feet, each foot has to balance on its own. Double the stabilization means double the work and thus your body has to recruit even more muscles and work even harder to keep the body stable. Although you could get the same effect by standing on two Bosu Balls or two Core Boards; the size, availability, and cost of those makes it less likely that two are available. The Core Board is approximately $200 whereas the Stability Disc is only $20. I don’t know about you but I’d rather purchase two Stability Discs.
The Stability Disc is a great way to create an unstable surface for a wide variety of exercises to build both balance and core stability. They are small, lightweight, and very functional. But be careful, the small, squishy surface makes it easy to step off and potentially roll an ankle. I would suggest practicing just standing on the Stability Disc and getting used to the surface before performing exercises with added weights in your hands. Once you get the hang of it, you will see the effectiveness of performing exercises on a Stability Disc.
