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[title]If you’re looking to spice up your Pilates regimen, challenge your balance with Upside Motion’s new BOSU conditioning class. It incorporates the BOSU ball – a rubber exercise ball that’s flat on one side and curved on the other – into traditional Pilates exercises. This tool adds an element of instability to your workouts, forcing you to use your core to remain steady.
We gamely go for the 60min session led by Valerie Ho, the BOSU-certified resident Pilates instructor at Upside Motion. First off, cardio. Ho demonstrates nimble jumps that look deceptively simple. On our turn, we wobble about unsteadily on the BOSU ball and hesitantly bounce up and down. Perhaps this isn’t so bad after all. We jump around in circles next, then proceed to lose our balance and fall off.
Our next activity involves striking a one-legged pose with our arms stretched overhead to work on our abs. Executing this pose on an unstable base proves to be quite a challenge – we manage to stay on the BOSU for a grand total of five seconds before falling off. We spend the rest of the time using the BOSU in various Pilates exercises that work on our core, arms and legs. We feel the burn creeping up, and all our muscles start to protest vehemently. We can barely keep up with the exercises, and by the time class ends, we’re completely sore.
The BOSU ball significantly increases the difficulty of regular Pilates exercises, which, even when executed on a stable platform, can work up a sweat. But don’t just take our word for it – get out there and try it for yourself.
The class is held every Mon, 4.45-5.45pm, and Sat, 8.30-9.30am, at Upside Motion’s Orchard Studio. $49/three classes.