It’s that time of year when the New Year’s Resolutions start to fall off, and we start to get cabin fever. Maybe you’re unmotivated and disheartened because it’s cold and you haven’t seen the sun in what seems like forever. It’s important to create laughter and get those endorphins going to keep you moving through the rest of the winter! Seasonal Effective Disorder can be debilitating, but you can beat it by having some fun with exercise!

So grab a buddy, grab your BOSU^® Balance Trainer and put a smile on your face!

Here are five fun exercises you can do together. As you move through them get creative and come up with some of your own exercises! 

Balance TrainerBuddy Pushups

Begin facing your buddy, both in a plank position with hands on the dome of the balance trainer. Slowly lower into a pushup, rise back up, and “clap” opposite hands. Repeat on the other side. Do this five times.

Balance TrainerBuddy Burpees

Begin facing your buddy, both in a plank position with hands gripping sides of the balance trainerwith the dome side down. Step or hop up to a squat with feet on either side of the balance trainer then lift the balance trainer and tap the domes together. Place the balance trainer back on the floor, and step or hop back into the plank position. Do this five times.

Balance TrainerBuddy Knee Ins

Begin in the same position you started in for the balance trainer. While remaining in this plank position, draw your right knee into your chest as your buddy draws their left knee in. Repeat on the other side. Do this five times on each leg, for a total of ten times.

Balance TrainerBuddy Ball Pass

One buddy stands, while the other sits on the floor with bent knees, feet on the dome of the balance trainer. The standing buddy then tosses a medicine ball or any kind of ball to buddy on the floor. This buddy catches the ball, takes it overhead and slowly lowers the back to the ground, tapping the ball overhead on the floor, rising back up into a sit-up position while tossing the ball back to the standing partner. Do this five times and then switch positions. 

Balance TrainerBuddy Ball Around

Both buddies sit on the dome side of the balance trainer back-to-back. Buddy #1 holds a medicine ball or any kind of ball in front of his or her chest. While twisting at the waist this buddy hands the ball off to the buddy #2. Buddy #2 then takes the ball, holding it at chest-level, and twists to the other side, handing the ball back to buddy #1. Do this five times.

Start from the beginning and run through each exercise a second time. Do it a third if you are up for it!

There’s nothing more fun than adding a buddy to a balance trainer workout!

Amina Daniels is a high energy fitness professional, who champions her Detroit based cycle studio, Live Cycle Delight and Yoga/Pilates studio LCD Hot. Amina holds fitness certifications in RYS200 from Kripalu, Group Strength, Personal Training, TRX Camps, TRX Group Fitness, TRX Rip Trainer and Indoor Cycling by Schwinn Bikes and Real Ryder.