Balance Trainer Lateral Dome Squats
The Balance Trainer Lateral Dome Squat is a lower-body stability exercise where you perform a wide-stance squat with one foot elevated on a BOSU ball. This movement targets the quadriceps, glutes, and inner thighs while significantly challenging your balance and core engagement.
Stability exercises tax the central nervous system differently than standard strength lifts, and fatigue can quickly compromise form. The AI analyzes your RPE and performance data to ensure you aren't training to failure where balance might fail, potentially leading to injury. If your recovery metrics like HRV or sleep quality indicate high systemic fatigue, the app can intelligently recommend a stable floor-based regression to keep you safe while still training legs.
Form Cues
- Place one foot firmly on the center of the dome and the other on the floor
- Keep your chest lifted and core braced before descending
- Push your hips back and down as if sitting into a chair
- Ensure your knee tracks directly over your toes on the elevated leg
- Drive through the heel of the elevated foot to return to standing
- Don't let the knee of the working leg collapse inward
- Don't round your lower back or hunch your shoulders forward
- Don't rush the movement; momentum reduces the stability benefit
- Don't allow the heel on the BOSU ball to lift off the surface
Common Mistakes
- Allowing the knee to cave inward (valgus)
- Rounding the upper back
- Rushing through the repetition
- Placing the foot on the side rather than the center of the dome
- Leaning too far away from the balance trainer
Muscles Worked
This exercise primarily strengthens the quadriceps and glutes by forcing them to generate force on an unstable surface, which increases muscle fiber recruitment. The lateral stance also heavily recruits the adductors (inner thighs) for stabilization, while the core muscles work continuously to maintain an upright posture against the uneven footing.
Primary
Secondary
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