Disclosure: I was gifted a Terra Core from Terra-Core Fitness in exchange for a review and feature here on the blog. As always, my opinions, text, and workout creations with the Terra Core are my own. I genuinely love this piece of equipment (it's soooo versatile and fun to use) and I hope you do too!

You guys, I'm SO EXCITED to introduce you to the Terra Core. If you saw my sneak peek on Instagram yesterday, you'll know I'm STOKED - talk about awesome new pieces of fitness equipment... this one takes the cake for my new favorite! It was released in early 2016, so it's still a relatively new fitness tool, but it's catching on, and I have no doubt you'll be seeing these in every major athletic club and fitness studio around over the next few years (so get in on the action early!).

Seriously though, I've been playing around with this thing for a few months now, developing some great workouts for you - soon to be a new series on the blog because I love it so much. This baby is here to stay, so get ready - challenging and fun workouts are coming 'atcha, starting with number one on Friday!

So, what is it?

The Terra Core is like a combination of a balance/stability trainer (like the Bosu), a bench, and a stepper... plus a LOT more. It's an oblong piece of equipment that has an air-filled dome on the top, providing instability when stepped or jumped on. Unlike most other stability trainers that have a flat, mostly unusable bottom surface, this one has a BUNCH of versatile features like power grip handles, long metal bars for carrying or lifting, and grooves along the curved edges to hold all kinds of resistance tubing.

The top dome is made of a thick, smooth plastic and a rougher plastic to provide some traction. It stands about 10 inches tall from ground to top, and weighs 28 pounds. The base is incredibly sturdy and well-made, and the oblong shape provides a lot more surface area to work with, for example when doing wide-stance squats, lying down for crunches, or using as a bench. It's definitely a portable piece of equipment, too, so you can take it with you to a park or move it outside for a change of scenery. Below is a picture of the Terra Core in relation to my feet for size comparison (don't mind the dust on top - I filmed a workout with this outside on the porch):

Possibilities on both sides!

Underneath, the Terra Core offers SO many possibilities for exercises. (It's actually been an exciting challenge to put together workouts because there are endless options running through my head!) At each end it has smaller power grip handles to perform, say, bent over rows, push ups, or a clean and press (yes, those are all included in upcoming workouts!). The longer metal bars that run parallel to it can be used for push ups, rocking back and forth in a plank for some ab work, or just for carrying it around. You'll also notice the molded grooves along the rounded edges... those are slots to hold resistance tubing when the Terra Core is dome-side-up - a great feature to easily transition from a move on top to immediately using the band, or to use as a bench prop for supine work. I won't go into too much detail about all the exercise possibilities in this post since there will be a whole workout series devoted to this tool (starting Friday!). So stay tuned for those, but keep reading because you guys get a special reader discount!

Special discount for blog readers!

The Terra Core is a bit on the pricier side of exercise equipment, running $199 plus tax. But I'm happy to share 15% off using code INFITINHEALTH at check out, bringing it to $169 plus tax. With all the possibilities of exercises (over 250!) and workouts you can create with this thing, it's a REALLY great addition to for your home gym or fitness studio.

And for all my fellow trainers and instructors out there, Terra-Core Fitness has partnered with the American Council on Exercise to offer certifications in Terra Core classes and training! CECs using an awesome piece of equipment? YAAASS! The certification and classes will be coming out soon (I can't wait), but in the meantime, check out ACE's review and first thoughts about the Terra Core here. Stay tuned here on Friday for the first in the Terra Core workout series - a plyometric EMOM (every minute on the minute)... it's a quad & glute burner for sure!

For more information on the Terra Core, visit the Terra Core Fitness website, and check out their Instagram for some awesome Terra Core workout videos!

Readers: chat with me! Have you heard of the Terra Core before? Does anything about it intrigue you? What exercises would you like to see? If you're a fellow trainer/instructor, do you think you'd be interested in becoming Terra Core certified? How do you think your clients/classes would like these? Hope you all have a great rest of your week, and I'll see you back here on Friday for a killer workout!