UPDATE: The Halo Trainer is now available through Amazon or MERRITHEW.com.
What It is: The Halo Trainer is a handy apparatus that you use with a stability ball, with other equipment like a BOSU ball or even on its own. You can put the Halo under the ball for better stability when sitting or doing planks. Placing the Halo on top of a ball—sort of like handlebars—makes for better ergonomics when doing pushups and similar exercises.
What You Might Not Know: The Halo Trainer was invented by practicing physical therapist Bryce Taylor. You’re looking at a thoroughly thought-out tool designed and tested by a true expert, who developed more than 200 exercises to go along with it.
Feelin’ the Love: I was lucky enough to first try out the Halo under the supervision of Bryce the inventor. He showed me how to do a bunch of common exercises using a stability ball but with a Halo twist. I was pleasantly surprised at how I could really concentrate on good, solid shoulder stability during planks when the Halo was under the ball. 
Then, when Bryce flipped the Halo out from under the ball and placed it, handle-bars up, on top of the ball, it was a whole new, well, ball game where planks were concerned (this time done with straight arms and beautifully neutral wrists, thanks to the Halo’s comfortably padded handlebars).
Probably my all-time favorite exercise, though, was triceps dips with the Halo Trainer securely perched on top of the ball. It just felt so right compared to doing dips on a ball without the Halo, where hands sink into ball-squish, wrists all awry.
If I Could Change One Thing: Like with any piece of equipment that’s meant to “go with” something else, there’s a learning curve to using it and also it’s not as “fluid” going from one exercise to the next. You have to take a few seconds to re-position the Halo from time to time, which isn’t bad, just more challenging for those of us with Type A personalities.
Should You Buy It? This fitness tool is good for anyone doing rehab or in need of a better way to position wrists during most bodyweight exercises, including Pilates-inspired workouts.
If you’re looking for a useful accessory to spruce up the stability ball, bodyweight or BOSU ball exercises you already do—or a way to take them to the next level—trying the Halo Trainer is a good start.
$89-$150 for one Halo Trainer at Amazon or MERRITHEW.com. Also available at Amazon Canada.
