OPERATIONS STATEMENT
MOBO is operational and is excited to be part of your efforts to rebuild your body. However, the shipping industry is currently under significant stress and due to this, orders aren’t getting out of our fulfillment facility and to you at pre-pandemic timelines. Current shipping timelines for domestic orders are closer to 3-8 days for most orders, with Alaska taking significantly longer. We are still shipping to the UK, Europe, Australia, and NZ as well. Those shipping timelines do not seem to be as delayed as US domestic orders and typically only taking 1-2 days longer. We are quite sorry for this inconvenience, but with a little patience, we’ll get your MOBO to you as quick as the current infrastructure allows.
Why is the Mobo built from bamboo?
Not all unstable surfaces are created equal. The solid construction of the Mobo provides a hard-surfaced platform, the ideal training environment for learning better foot control. Proprioception is a sensory phenomenon that requires input. Unfortunately, squishy surfaces take away input. The firm surface of MOBO delivers instant feedback to your brain on your foot’s position. When you FEEL better position, you learn better position. This is part of the solution for improved foot control and stability.
Why is there a hole in my Mobo?
MOBO is designed with a hollow box under your little toes to prevent you from using a gripping strategy, and teaches you, and your feet, to drive your big toe down to find stability through your arch. More big toe activation equals more power.
Why does my Mobo rock?
people think that the solution to improving your foot control is all about standing on solid ground with your full foot. Well, that’s a great starting point, but there’s a big problem with this bias: sports aren’t about standing in place with full foot contact. Your foot is not static, but rather is dynamic. When running, cutting, and jumping your foot is only in full-foot contact for a tiny fraction of your stance phase. We need to train it to be stable through a specific range of motion. The axis of motion in your Mobo isn’t just random like in a wobble board. Mobo is designed to mimic the axis of pronation and supination in your subtalar joint. Because that’s how your foot actually moves. Its pretty simple: Instead of just wobbling around in space on a BOSU or a wobble board, let’s train your foot and an ankle in the way they were designed to move. Its a better learning environment for your foot for better results.
Is Mobo Foot Size Specific?
We designed MOBO to work with a wide range of foot sizes: from a Women’s 6.5 to a Men’s 12.5. If your feet are smaller or larger than this, you can still use the MOBO (my kids use mine!), but its best used for the sizes it was designed for. At this time, we don’t have a larger size MOBO. This may change, but not in the near future.
How does foot development help me run faster, jump higher and throw further?
While the bulk of the strength and control used to move us powerfully comes from the bigger muscles in the trunk and legs, that power must be transferred through a solid connection point at your foot. Research shows that specific aims to develop improved foot control result in better body control and athletic performance.
Does Mobo need to used with bare feet?
Yes. Simple question: Is it easier to tie your shoelaces with bare hands or with gloves on? Just as wearing gloves makes it more difficult to feel and interact with your shoelaces, wearing shoes and socks interfere with your interaction with the MOBO. When trying to learn skilled movement, its best to train your body in the best environment, which is barefoot.
Does the Mobo have a textured finish?
Yes. You need to stay on the board, not slide off. MOBO has a slight textured finish to give you grip for better control through your foot. Also, there is research that subtle increases in surface texture can improve position sense in the foot which improves stability. Its an integral design feature we’ve integrated in two ways: our newer laser-etched design and our original sanded top coating. Either way you slice it, texture helps you work better on your MOBO. And we always recommend training barefoot on your MOBO to get the most out of this texture.
What type of surface is best for MOBO?
There's no "bad" surface for your MOBO, but the surface you are on can provide several "levels" of challenge. At one end of the spectrum we've got hard surfaces like concrete and wooden floors. The fins of your MOBO pivot on these hard surfaces free and quick, and provide the most instability for a challenging training environment. At the other end of the spectrum you've got plush carpet. The soft carpet allows the fin on your MOBO to settle in, which slows down the wobble a bit to make it easier. Its also possible to find a "middle ground" by placing your MOBO on a bath mat, towel, or rubber flooring. And if your home gym area only has deep plush carpet, you can place your MOBO on a 2ft x 2ft piece of plywood if you are after a bit more challenge. These differences are small, but something you can feel, and a great way to change up the stress to your body.
What exercises can I do on the Mobo?
We love this question! The sky is the limit, use your imagination! MOBO can be used on its own, or with TRX systems, kettlebells, and weights if you want to add load to your movements. MOBO is a tool to make the way you move better.
To get you started, we’ve created specific exercises broken into different categories to help meet you where you are. Find the details under the exercise tab in the header.
Foot 6-Pack: Most people just don’t know how to find and use the muscles that stabilize and control the arch. These 6 moves will train baseline skills in your foot to move smarter, more precisely, and better!
Crazy 8’s: Feet don’t exist all by themselves, they are your anchor to the ground. So, let’s train your entire body together. These eight moves will get you to coordinate movement through your entire body. They magnify the steering control required in the core and hips to work with your feet.
Power Moves: are you ready for some more complex multi-joint movements for a more full body integration approach? check these out when ready to progress.
Rehab + Regressions: A lot of people carry some bad habits into their stability routines. Instead of cueing into their feet, they wobble their trunk. Or maybe you’ve gotten out of a boot recently form a foot injury. If the starting point in the Foot 6-Pack seems too intense, use the regression here. Sometimes to PROgress you need to first REgress to learn the fundamentals – these moves are more gentle that others on this page, but they’ll help you re-learn proper movement. If you are seeing a physical therapist, they can show you additional exercises that you can do on your MOBO as well. Foot and ankle control doesn’t need to be high effort to help in the early stages – it just needs to be specific
Lifting Form Fixes:Are you struggling to find proper alignment while doing a squat or deadlift? Using two MOBOs allows you to find and feel proper movement, ensuring you are steering, driving, and maintaining proper alignment with the muscles of the trunk and legs. Doing a few warm up moves on MOBOs before your primary lifting sessions will help your body move correctly while under load.
NEW: Follow-along workouts are now posted in the THOUGHTS page and in our IGTV and YouTube page for Foot Focus, Postural Control, Happy Hips, and Sturdy Strong Knees
What exercises should be avoided on the MOBO?
MOBO is built with durability in mind and rated to support 250 lb people (if your MOBO is 12mm thick -all units sold prior to Oct 19) or 350 lb people (all 15mm thick boards started shipping in Oct 19), but it is not for jumping. Jumping up on the MOBO will exceed its design specs and can lead to failure. Respect your MOBO and it will respect you!
Does MOBO improve balance and proprioception?
While these terms are used interchangeably, they are quite different. But - let’s not get caught in semantics! Improved skilled movement and performance starts with wiring your brain for feel and proprioception. The simple answer is YES!! MOBO will turn you into a little Ninja: nimble, powerful, and a force to be reckoned with.
Can I use MOBO for injury rehabilitation?
YES. MOBO is a tool that meets you where you are. If you are nearing the final stages of rehab and want to build your ninja skills, MOBO will provide that challenge. If you are in the early stages of rehab and can’t even stand on one foot, you can use MOBO under one foot and a block under the other (check out the Rehab section under the exercises tab). Research shows that training in a foot-on-ground approach (also called closed-chain) is a better way to build not just a foot, but an entire leg that is solid and works together to achieve your goals.
I’m still really wobbly on my foot, and feel like it keeps rolling outward. Can you help?
Most athletes tend to wobble on the outer side of their foot. And over time the joints and soft tissue on the outer part of the foot becomes stiff. This prevents your big toe from getting to the ground correctly, which prevents you from improving your foot control. In order to correct this, you first need to unblock the stiffness in your foot. Check out the “Is your foot locked?:” test on the bottom of the exercises page to see if your body has gone down this path. If you have, its actually really easy to fix. Using a simple Lacrosse ball will unlock your joints and improve the soft tissue mobility allowing better contact through the big toe. Spend a minute doing this exercise before you start your MOBO session. Stiff feet don’t work well. Put a supple foot into your training and, you’ll get the most out of your training.
Do I need one for each foot?
No. Your MOBO was designed to work with both feet. To work your right foot, insert the fins from the bottom so that the “R” faces up. To work the left foot, flip the board over and insert the fins from the bottom so that the “L” faces up. Thus most of the time you’ll be on one leg with one MOBO underfoot. However, having 2 MOBO’s on hand can be great learning environment for lifting technique (see Lifting Form Fixes under the Exercises tab) or for early stage rehab where standing on two feet is more stable than one.
When I insert the fins into my MOBO they seem slightly tight….or….they seem a bit loose – is this ok?
Your MOBO is just fine! Legos fit perfect every time because they are engineered from a precise mold. Conversely, bamboo is a natural material with subtle variances in tolerance. Some fins will fit just right, some fins will fall out on their own as you lift up the board, and some fins may be snug - requiring a slight push from the top of the board to release them when changing positions. This will not affect the performance of your board, or the benefit to your body.
How do I clean my MOBO?
Laser-etched versions: This finish is quite durable and very easy to clean. Just a light soapy rag or alcohol cleaner will get it clean in a few wipes.
Sand Traction Coating Versions: feature an environmentally friendly and non-toxic grip coating. It’s the old adage though: the stuff that causes cancer is bombproof and lasts forever. The healthy stuff takes a bit more TLC to avoid removing the traction coating while cleaning. We recommend either hydrogen peroxide or light soap and water and a gentle rubbing (too hard and you’ll pull off the traction coating). In light of increasing sanitization concerns with COVID-19, some clinics have been using alcohol-based cleaners. We’ve heard that these are working well when you let the alcohol do the work and not scrub the board, but again hydrogen peroxide seems to work better. Air dry works great.
A note on International Shipments
To our friends in Canada, across the pond, and down south in Australia and NZ. We are so excited that you share our excitement for MOBO. While we wish that borders were seamless, getting information online is still significantly easier than getting hard goods across borders. Please note a few things: In additional to your purchase on this site: You will be charged an any respective VAT taxes/fees, plus an additional $15 processing fee by our international carrier, and while not common - please be aware that there is a chance your shipment will be held by your carrier and/or at the border. Soon after shipment, you should get an email from DHL on how to pay these fees, and clear your shipment for prompt delivery. Please ensure you provide a cell phone, and not a home phone, at check out as DHL sometimes texts updates.
Return Policy
We will accept returns on new and unopened boards with the purchaser covering return shipping to MOBO, plus a 15% restocking fee. If you’ve been using your MOBO and your board becomes damaged or if you think its defective, please email us and we’ll get you sorted.
Warranty
We are here to help, and your MOBO is durable. We’ll cover you for 18 months from date of purchase. But we are also real people living in real life - if something is up after 18 months, let us know and we’ll see what we can do.