Unstable Surface Training, Bosu balls, etc.

So since Alysha and Andy brought up the topic the other day, I wanna share some resources for you guys. I’ll be brief in my explanation, since the articles I’m gonna post go into great details.

My take on it is that it’s generally useless (bosu balls, wobble board, etc). It originates from rehab settings where people injure their ankles and it’ll help strengthen their ankles after they had ankle sprains. The only time I think that it might be of a little help is if you’re surfing or when you’re riding pow (both of which have unstable surface), and you’re training to improve your balance (even then it’s still arguable whether or not it’s transferable to the sport). If you say, “oh I wanna train my core” then do an actual core exercise instead of squatting on a Bosu ball. As far as snowboard specific training in the weight room, there’s no such thing. Sport-specific training, is basically looking at a sport, seeing what energy system they’re using, and what type of movement they’re doing (NEVER try to mimic an exact sporting movement in the weight room). I don’t wanna go to a lot of details here but stick with the basic exercises like squats (back, front, goblet, etc.), single leg variations (bulgarian split squat, reverse lunge, single leg box squat, etc.), and lots of posterior chain exercises (single leg romanian deadlifts, deadlifts, KB swing, pull throughts, glute bridges, etc.).

I’m a trainer in Vancouver and if anyone is interested in training sessions just PM me. I hope this helps.

http://www.t-nation.com/training/bosu-ball-the-good-bad-and-ugly

http://www.ericcressey.com/unstablesurfacetraininghtml

http://www.strengthpowerspeed.com/balance-training-or-balanced-training-which-is-more-stable/

Interesting reading for sure. I will show this to Michelle.

Thanks for the links, Rico.

No problem Jez

You know, to follow on from this, I find the really popular acrobatic kinda style of workout vids really annoying right now. Like, those clips of couples doing really strange workouts together.
For some reason, they just bug me and they are so unsafe (for the regular ‘Joe’)!!

What’s wrong with lifting weights, working on cardio and doing some old school yoga every now and then?

It’s all wacky nowadays.

/rant.

@lulu: You mean calisthenics workout? I think they’re cool, it’s just a way of progression of doing bodyweight exercises right. I mean for a lot of people doing regular pullups is boring, so why not do them side to side, do it while making it look like you’re climbing stairs, do some muscle ups in the process, etc make it fun. There are also competitions for that, freestyle pullups, pushups, etc. At least what they’re doing is legit, unlike this bosu stuff.

EDIT: and yes they can be unsafe for the regular joe if they don’t have the necessary strength to do it and if they don’t progress properly.

So I have been using bosu balls and balance boards almost my whole life. I come from a skiing, and squash background and having trainers throughout my career in those sports. When it comes to the bosu ball I think it all depends on how you are using it. In most cases it’s used for balance in conjunction with strength. I use an upside down bosu ball for balance squats. If you are just doing it for the leg work out then it’s not necessary to use the bosu ball.

I know many trainers who use these methods and clients seem to respond very well to the exercises. There are always going to be new studies that tell you some exercises are now bad when they have been great for 20-30 years. There are always new fads and new things you should and shouldn’t do. When it comes down to it, I feel your body knows best. To each their own I guess.

There are now many studies about crossfit being bad on the body now too, but that doesn’t stop anyone from trying it out. Everything in moderation is fine, as long as you mix up the exercises.

Just my thoughts.

@just giver: I assume you’ve read the articles I posted. But what’s the point of doing squats on a bosu ball? When you’re skiing, skating or any other sports for that matter you are moving, it’s dynamic balance. With bosu balls there’s a lot of static balance and you can’t apply enough ground force (or should I say ball force in this case) to improve your strength. That’s why the only sport I can think of that can benefit from balance board is surfing. When you’re playing sport, skiing included, you want to be stable. Stability by definition is your ability to resist disruption of equilibrium. Think of it as a football player, they are stable, able to resist forces from multiple direction. A person walking on a tight rope is trying to maintain balance, you can push them off with a finger and they’re gonna fall.

As far as mixing up exercises, I disagree with that. Sure you want to rotate exercises to avoid burnout or plateau, but you do not want to just “mix up” exercises just for the sake of mixing it up. The very basic principle of of exercise is the principle of overload progression. How can you progress if you keep changing up the exercises?

And for Crossfit. I’m indifferent about it. There are so many bad coaches (heck you can be a crossfit coach in 1 weekend, a “sport” that has multiple disciplines in it, not to mention the highly technical olympic lifts), which is where all the bad press is coming from. There are also really good coaches that progress their Crossfit clients safely and not have them do WOD all the time.

I highly suggest everyone to buy the E-Book from the link I posted above. You will learn so much more that what I could post here. Eric Cressey is a highly respected strength and conditiong coach in the fitness industry. His E-Book on unstable surface training is basically his master’s thesis. I can honestly say I will be never be convinced that Bosu balls or any other balance trainer is superior to stable surface training in a healthy population when there are overwhelming amount of research that shows otherwise. I even bought a Vew-Do balance board in the summer just to try it out and see what it’s about. Is it fun? Yes. Do I think it’s helpful? No. Feels totally different than snowboarding.

thanks for those links .it will help