Balance toys with SkiErg?

[floatingbones]

I know the owner of Fitter1; I contacted him on twitter (@fitterfirst) to see if they had interest in trying their balance toys with a skierg. I looked with c2's skierg locator; there are about a dozen skierg machines in the Calgary area.

If anyone is in the area and would like to experiment, they should contact fitter1 directly. I'm guessing they could arrange a rendezvous with some of their stuff.

I'm really curious if it would be possible to use the skierg while standing on their weebles (http://www.fitter1.com/catalog/items/wb11.aspx). These are single-foot wobble boards; they require far more adductor engagement than other wobble boards.

[carlb]

These are single-foot wobble boards; they require far more adductor engagement than other wobble boards.

I would think using a slideboard doing a skating exercise would provide far more leg adductor exercise, as well as improve ankle and knee strength and stability. I don't think its possible to combine slideboard and Skierg.

I would be curious about what happens with various balance and wobble boards on the Skirerg. The stand platform is a hard somewhat slippery surface so that may cause some problems if the round bottom of the board is hard plastic. Will standing on the board reduce the double poling effort, i.e. giving up cardio for balance? Would be harder to get up on toes, board would tip forward. But if it works the obliques harder (or other stabilizing muscles) that would be interesting. I don't think I want to work my ankles or calves harder. For some variety might be fun.

ExRx has a page on balance training and I would say it is negative on it for sports training, more for rehab.
http://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/Balance.html

Google "The effects of ten weeks of lower-body unstable surface training on markers of athletic performance" and there is a 34 page PPT that describes balance vs stability training. I would say it was negative on balance training. Google will let you view it as a PDF, here's the PPT.
http://www.cnhs.umb.edu/documents/UMASS ... bility.ppt


There's a picture of a guy doing bench press laying on a ball holding 100 lb DBs. That's crazy, more than one person has been seriously hurt when the ball failed under the 400+ lb load.

[floatingbones]

These are single-foot wobble boards; they require far more adductor engagement than other wobble boards.

I would think using a slideboard doing a skating exercise would provide far more leg adductor exercise, as well as improve ankle and knee strength and stability. I don't think its possible to combine slideboard and Skierg.

Well, that's kinda the point: the mini wobble boards are something that could be used with the Skierg, since your feet are not moving. These weebles engage adductors far more than any other balance widget.

I would be curious about what happens with various balance and wobble boards on the Skirerg. The stand platform is a hard somewhat slippery surface so that may cause some problems if the round bottom of the board is hard plastic. Will standing on the board reduce the double poling effort, i.e. giving up cardio for balance? Would be harder to get up on toes, board would tip forward. But if it works the obliques harder (or other stabilizing muscles) that would be interesting. I don't think I want to work my ankles or calves harder. For some variety might be fun.

Louis thought their beginner soft board ( http://www.fitter1.com/Catalog/Items/WBSB.aspx ) would be a good bet. I love the Airex blance pad for other apps; I think it would be very good. I hope fitter1 can hook up with someone soon to try out the skierg.

ExRx has a page on balance training and I would say it is negative on it for sports training, more for rehab.
http://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/Balance.html

Nice resource page. Airex pads are becoming popular for free weight work in many gyms.

Have you ever looked for published research papers on this topic?

There's a picture of a guy doing bench press laying on a ball holding 100 lb DBs. That's crazy, more than one person has been seriously hurt when the ball failed under the 400+ lb load.

The Duraball pro is rated for 1,100 lb dynamic rating and 4,400 lb static load. If that's not enough, the MaxBall is rated for 750kg dynamic and 5,000kg static.

Even with those material ratings, lifting those kind of weights on a ball sounds rather crazy.

[carlb]

Well, that's kinda the point: the mini wobble boards are something that could be used with the Skierg, since your feet are not moving. These weebles engage adductors far more than any other balance widget.

I don't see how the mini wobbles could do much (if any) hip adduction, everything I've every seen shows that movement pivots from the hip with the foot or knee moving http://exrx.net/Articulations/Hip.html#anchor846250

The mini wobbles are fixed on the floor so the articulation is in the foot/ankle, I think it's called inversion. http://exrx.net/Articulations/Foot.html#anchor821475
Also what happens with a sprained ankle. That PPT URL slide show in my last post covers foot instability. I think it concludes that unstability training is great for rehab of ankle problems, but has no place in training.


On a slideboard the way the feet move apart then must be pulled together against your body weight does hip adduction. I have one and use it for a minute warm up before weights. I feel sore in the inner thighs. If you're looking for that training the slideboard is it. I think it also works knees and ankles well too, for the skate.

If you're looking for something interesting on the Skierg I'd be interested in what people think that have tried it.

[floatingbones]

Well, that's kinda the point: the mini wobble boards are something that could be used with the Skierg, since your feet are not moving. These weebles engage adductors far more than any other balance widget.

I don't see how the mini wobbles could do much (if any) hip adduction, everything I've every seen shows that movement pivots from the hip with the foot or knee moving

Yes, the weebles are very different; they're challenging in a way that other wobble boards are not. They call for lateral stability in a way that no other balance toy I've seen.