I thought people stopped doing this back in 2003, but apparently not. Brad Pilon recently emailed me to say he saw a trainer instructing a young athlete to do an exercise while standing on a Swiss Ball.
Clearly, the trainer is not smarter than a 5th grader. There should be a TV show for people like that...
Listen, there are no benefits from standing on a ball that you can't get from some other exercise that is exponentially safer than standing on an inflated oversized beach ball.
Plus, when you stand on a ball or a bosu ball on inflated disk, you reduce the amount of muscular force that you can generate. Its not rocket science. If you are training for fat loss, strength, or muscle building, there is no need to stand on a ball. If you want to join the circus, then maybe you have a point...
Bottom line: Standing on a ball to exercise puts you at SERIOUS risk of death. One friend of mine had a client fall off the ball and smack her head on the gym's wooden floor. You better believe he knows better now. And years ago, a well known trainer wrecked his ACL stepping off a ball - a completely un-necessary injury.
Training on ball equals JPS. (JPS = just plain stupid)
If you can't provide a good quality session for your client without having them stand on a ball in order to entertain them, then may I suggest finding something you are better at.
1 comment:
Also avoid using weights that could be dropped on your foot, it can put you at SERIOUS risk of death. And if you do call the wambulance... JPS!
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