stability fitness training

10 years ago when I began work as a personal trainer, I was introduced to piece of kit called the Swiss ball (also known variously as a fit ball or other such monikers). The Swiss ball was invented as a toy back in the 1960's in Italy but popularised in Switzerland as a physiotherapist’s tool. Many physiotherapy departments around the world employ Swiss balls as a rehabilitation aid. As a tool for physical fitness they made the leap from the physiotherapy department to gymnasiums in the 1990's when a chiropractor and strength coach called Paul Chek began to popularise their use in the United States. Since then they have become popular in gymnasiums around the world.

Various DVD's, books and magazine and web articles have been devoted to their use. Their use has also become a source of controversy within the fitness industry where there is a great potential for misuse - often when individuals use them without instruction(or with faulty instruction which is just as dangerous) - and when not using the correct body alignment(which can place shearing stress on joints).

The first time I tried using a Swiss ball I fell off it! I had attempted to do a press up with my feet balanced on the ball with no previous experience in using the device, which is a rather poor first choice bearing in mind I had never used one before! I was trying to replicate a movement I had seen in a popular fitness magazine and was in for a rude awakening to the realities of instability training. Since then I've become far more experienced in using the Swiss ball and various other balance devices. Having Personal Trained a large number of individuals, and having run classes in which we utilised the Swiss ball and another pieces of equipment such as the bosu ball, (bosu stands for both sides up, as in shape it resembles half a Swiss ball with a flat underside or topside depending on which way up you use it), I feel I have a great deal of experience in using unstable training devices.

The spherical nature of the Swiss ball (and Bosu) makes it inherently unstable and therefore the very act of sitting on it can be quite challenging for those who encounter problems with balance and coordination. It is possible in time to master a whole host of exercises utilising the ball where one is lying on the ball or has one's feet or knees balanced on the ball (or hands or elbows). The degree of movement with the ball is determined by one's range of motion and ability to control the ball. Unlike machine training the ball can travel in any axis and therefore creates a challenge to the motor controlled muscles which is not readily achieved with the use of resistance training machines (with exception of cables which can be used in a multi-angular fashion, rather than being tied in to certain range of motion). The training effect also differs in recruitment patterns of muscles from those achieved using free weights. It is quite possible to develop a high degree of balance using the ball where some practitioners including myself are able to stand and squat down on the ball. I even know an acquaintance who can jump over a skipping rope a number of times while stood on the swiss ball. This of course carries a great risk of injury and I did once fall off the ball while standing on it (although I would like to point out this has only happened once after many sucessful attempts with no prat falls!). Falling off is always a risk which is why I would only perform this stunt on the matted area or other such area where one is liable to have a soft landing. It does of course have a limited carryover to functional sporting ability unless your sport takes place on a highly unstable platform, for example in surfing or snowboarding.

Some trainers and coaches will argue that free weights are an inherently better training tool than the Swiss ball in that they build strength in a more measurable manner, demonstrated by the fact that the stronger you are the more weight you can lift. It is wholly correct that the more weight one can lift the stronger one is, and this is the whole basis of the sports of power lifting and weight lifting. However, most other sports rely on other attributes besides just absolute strength. This makes perfectly rational sense but misses the whole point of the Swiss ball and instability training. The point of instability training is not to train purely for strength but to develop functional strength for sports or everyday activities. Proprioceptive ability that is the ability of muscles and joints to sense alignment during movement plays a large role both in sports and everyday life. This is why martial artists and boxers with high levels of technical skill can often beat stronger opponents (as in the case of Mohammed Ali beating Sonny Liston and George Foreman by using superior tactics to overcome their superior physical strength and power). While training absolute strength and speed strength will always be the basis of athletic training, I see no reason why training proprioceptive ability should not be included as the basis for sporting preparation and also to improve the tasks of daily living. As part of rehabilitation, sensible use of instability training can accustom patients to lifting and carrying objects across uneven surfaces and terrain.

It is also argued that the Swiss ball is overused in the gym and I would concur with this criticism as many people start free weights on the Swiss ball when they have not even mastered the basic form when freestanding or using the bench. Also performing some free weights exercises on the Swiss ball has no significant advantage to performing them on a bench and is also much more inclined to cause injury.

Let me provide some examples of the uses of stability training. I, for instance, train on gymnastic rings and use body weight exercises - some of which are taken from Indian wrestling styles and basic gymnastic drills - and train with free weights. In addition to using traditional bodybuilding routines, I also use a skipping rope and train with the three section staff. I also use a device called an indo board. I've also used and taught the use of Kettlebells and medicine balls. I feel I get different benefits from using different pieces of equipment.

For instance three of the body weight exercises I regularly perform are chin ups, dips and press ups. I could train the same muscle groups in using free weights and machines by utilising the lat pull down and bench press. Both approaches will allow me to stimulate muscle growth through applied resistance. However, using the machines will have less functional carryover. I also perform the above body weight exercises on the gymnastic rings as well as performing a large array of other upper body exercises. These have a great functional carryover to activities such as climbing which weight lifting and resistance machines training do not. This is not to say that machines and free weights are useless (as this is quite demonstrably far from the case) but rather to say there uses may be limited in preparation for certain types of physical performance.

In fact at the works climbing centre in Sheffield they have a set of gymnastic rings for the patrons to use. Using the gymnastic rings also integrates the use of muscle firing patterns rather than isolating them which in turn has a greater carryover to function. Isolation training goes against the grain in preparing for a sporting activity where one uses a whole body in unison, activities such as throwing the javelin or discus, or performing a pop-up while surfing are involved using a wide range of muscle groups in a highly co-ordinated manner. On first using the gymnastic rings people often comment on how they feel different muscles coming into play in familiar exercises for instance when performing press ups on the gymnastic rings one feels exercise more in scapular and in the abdominals than one would with a regular press up. The archer press up performed on gymnastic rings is more challenging still strongly involving the scapular intercostals trapezius and bicep muscles recruited to a degree which is not achieved even with regular press ups on rings. On the rings one can perform exercises through a range of leverage which provides a mechanical disadvantage to the muscles which therefore allows individuals to train weak links as part of a kinetic chain of movement (that is to say involving the whole body, in unified motion).
Most sports rely on a mixture of strength flexibility, and technical skill to improve performance.
The skipping rope is another excellent piece of equipment to use to improve footwork for a whole range of activities and whether you be a boxer dancer or footballer. Other devices that can only help improve timing and coordination include poi, nunchucks, the Bo and three section staff.

The indo board is another unstable training device. It is similar to what is known in the circus is a rolo bolo and consists of a plastic roller and a solid piece of wood with stoppers at the end. The device trains balance and coordination to a very high degree and carries the warning to train at your own risk. It's primarily used as a balance trainer for surfers but also improves balance from other sport professional athletes involved in all kinds of board sports use on a regular basis. Some practitioners even use weights on the indo board in the same way people use weights on the Swiss ball this may have some uses, but I have to question whether the risks far outweigh the benefits. Personally no longer use weights on the Swiss ball anymore at this very reason. However I sometimes use the medicine ball both throwing and catching the medicine ball whist stood on the indo board. I also use an unweighted barbell while squatting on an indo board but would never use heavy free weights using on either device.
However strength coach John Davies trains using the indo board and Swiss ball with barbells and kettlebells which promotes through his books DVDs and website. There is no arguing with the functional strength and ability he displays in using these methods and his applications to sports of choice which are surfing snowboarding and skateboarding. He also regularly trains professionals in the NFL. So the choice and risk that you take is very much up to the individual.

For those who have never used instability training devices before I would recommend caution. One is likely to find oneself profoundly sore the first time after using gymnastic rings the indo board or the Swiss ball for the first time. The best idea would be to find an acknowledged expert to give you instruction before undertaking any of these exercises. Take note of whether the instructor can carry out the exercises himself as I find it doubtful that anyone can pass on a skill they cannot perform themselves regardless of certification which to my mind is highly overrated. In fact if an instructor has taken part in a particular sport which they are instructing their advice will no doubt be invaluable as I have gained much knowledge from instructors who have competed in sports themselves but have no formal qualifications than some of those we numerous certification but little practical experience.
(As an aside I find it interesting that M.I.T
now recruit graduate students who have practical hands-on experience as well as written qualifications to their postgraduate programmes)
Many instructors are specialists and will know their area to a high degree but may be unaware of other training methods and although this is not necessarily always the case.
When first introduced to kettlebells three years ago I questioned the merits of their use as first sight they just look like an unusually shaped dumbbell. However when I first started using them I soon discovered you can have a highly effective work out in a short amount of time using them. One of their primary advantages is how one can transfer from one exercise to the next whist still using the same piece of equipment. They're very useful to both pure strength training and for what is known as complex lactose tolerance training which falls halfway between resistance training and cardiovascular training and is extremely taxing. Exercises can also be performed at speed where changes and acceleration can be useful training specific skills.

Exercises such as the Turkish get up involve lying on the floor and then lifting a weight overhead as one stands up this is challenging to a whole host of muscle groups whilst challenging balance and coordination at the same time.
Doing walking lunges whilst performing presses at the same time is also very taxing exercise as is the renegade row which involves performing a press up followed by a row with the kettlebell.

A large number of exercises performed with Kettlebell's can also be performed with the dumbbells and medicine balls (with or without handles) however this does somewhat change the feel and affect the exercises and although they make a valid substitute I feel the use of Kettlebell's is still merited on occasions where one wants to develop speed and strength concurrently. Nonconforming objects also make exceptional training tools. One of my favourites is the sledgehammer which is great at a training power in lateral rotation. Lifting half filled beer kegs is also a useful training method and is very applicable anybody training in a grappling martial art.

I often wonder why the use of unstable objects has been so controversial within the fitness industry as really these devices have been around for centuries. Medicine balls then gymnastic rings had been around since the ancient Greeks to use them to train at the original Olympics. The Kettlebell has been used in Russia centuries and has long been a mainstay of their athletic training programmes. But the unstable objects the speedball floor-to-ceiling ball and skipping rope have long been used in boxing training. I feel that the correct use of unstable and nonconforming objects can greatly improve fitness training programmes and also making them more fun and challenging.