Unstable surfaces training and evidence performing resistance exercises on unstable equipment will make an individual more proficient at performing resistance exercises on unstable equipment but may not enhance the performance of sports skills Ref.: Willardson JM. The effectiveness of resistance exercises performed on unstable equipment. Strength Cond J 2004; 26: 70-4. There is a lack of evidence to suggest that balance from free weights or use of unstable surfaces shows any transference to sporting improvement, and explosive movements are also not recommended as they present a high injury risk and no greater benefit than slow, controlled weight training There is no evidence that supports any form of balance transference between performing exercises on unstable surfaces to any other movement pattern or skill, whether sporting or otherwise. Indeed, Lederman [122] discusses specificity and transference citing studies that have failed to show any strength or balance improvements in training on unstable surfaces, other than enhanced strength/balance on that exact unstable surface. Ref:. Fisher J., Steele J., Bruce-Low S., Smith D. Evidence-Based Resistance Training Recommendations. Medicina Sportiva 15 (3): 147-162, 2011. The addition of unstable surfaces in push-up training does not provide greater improvement in muscular strength and endurance than push up training performed on a stable surface in young men Ref.: Chulvi-Medrano I, Martínez-Ballester E, Masiá-Tortosa L. Comparison of the effects of an eight-week push-up program using stable versus unstable surfaces. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2012 Dec;7(6):586-94. The ST group improved significantly more than the US group in 40-yard sprint time; a trend toward greater improvement in the ST (stable surfaces) group was apparent on the 10-yard sprint time. Both groups improved significantly (US = 2.9%, ST = -4.4%) on T-test performance; no statistically significant changes were apparent between the groups. These results indicate that UST (unstable surface) using inflatable rubber discs attenuates performance improvements in healthy, trained athletes. Such implements have proved valuable in rehabilitation, but caution should be exercised when applying UST (unstable surface) to athletic performance and general exercise scenarios. Ref.: Cressey EM, West CA, Tiberio DP, Kraemer WJ, Maresh CM. The effects of ten weeks of lower-body unstable surface training on markers of athletic performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2007 May;21(2):561-7. In conclusion, activity of the trunk muscles during SQs and DLs is greater or equal to that which is produced during the stability ball exercises. It appears that stability ball exercises may not provide a sufficient stimulus for increasing muscular strength or hypertrophy; consequently, the role of stability ball exercises in strength and conditioning programs is questioned. Ref.: Nuzzo JL, McCaulley GO, Cormie P, Cavill MJ, McBride JM. Trunk muscle activity during stability ball and free weight exercises. J Strength Cond Res. 2008 Jan;22(1):95-102. Athletes training for maximal strength, power, and velocity of movement should emphasize higher-intensity ground-based lifts (e.g., Olympic lifts, squats, and deadlifts) and not limit the training program to instability-based resistance exercises. Because spinal stability is required for efficient execution of sports skills, a comprehensive program should include resistance exercises that involve a destabilizing component. The destabilizing component may involve instability devices, but can also be achieved with ground-based free weights that provide a destabilizing torque to the centre of gravity or a transverse stress to the core musculature. Specific training of the core musculature should be periodized, just like any other component of athletic development. From a performance standpoint, unstable devices should not be utilized when hypertrophy, absolute strength, or power is the primary training goal, because force generation, power output, and movement velocity are impaired and may be insufficient to stimulate the desired adaptations, especially in trained athletes. Ref.: Behm DG, Drinkwater EJ, Willardson JM, Cowley PM; Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position stand: The use of instability to train the core in athletic and nonathletic conditioning. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2010 Feb;35(1):109-12. doi: 10.1139/H09-128. The surfaces on which most sports are played do not resemble a Swiss ball or a wobble board. The majority of sports are played while standing on a solid and level surface. Therefore, the principle of specificity would dictate that resistance exercises designed to develop sports specific stability should also be performed while standing on a solid and level surface Ref:. J. M. Willardson. UNSTABLE RESISTANCE EXERCISES. NSCA Hot Topic Series. One drawback with training on unstable surfaces is that several studies have found decreases in force production of the prime movers (3,5,17). Integrating a balance factor into a strength training program may not provide an adequate overload necessary for muscle hypertrophy and strength gains (17). Consequently, the effectiveness of instability training is contingent on the specific training goal. If an athlete’s aim is to increase strength outside the core, then it has been demonstrated that performing resistance exercise on unstable platforms would be detrimental to strength gains. The diminished force production suggests that the intensity required for strength training (.85% 1 repetition maximum [1RM]) necessitates the inclusion of resistance exercise using more traditional methods, as with stable surfaces (3). When comparing muscle activation patterns using different surface and load conditions, relative, rather than absolute, loads should be used across conditions because increasing instability decreases the amount of load that can be lifted. Increasing instability via either the load or the surface affects the amount of load that can be lifted similarly. Based on the muscle activation patterns, our results do not support the use of training with dumbbells or Swiss balls over training with the heavier loads associated with a barbell on an exercise bench for developing core musculature during the overhead lift. Ref:. Kohler, JM, Flanagan, SP, and Whiting, WC. Muscle activation patterns while lifting stable and unstable loads on stable and unstable surfaces. J Strength Cond Res 24(2): 313–321, 2010. The addition of unstable surfaces in push-up training does not provide greater improvement in muscular strength and endurance than push up training performed on a stable surface in young men Ref:. Chulvi-Medrano I, Martínez-Ballester E, Masiá-Tortosa L. Comparison of the effects of an eight-week push-up program using stable versus unstable surfaces. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2012 Dec;7(6):586-94. Unstable conditions can lead to decreases in the force out- put of the limb and increases in antagonist activity. Greater degrees of instability exacerbate these changes. Furthermore, other studies have reported increased co-contractions with unstable training. The positive effects of instability resistance training on sports performance have yet to be quantified. The examination of the literature suggests that when implementing a resistance training program for musculoskeletal health or rehabilitation, both stable and unstable exercises should be included to ensure an emphasis on both higher force (stable) and balance (unstable) stressors to the neuromuscular system. Ref:. Behm, D.G., and K.G. Anderson. The role of instability with resistance training. J. Strength Cond. Res. 20(3):716– 722. 2006 The results of this study demonstrate the acute effects of performance of bench press using the swiss ball and cannot be used to infer a potential training effect. This study demonstrates that the acute effect of utilizing the swiss ball in the performance of bench press exercise is an increase in the muscle activity of stability muscles associated with the task, the deltoid and abdominal muscles. The swiss ball did not lead to increased activity for the prime movers of the exercise, the pectoralis and triceps. Ref.: Marshall, P.W.M., and B.A. Murphy. Increased deltoid and abdominal muscle activity during swiss ball bench press. J. Strength Cond. Res. 20(4):745–750. 2006 When similar exercises are performed, core and limb muscle activation are reported to be higher under unstable conditions than under stable conditions. However, core muscle activation that is similar to or higher than that achieved in unstable conditions can also be achieved with ground-based free-weight exercises, such as Olympic lifts, squats, and dead lifts. Since the addition of unstable bases to resistance exercises can decrease force, power, velocity, and range of motion, they are not recommended as the primary training mode for athletic conditioning Ref.: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position stand: The use of instability to train the core in athletic and nonathletic conditioning. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2010 Feb;35(1):109-12. Whereas a number of studies have demonstrated greater trunk muscle activation when comparing similar unstable with stable exercises (5, 15), the present study illustrates the high trunk muscle activation needed to stabilize external resistance during traditional weight-training exercises, such as the squat and deadlift. The common notion regarding the necessity to add instability device exercises to a traditional resistance training program to accentuate trunk activation has been shown to be unnecessary if such exercises as the 80% 1RM squat and deadlift are included in the program. Ref.: Hamlyn, N., D.G. Behm, and W.B. Young. Trunk muscle activation during dynamic weight-training exercises and isometric instability activities. J. Strength Cond. Res. 21(4): 1108–1112. 2007 It was clear in this study that as subjects became more unstable, the activity of their trunk stabilizers and postural muscles increased whereas only negligible in- creases were observed in activity of the prime movers. Since previous studies (Behm et al., 2002) have shown significant decreases in force and activation of prime movers with unstable conditions, the use of unstable resistance training modalities may prove to be of more benefit to trunk stabilizers than prime movers. Ref.: Anderson, K.; and Behm, D.G. (2005). Trunk muscle activity increases with unstable squat movements. Can. J. Appl. Physiol. 30(1): 33-45. However, it MAY have a function in rehabilitation. Some of the characteristics of IRT exercises that are not conducive to optimal strength or power training for athletes, may be favorable for rehabilitation Physical therapists should consider IRT as a progressive component in the rehabilitation training program that may begin with solely balance training (no load), progressing to balance challenges with resistance (IRT) to traditional ground based RT with greater loads and intensities. Ref:. Behm D, Colado JC. The effectiveness of resistance training using unstable surfaces and devices for rehabilitation. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2012 Apr;7(2):226-41. In conclusion, increasing the instability of the surface during maximum effort isometric squats usually maintains the muscle activity of lower-limb and superficial trunk muscles although the force output is reduced. This suggests that unstable surfaces in the squat may be beneficial in rehabilitation and as a part of periodized training programs, because similar muscle activity can be achieved with reduced loads. Ref.: Saeterbakken AH, Fimland MS. Muscle force output and electromyographic activity in squats with various unstable surfaces. J Strength Cond Res. 2013 Jan;27(1):1306. Unstable surfaces training also goes against the specificity/similarity principle and the S.A.I.D principle, and is not recommended if the goal is strength, hypertrophy, force generation, or sports specific training. Doing exercises with unstable equipment will probably ONLY make you better at performing resistance exercises on unstable equipment. When we train for an activity we become skilled at performing it. So if we practice playing the piano we become a good pianist, hence a similarity principle If a subject is trained to contract their TrA or any anterior abdominal muscle while lying on their back (Karst and Willett, 2004), there is no guarantee that this would transfer to control and physical adaptation during standing, running, bending, lifting, sitting, etc. Such control would have to be practiced during some of these activities (Lederman, in press, see Figure 3). Anyone who is giving CS exercise to improve sports performance should re-familiarise themselves with this basic principle. It seems that such basic principles can escape many of the proponents of CS. This is reflected in one study which assessed the effect of training on a Swiss ball on core stability muscles and the economy of running (Stanton et al., 2004)! In this study it was rediscovered that practicing the banjo does not help to play the piano. The subjects got very good at using their muscles for sitting on a large inflatable rubber ball but it had no effect on their running performance. Ref.: Lederman E. The myth of core stability. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 2010 Jan;14(1):84-98.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 19:48:10 +0000
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