Im not a fan of unstable surface training for the healthy population (rehab is [potentially] a different story). Unless you desire to maintain muscle activation during a deloading period of upper body training, ditch the BOSU and squat on a stable surface (unless of course you work on a cruise ship). You can train balance just fine using stable surfaces - and without attenuations of power-related athleticism. Second, balance and proprioception are both skill-specific, and would therefore seemingly be better trained on the same surface present in competition. There may be some merit to utilizing upper body unstable surface training in scenarios where ones goal is to maintain muscle activation, but reduce stress on the joints. The value of UST in rehabilitation is well known, particularly following lateral ankle sprains. After rehabilitation, there may also be a role for preventing re-sprains in those athletes with an ankle sprain history, but we cant say for sure without more research. t-nation/training/bosu-ball-the-good-bad-and-ugly
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 14:17:56 +0000