So I'm realizing more & more I know almost nothing about

[kathryn]

>Kathryn, do you think the program in the book can be
>incorporated with a bosu using light weights?

Possibly, but it doesn't show any balance tools (bosu, balance discs, etc.) used.

There are a couple of functional fitness titles that would be better for this. I'll look through my collection and get back to you on that.

 

[kathryn]

RE: So I'm realizing more & more I know almost nothing ...

>I can't buy this and a bosu at one time, so what
>do you experts think? Which might be the better first buy? My
>goal would be to vary my cardio and also save what's left of
>my knees and ankles. Ok, secretly I am looking for ways to
>step every day without killing myself. }(

I have a Bosu and a rebounder. The rebounder gets LOTS more use (the Bosu has a leak that makes it necessary for me to inflate it for each workout, which I haven't done for years! It also has very few DVD's/videos to go with it. Also, there are different types of balance devices that are cheaper than a bosu www.fitterfirst.com or www.powersystems.com have some . )

I use my rebounder for doing Cardio Coach workouts (guided interval workouts intended to be used on equipment like a treadmill or stationary bike). I also use it as a somewhat unstable platform to do ab work on, and you could also stand on it and do weight work and have a bit of instability like on a bosu (just no 'moving on and off' like on the Bosu).

 

[kathryn]

RE: So I'm realizing more & more I know almost nothing ...

>LauraMax, have you tried doing any Cathe step on it?
>
I would definitely NOT recommend doing Cathe step, or any more complicated step on it, just basic step like Firm or some Kathy Smith perhaps, or workouts designed for it. Cathe's step workout move too fast for the Bosu, IMO, and have great torque potention on the BOsu.

 

[kathryn]

Laura, I'm back!

A better book for using the bosu (mostly the stability ball, but some moves with Bosu or Bosu AND stability ball) is "The Athlete's Ball" by Rick Jemmett. His take is a concept he calls "
integrative training," which is simultaneously training strength, core stability and balance. There's also a section in the book with a lower body conditioning program to reduce a woman's risk of knee pain and injury.

To me, functional training works a lot more of the stabilizing muscles. Oftentimes, people can have very strong superficial muscles (the ones worked with traditional weight training) but have stabilizing muslces that are weak or don't engage when they should, which increases the risk of injury.

Bosus, balance boards, etc., are a way of introducing instability to exercises, and thus challenging the stabilizing muscles, but one can also do the same without any props by just standing on one leg to do bicep curls or overhead presses, or leaning over with one leg up (in a "t" formation) to do 1-arm rows. I think that type of instabiliy better mimics the instability of real life.

 

[rjroubi]

RE: So I'm realizing more & more I know almost nothing ...

>>To me, functional training works a lot more of the stabilizing
>muscles. Oftentimes, people can have very strong superficial
>muscles (the ones worked with traditional weight training) but
>have stabilizing muslces that are weak or don't engage when
>they should, which increases the risk of injury.
>

Kathryn,
I believe you hit the nail on the head....this is exactly why my DH has a gym injury. He (like so many people) works his large muscle groups, but never tends to his stabilizing muscles. He did a few slightly wrong moves at the gym and snap.....injury. I don't know for sure if it wouldn't have occured if he incorporated functional fitness or corework into his workouts, but my bet is it would be a lot less likely.

Robin

 

[kathryn]

RE: So I'm realizing more & more I know almost nothing ...

>>>He did a few slightly wrong moves at the gym and
>snap.....injury.

Ouch!

I hope that "snap" wasn't a realistic imitation of what actually happened.
:-(