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Other/Mixed Balance Board / Wobble Board

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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Waffles03

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There's a YouTube video where Pavel Tsatsouline talks about the importance of doing single leg stiff deadlift and how it teaches you to be rooted. I'm curious to know if you can get the same benefits and learning how to be rooted with a balance board or wobble board will help you more? Thank you.
 
I would say not. As a disclaimer I'm no expert in this area, but this is the way I understand it:

Our balance comes from 3 things: 1) our vision, 2) our vestibular system (inner ear), and 3) proprioceptive nerve endings in our feet (if we're on our feet).

Being rooted means you're using your feet, not just standing on them -- as many muscles as possible, and being as connected as possible to the floor or surface you're standing on. In this way the nerve endings productively contribute to your movement and balance.

In contrast, if you're on a balance board, wobble board, or bosu ball, you're not getting the same information from those nerve endings; the pressure isn't changing just with your movement, it now has other factors involved. You're challenging your balance, but you have to rely more on your vision and inner ear and you're not directly improving your ability to balance by using your proprioception.

Furthermore, with being rooted, we're trying to use our connection to the ground to improve our strength. Stability is a big part of that. If you remove stability, you're not going to be strong in whatever movement you're trying to do.

One technique that helps "wake up" the feet's proprioceptive nerve endings is the "static stomp". You often see people do this before a pistol squat, but it is useful for other things as well. Getting the feet awake and up for the challenge helps with both balance and stability so that you can express your strength and produce force into the ground on one foot.
 
Roots don’t wobble. I think Pavel is referring to the ability to generate and use strength from total body tension forced by using a narrow base, ie one leg. Kinda like a one arm push up. The ground is not unstable, but your contact with it is limited, so the body must compensate.

I think wobble boards have value, but their benefits lie elsewhere.
 
I think balance is important, but you can easily pursue it well past the point of diminishing returns. If someone can't balance on one foot for more than a couple seconds, then there's probably an issue that is affecting their ability to move well in general, and improving balance could have a positive impact on quite a few other things.
On the other side, even if they can do single leg snatches while balancing on a wobble board and swinging a club with their off hand, that doesn't mean that they're fast, strong, or agile.
Balance seems to be on of those areas where you get severely penalized if you don't have enough, but you really don't get any bonus points for having extra. "Enough" would have to be defined by your sport/goals; obviously a surfer will need more than a runner.
 
Anna C said:
One technique that helps "wake up" the feet's proprioceptive nerve endings is the "static stomp". You often see people do this before a pistol squat, but it is useful for other things as well. Getting the feet awake and up for the challenge helps with both balance and stability so that you can express your strength and produce force into the ground on one foot.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, I never heard about that. I'll definitely try that before I attempt to do a pistol squat.
 
Waffles03 said:
There's a YouTube video where Pavel Tsatsouline talks about the importance of doing single leg stiff deadlift and how it teaches you to be rooted. I'm curious to know if you can get the same benefits and learning how to be rooted with a balance board or wobble board will help you more? Thank you.
Click to expand...

Leave the unstable surfaces to physio who knows what he/she is doing.

Otherwise throw it out of the gym.
 
Hello,

@Waffles03
Balance / wobble boards can have their usefulness, but are also specific. For instance, they are sometimes used in boxing / MA. In this context, they permit to get good balance during the footwork: you move (to create angle, whatever), then you stop moving and do what you want to do (kick, punch...). It teaches stabilization.

Once again, this is very context related.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Lots of felt days. And catching waves is sporadic, and rides are short. So not a lot of practice time. I found balance boards helpful for surfing and skiing. But I wasn’t doing squats on them, just playing. More tiring than you’d expect though.

But perhaps getting a cruiser skateboard and gliding around town would be more fun?
 
Hello,

Great Vic Verdier's article here:
www.strongfirst.com

Improving Balance for Daily Life and Sport | StrongFirst

Good balance is integral to health and vitality at any age.
www.strongfirst.com

It may apply for everything : combat sport but also rucking or trailing.

Without overdoing them, this is a nice cool down. I do balance exercices as a part of my flexibility and mobility routine. There clearly is a 'before' and 'after'.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Waffles03 said:
'm curious to know if you can get the same benefits and learning how to be rooted with a balance board or wobble board will help you more?
Click to expand...

Stability Devices

As most have note, there not much value in them.

They are primarily used with Physical Therapist with balance issues. They retain the proprioception; the brain is able to send faster messages to increase your balance ability.

However, for normal individual they offer little value.

Tudor Bompa

Tudor Bompa wrote Periodization Training For Sports, now in it 5th addition. It is systematic planning of training for athletes (everyone) to maximize their results.

On a side note, it has been dumbbed down to "Muscle Confusion" and "Deloading and Reloading" training methods; which only provide you with a small snapshot rather than providing you with the complete picture of what you need to know.

In speaking at the National Strength and Conditioning Association Clinic one year, Bompa was ask using wobble boards, et for training athletes.

Bompa's reply was...

"If you play on a wobble field, train on a wobble board."

That because stability devices do virtually little for any specific sports training. Secondly, they do very little for increasing core strength by individual standing on them and performing exercises.

The Gymnastics Balance Beam

Bompa went on to state that the most effective method of developing balance on a Gymnastic Balance Beam is to train on it.

With that said, that is true for all sports.

Stabilizer Muscles

Exercises that require more stability/balance (such as a one Leg Deadlift) increase strength in the stabilizer muscles but not as much strength in the primary muscle involved in the exercise.

That means an individual preforming one Leg Deadlifts isn't going to be as strong as an individual performing a regular Deadlift with both legs.


Primary Muscles

Maximizing strength and grow is more effectively accomplished by eliminating or minimizing the involvement of the Stabilizer Muscles. The most effective method that does this is training on machine, like a Leg Press.

However, exclusively training on machines has very little carry over to free weight exercises. That due to the Stabilier Muscle not being strong enough to let's say perform a Heavy Squat after only performing Heavy Leg Presses.

Free Weight Training

Free weight training exercise means you end up increasing strength in your Stabilizer Muscles, some balance is required, as well as your primary muscle groups.

Strength is developed in the Primary Muscle. However, not to the extent it would be with machines.

Strength is developed in the Stabilizer Muscles (balance). However, not to the extent it would be with something like a one Leg Deadlift.

Summary

Stability Devices are effective for Rehab Therapy, used by Physical Therapist. However, they have a very limited value for normal individual or athletes.

As Snowman said, You "really don't get any bonus points for having extra. "Enough" would have to be defined by your sport/goals; obviously a surfer will need more than a runner."
 
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