-
Women skiers, this is the place for you -- an online community without the male-orientation you'll find in conventional ski magazines and internet ski forums. At TheSkiDiva.com, you can connect with other women to talk about skiing in a way that you can relate to, about things that you find of interest. Be sure to join our community to participate (women only, please!). Registration is fast and simple. Just be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so your registration activation emails won't be routed as spam. And please give careful consideration to your user name -- it will not be changed once your registration is confirmed.
Calling all Bosu owners/users
- Thread starter num
- Start date
Bravosarah
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I don't own my own. I use one at the gym, but I don't go to the gym as often as I should...
Bravosarah
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
**Deleted mysterious repost?!?** I don't know how that happened.
alaski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I wanted to put in my $.02 about Bosus. I'm a fitness trainer and it makes me cringe, seeing how people use these things. I think they have a time and place; for instance, during injury recovery or physical therapy, they can be great. But for fit people who are trying to increase their strength, they are pretty worthless. As a matter of fact, they can be detrimental to strength gains because you can't use heavy enough weights if you're on an unstable surface. If you can't push the limits, you won't get stronger.
I see a lot of other trainers putting people (beginners, even!) on balls and Bosus and it is just asking for an injury. If you're new to working out, combining an unstable surface with resistance training is incredibly dangerous. The only people who should be doing that are people with a lot of experience, and those people get nothing out of a Bosu workout, so why bother?
I really think Bosus are just a fad and don't have many real benefits for the average, fit person. So save your $$!
I see a lot of other trainers putting people (beginners, even!) on balls and Bosus and it is just asking for an injury. If you're new to working out, combining an unstable surface with resistance training is incredibly dangerous. The only people who should be doing that are people with a lot of experience, and those people get nothing out of a Bosu workout, so why bother?
I really think Bosus are just a fad and don't have many real benefits for the average, fit person. So save your $$!
tradygirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Just another exercise that is FABULOUS for core strength is the suitcase deadlift.
Grab a heavier dumbell (25-35lb) and place it on the right side of your right foot. Bend down like your are doing a deadlift and pick it up like a suitcase. Keep your form and tighten that outside oblique! It is essential so you don't hurt your back. Your obliques will be screaming by the end of a set.
I think it's good to mix up the balancy Bosu ball work with some heavier feet-on-solid-ground work.
Another one I loooooove - overhead lunges. Hold a dumbell over your head with one arm (usually 15-25lbs) and do walking lunges, keeping very good form - don't arch your back or let your back lean forward. Switch arms after a set. It's insanely good for shoulder stability, leg strength, and core stability. Oh, and your heart rate will skyrocket.
tradygirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Missed this before I made my last post. I 100% agree with this statement. I gain so much more from lifting heavy weights than I do from "unstable" work. Squats, cleans, push-ups, presses, dips, plyometrics. Not a huge fan of the Bosu ball and Swiss ball for weight training.
I haven't done that much of either recently... and this is just a thought, but:
Are the gains you make from doing machine/stable weight training really functionally as effective as "unstable" work?
I mean, isn't one of the problems some people develop that they overtrain some muscles in the gym without working the stabilizer muscles that go with them? Sure you can lift more weight and build muscle faster by just lifting weights on a machine... but does it leave you more prone to imbalances and injury when you go out to use that muscle in real life situations?
alaski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
altagirl - I think that gains made with free weights are definitely functional. The problem with instability training is that you don't gain strength at all. You can improve your balance, but you're not really "training" your muscles, and in fact you can't apply as much resistance so you'd lose strength if that's all you did. The problem with instability training is that you're not really making any gains. You're practicing balance, which is great, but you will not actually make gains that way.
Assuming that you're training all your muscle groups equally, you aren't any more prone to injury if you've been lifting for strength. Building muscle with proper form makes you less prone to injury. I suppose if you don't do anything at all besides using only the nautilus machines for years, that might not be true, but hardly anyone would fall into that category.
Assuming that you're training all your muscle groups equally, you aren't any more prone to injury if you've been lifting for strength. Building muscle with proper form makes you less prone to injury. I suppose if you don't do anything at all besides using only the nautilus machines for years, that might not be true, but hardly anyone would fall into that category.
NannyMin
Banned
Calgary ski chick
Certified Ski Diva
I take a ski conditioning class twice a week - LOTS of Bosu work. Lots of fun! We do 90 minutes of squats (in various disguised forms) and it makes it all go by quickly. Squat on it, one legged squats, flip it over and squat, squat and pass your partner a medicine ball, jump off a box onto the Bosu into a squat, etc. etc. Haven't bought one but will probably look at it for the summer months. Like ALL exercise gear (OK notwithstanding some new ski gear this year), I never buy new - put an ad on Craigslist and someone'll dig it out of their garage :-)
I hadn't really thought about it before but both of my torn ACLs came after a period of about 8 months of pretty intense weight training (tons of hamstring work too, so it wasn't an imbalance that way)without much balance work. Really, each ACL tear came at the point where I would say I was by far the strongest I have ever been in my life. It could be coincidence, it just made me wonder.
pinto
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Lisamarie will probably chime in on this.
I guess this comes to the question whether strength or balance is more important, or in what measure? Seems to me that we should do both.
Obviously, AG, your story is anecdotal; mine too: I'm not terribly strong (stronger than I look, but still...), but I have "incredible" balance (told to me by a trainer who works with US Cycling athletes). I have to be very careful with my knees because of wear and tear issues, but I've never done an ACL. Never even close. And for a girl who played years of competitive soccer AND has skied as long as I have, I sometimes find this amazing. Both sports are ACL killers!
I can't do too much weight work with my legs because of the arthritis in my knees. I have to do a lot of Bosu activity, and non-extension-type lifting. Straight leg things, wall sits, etc. That just doesn't build a lot of bulk. Every once in a while I can do lunges, but usually I get the sharp kneecap pain.
Okay, I really don't like talking about it, because I don't want to jinx it. But just something to add to the mix. ...
Yeah, before my knee injuries, I had legs that just rippled with muscles. It's really hard to get that back now because I can't do the same exercises anymore, whether it's from ACL shearing risks with extension work or patella pain and such from deep squats.
I guess the other thing is - if all the muscle I had back at that point wasn't protecting me from knee injury... uh. What the heck do I need to do?
alaski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
altagirl and pinto - For knee/injury issues, I've got the exercise for you...it's KILLER and totally safe for bad knees. I thought I was in shape - I can squat twice my body weight for reps - but 30 seconds of this isometric series had my legs BURNING. It's kind of hard to describe but it's awesome for skiiers. Let me know if you're interested, I'll PM it to you. I also have a great exercise for the, er, booty that doesn't involve heavy weights or deep knee bends.
You might also have more luck with "closed" exercises like leg press and squats. Lunges can be tough on knees because they're essentially an impact activity. "Open" exercises - ones in which the foot is not solidly placed - like leg extensions and leg curls can be hard on bad knees. Actually I recently discovered that leg curls are much harder on knees than leg extensions, who knew? Anyway, you might already know all this but I just love talking about fitness stuff....
pinto - It seems to me that strength, balance, flexibility, and function are all somewhat worthless on their own. If you have great balance but no strength, that doesn't help you much, and neither does being super strong but having zero balance. So it's important to cross train and develop all of those attributes. My comments on bosus were meant to discourage people from using them as the base for their entire workout regimen. I personally never use them for anything, but some people do find them beneficial. I just think they should be used sparingly for a specific purpose.
You might also have more luck with "closed" exercises like leg press and squats. Lunges can be tough on knees because they're essentially an impact activity. "Open" exercises - ones in which the foot is not solidly placed - like leg extensions and leg curls can be hard on bad knees. Actually I recently discovered that leg curls are much harder on knees than leg extensions, who knew? Anyway, you might already know all this but I just love talking about fitness stuff....
pinto - It seems to me that strength, balance, flexibility, and function are all somewhat worthless on their own. If you have great balance but no strength, that doesn't help you much, and neither does being super strong but having zero balance. So it's important to cross train and develop all of those attributes. My comments on bosus were meant to discourage people from using them as the base for their entire workout regimen. I personally never use them for anything, but some people do find them beneficial. I just think they should be used sparingly for a specific purpose.
alaski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What was the mechanism of your injury?
One was a traditional blown ACL while skiing (fell backwards in bumps) about 9 years ago, the second was a blown ACL while mountain biking - I dabbed a foot in sand after landing a drop and blew the knee. No idea how that happened. My surgeon could only guess that with all the abuse my body takes from DH mountain biking it must have just been the "last straw" or something. Well, and then there were three other meniscus injuries, but both began with the initial ACL tear so I'm not sure how much of that is just a matter of doing a lot of wear and tear activities on something that can't really heal itself once it's messed up...
I guess I just start to wonder if I'm not better off with the muscles I develop from biking/spinning (clipless pedals bring your hamstrings into it) and balance work instead of a lot of regular weight training (since that has become more painful/seems to aggravate the arthritis). I seem to have had better results in building muscle by riding my singlespeed than I do with the limited weight training that I feel stuck with these days.
But yeah, what's the exercise you have in mind?
Gloria
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Why do all the top skiers use them then?I'm confused!
Because strength without balance or speed is like a maseratti without wheels. Balance training works on posture, movement, core stability. Like Yoga or Pilates. I wouldn't stop doing it because it's not considered strength training if it's something you like and feel like you benefit from doing so.
Like everything else that is ski-related, there are two basic truths:
1. All skills should be progressive.
2. Nothing is an either/or proposition.
Prior to putting my clients on a bosu, I asses certain skills and alignment issues. If these issues are not addressed and corrected, when they get on the bosu, they will not be balancing: They will be bracing. Anyone who has ever worked with the amazing Weems has probably heard his rap about balance vs. bracing.
Compare it to skiing. What happens if a skier is in the backseat, does not have decent end of turn speed control, does not complete turns, has no pole touch, etc.? Would you put that skier on a double black diamond mogul run? Hopefully not!
That said, before I started teaching balance training, I was a super strong marathon runner/weight lifter who could not stand up for one moment on skis. Now, when I fall, it's a major event!
Does that mean that I've given up on strength training? Heck no!
The best approach is a technique called Integrated Training, which was made popular by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Begin with a traditional strength training exercise, such as a leg press. Then, lighten or even eliminate the load, and try the same exercise on the bosu, or some other balance training device.
BTW, while this is anecdotal, the only serious injury I've ever had after over 25 years of teaching fitness (including high impact aerobics) happened when I first moved to Summit County. I focused more on the balance of my personal training clients, but when I was through teaching, I was off to the slopes. Bad move!
1. All skills should be progressive.
2. Nothing is an either/or proposition.
Prior to putting my clients on a bosu, I asses certain skills and alignment issues. If these issues are not addressed and corrected, when they get on the bosu, they will not be balancing: They will be bracing. Anyone who has ever worked with the amazing Weems has probably heard his rap about balance vs. bracing.
Compare it to skiing. What happens if a skier is in the backseat, does not have decent end of turn speed control, does not complete turns, has no pole touch, etc.? Would you put that skier on a double black diamond mogul run? Hopefully not!
That said, before I started teaching balance training, I was a super strong marathon runner/weight lifter who could not stand up for one moment on skis. Now, when I fall, it's a major event!
Does that mean that I've given up on strength training? Heck no!
The best approach is a technique called Integrated Training, which was made popular by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Begin with a traditional strength training exercise, such as a leg press. Then, lighten or even eliminate the load, and try the same exercise on the bosu, or some other balance training device.
BTW, while this is anecdotal, the only serious injury I've ever had after over 25 years of teaching fitness (including high impact aerobics) happened when I first moved to Summit County. I focused more on the balance of my personal training clients, but when I was through teaching, I was off to the slopes. Bad move!
