Using UST (Unstable Surface Training) to get more out of your Jumping
Monday, January 11th, 2010As I mentioned before, my time is limited so what ever training I do I want it to be the most effective use of my time, I want the most improvement, in the time available. Do some research; the time taken to do this is more than compensated for in knowing what you are doing is effective. One thing to remember is that just because the training seems neat, or that it is hard to do, does not necessary mean that it is an effective use of our time, I am not saying that it is not, either.
One of the popular UST at the moment is the Bosu balls, they are found in nearly all gym’s, they cost little from the gyms point of view, and are difficult to use, from the athletes point of view. But are they that effective in jumping higher They do have there place, mainly or non-competitive athletes get into shape, or for kids who are learning to train. If you have had an injury they can be great at getting knees and ankles moving properly.
But for the serious athlete UST Unstable surface training WILL train your body to use slower activation patterns, and undermine the development of power in your training program. There are well-documented studies have been done showing that these neat and difficult exercises actually train your muscles to improperly activate and lower your power output for your jumping higher
In times gone past, most people thought that the earth was flat, if you went too far you would fall off of theou edge; now some 150 years latter we know that the earth is a ball. And so today, I am sure that in 150 years time many, of the things that we take as being fact a lot of them will have been proven false. Now although this is an extreme example, but with that in mind, having a healthy scepticism of the type of training we are using can help us choose the most effective training, like with a lot of things in life, don’t take everything on face value. And above all, enjoy your training!

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