Why would anyone want to do High Intensity Strength Training on a Balance Ball? That is a gym accident waiting to happen!
I am always amazed at the gimmicks some personal trainers think of to keep clients in their High Intensity Training program. I guess they are probably trying to vary the HIT workouts, but at what cost? I am sure they are not trying to injure their clients but the odds are not in their favor and there is surely a gym accident waiting to happen!
High Intensity Training has sound strength training principles and if we stray away from them to make the HIT workouts exciting or exotic, there is the risk of:
(1) Watering down the benefits of High Intensity Strength Training for the trainee and
(2) Injury to the trainee
High Intensity Training, if performed with strict slow movements to momentary muscular failure will be safe and effective. However, when a trainee is positioned on a Balance Ball with a set of dumbbells and told to go through a set of upper body exercises (such as the chest press, dumbbell flies, shoulder press, side-lateral raises, arm curls, and triceps extensions) he has to concentrate on balancing his body, so as not to injure himself with the dumbbells. He must be aware every moment of what position his body is in on the ball in relation to the dumbbells.
If this balancing act is going on, then how can the trainee concentrate on his High Intensity Training Workout to get the most benefits from his dumbbell flies or the dumbbell curls? This complicated process of balancing one’s body only takes away from the purpose of the High Intensity Workout, which is to get stronger and build lean muscle mass. If you want to learn how to gain better balance, there are much better ways to achieve that goal, but not with a set a dumbbells or barbells on a flexible moving object !
The best advice I can give is to be very careful because there have been several situations involving balance balls that have actually exploded while someone was performing a set of dumbbell chest presses, resulting in serious injuries.
Throughout my career in fitness, I have never injured anyone or myself while working out with the principles of High Intensity Strength Training. Sometimes, when we step out of the box, we are better able to analyze our particular situation and make good safe fitness decisions without subjecting ourselves to unnecessary risks.
Tags: high intensity strength training, high intensity training, High Intensity Workouts, HIT Training, HIT Workouts
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