I wanted to run early this morning to beat the heat, but I also wanted to sleep in a bit. I woke up alarm free at a little after 7. So much for sleeping in, but at least I woke up on my own terms. I took my time with breakfast and took Cooper on a walk. I decided to take Cooper with me to my parents house to play in the yard while I ran.
Recovery Run
6.05 miles
49:34 minutes
8:11 pace
6:24 best pace
Splits
Mile 1~8:03
Mile 2~8:31
Mile 3~8:13
Mile 4~8:18
Mile 5~8:13
Mile 6~7:52
Not bad for recovery, although the humidity has been killing me.
I am planning on going to FIT this afternoon after at least a month of not going. I'm sure I am going to pay for this tomorrow :) For my new readers, FIT is a functional training class that I used to go to twice a week. I have since swapped one of those classes for my Pilates Reformer classes and with marathon training in full swing, I have been having trouble getting to class. I was reading Fitness Rx, one of the new mags I purchased for my camping trip.
According to the August 2010 issue of Fitness Rx:
Muscle Activation the Same During Lifts on a Swiss Ball or Stable Surface
Some athletes lift on unstable surfaces such as the Swiss or Bosu balls to increase muscle activation during the exercise. The theory is that training on unstable surfaces requires additional muscle activation to control the weights. A study from California State, Northridge, led by Brandon Uribe showed equal muscle activation of the rectus abdominus (six-pack muscle), deltoid (shoulder), and pectoralis major (chest) muscles when performing dumbbell chest or shoulder presses on a Swiss ball or stable surface. Other studies using more experienced lifters showed greater muscle activation on stable surfaces. Lifting on unstable surfaces is probably a waste of time. (Journal Strength Conditioning Research, 24: 1028-1022, 2010)
Static Core Exercises Do Not Build Functional Strength
Most health clubs and university fitness programs offer core strength and stability classes. Static exercises on unstable surfaces, such as Bosu balls, Swiss balls, and wobble boards are central components of most core-strengthening programs. Instability training is not effective for building the core. An Indiana State University study found no relationship between static core strength and performance in functional movement tests. No study has found that doing isolated core exercises on unstable surfaces improves athletic performance or builds significant strength in the core muscles. The best exercises for building core strength are large, whole-body exercises, such as kettlebell swings and snatches, squats, deadlifts, standing overhead presses, and plyometrics. These exercises use heavier loads, shorter tension times, and higher speeds. Ground-based exercises have the same force, velocity, and core stabilizing requirements required in most sports and movement skills. Stay grounded for a strong core. (Journal Strength Conditioning Research, in press; published online February 19, 2010)
What do you think? My gym is definitely guilty of this, as we do lots of unstable work during FIT class; however, we also do lots of squats, deadlifts, etc. so maybe my gym isn't all that far off base.
3 comments:
I am a big fan of "un-stable" exercises. Even though it may not utilize core muscles and more than a stable exercise I definitely notice how it helps my posture and balance if nothing else.
I have been trying to stay in a weight routine since marathon training started, but find it wears me out so much more even when I have cut back some on weight and intensity. Great job getting back to class today, sounds like fun!
Hey! Interesting study. I tend to disagree to a point. I can see how great muscle activation can be from a stable surface, however, I add instability to make the exercise more challenging and build my balance, which is a VERY important component to fitness. I like to do a mix of both instable and stable. Kettlebells, if you think about it, is unstable on a stable surface, because it take a lot of balance and control to do each movement. It's all about being able to control your body in different situations. You are not always going to be on a stable surface in real life..so it's important to train movements. I worked for a rehab center, and we did a lot of wobble board and balance training with patients, and saw SIGNIFICANT improvements in their core strength, and totally eliminating low back pain...and one winter, a patient who did wobble board in our office 3x a week, 20 minutes at a time, came in and told us he slipped on a HUGE patch of black ice outside..and he was able to catch his balance, and prevent breaking his neck or taking a spill on the pavement--he attributed it to all the wobble board and balance training...before, he would slip on his own feet, and he said he knows that he would of broke his arm or leg out there had he not been training his body to work on an unstable surface! I think it's especially important in older folks, because as we age, and become more prone to falls, its important to do balance training. Now, if this study is proving there is NO correlation between balance and core strength, then that's extremely interesting to me...because I had always learned that the better the core strength, the better the balance, because you are only as strong as your weakest link! Now, if we achieve better balance through kettlebells and other exercises as opposed to working on wobble-boards or doing crunches on balance balls--then that's another story!I still feel they are useful tools to incorporate, and I do not do an workout 100% on either...it's all about mixing it up!!!
Sorry for the super long comment, lol. This was a very interesting article for this trainer to read ;-)
Plyometrics are crazy awesome! I took a class about 2 years ago that really focused on plyometrics and my body never felt as good.
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