swiss ball training advantages

Training improves balance and agility.

Most exercise programs today use machine training. Machine training is far from optimal. The reasons are:

• Machines are bolted to the ground and therefore don’t require utilization of stabilizer musculature in a functional way.
• Machines are on a fixed axis of motion, therefore not requiring users to stabilize the weight three dimensionally as one would in sports and everyday life. Also, everyone has a different joint axis of rotation and the machine forces joints into a plane of motion which is undesirable for most joints.

Swiss Ball Training is shown to improve neutralizer and stabilizer musculature, therefore optimizing sports performance.

• Neutralizer muscles are activated with Swiss Ball training. These muscles counteract the actions of other muscles to ensure smooth coordinated movements.
• Stabilizer muscles are the muscles that surround the joints and protect the joints from injury. This is especially important in extreme sports, due to frequent off-balanced situations, and the extrinsic forces placed on the body while in these situations.

Swiss Ball Training provides high levels of nervous system activation, which allows neural reserves during sports performance. This neural reserve allows one to focus more on tactics and more difficult maneuvers (jumps, turns, landings on unstable surfaces like water, snow, ice, rails, loose gravel, waves and ramps) as the nervous system finds it easier to do these actions since it is not as challenged as it previously was.

Posture is the position wherein movement begins and ends. The ideal posture is where the muscular system functions most efficiently. An athlete with poor posture is more likely to have more stress placed on the neutralizer and stabilizer muscles which increases the likelihood of injuries.