Unstable Times

Wondering how to keep your fitness momentum going without your gym or pool, etc., why not take this strange time to work on a facet of your training perhaps you never really focused on. With a little creativity you can still work on strength, power, muscular endurance, cardio, agility, etc. No matter what kind of athlete you are, you should try to activate both slow and fast-twitch muscle fibers when training. Fast-twitch fibers are activated with max and close to maximum explosive movements, however they can also be recruited with submaximal loads repeated until failure. For example, lunges, single leg squats, push ups, etc. performed to failure will ensure high activation. If you don’t have any weights at all, a recent review by Tayech et. Al (2020) suggests performing exercises on an unstable surface. This will also increase activation while at the same time improving balance. Further to that, balance exercises may enhance subsequent training adaptations (Chaouachi et al., 2014; Hammami et al., 2016) including that of plyometrics (Hammami et al., 2016). Athletes with better balance may also produce greater force and power (Behm & Anderson, 2006; Behm et al., 2010). Who can’t use a little more balance in their life?!