Stability Strength Training 101

Stability Strength Training 101

Hey guys, Dom here! My new workout, Stability Strength Training, is out this week and I understand this style of training may be a new concept to a few of you, so I thought I’d tell you a little more about it and share exactly why it is so beneficial.

Stability strength training is resistance training while being in a proprioceptively unstable environment. By ‘unstable environment’, I don’t mean standing on uneven ground! It can be anything from completing your movements on a single leg to using a bosu ball in order to offset weight distribution. By working in an unstable environment, you are creating more of a full body workout as you are challenging not only the prime mover muscles, but all the muscles that functionally support that larger muscle to perform the movement you want it to. For example, when completing a chest press while laying on a large stability ball (yoga ball), your chest is the prime mover, but the glutes, hamstrings and core are all under pressure just to support and balance the base position you’re in. On top of all that, your upper body muscles then have to support the chest press itself! The shoulder, rotator cuff and tricep muscles are the main supporting muscles of the chest press and are working overtime not just to keep you stable, but to complete the movement with power. Often, stability strength training is performed with lower weights and high two counts at a slower pace to keep the muscles under tension. 

Stability training is a must. Whether just starting out training or cycling through the phase to deload or actively rest, it makes sure the prime mover muscles are adequately supported in their movements and prevents injury. It can also help rewrite the neuromuscular system (if done with the correct rep count tempo) to retrain the body to work more efficiently if there has been a muscle imbalance you have been working against. I love to use it with my clients - supersetting a strength training exercise with a stability exercise as I find it to be one of the most effective means to build lean muscle mass and shock the body's system to create further change. 

I can’t wait for you to try out my new class and experience the incredible benefits stability strength training offers. Be sure to let me know how you like this style of movement and good luck!