Comments on: 3,000,000 Exercise Balls Recalled: Where’s a Top-Level Trainer When You Need One!?!?

By: Nick M

Nick M — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 16:15:24 +0000

That picture is rediculous lol, i have taken a few CHEK courses, and the swiss ball training that was presented was very simple and effective movements i.e. back on ball hip extensions, forward ball roll, etc. The CHEK institute has some great information and some extremely good professors, the problem is the students sometimes take some extreme examples they see at the intstitute——->ex. laird hamilton arguably the greatest big wave surfer of all time, is a client of the CHEK institute, and performs some exercises(not barbell squats) standing on a swiss ball, for laird who’s entire sport revolves around being on an unstable object a surfboard, standing on a swiss ball (from a good company, not a piece of trash one you buy at k-mart for $20) makes sense….. for a student to see that and think they he/she can apply it to his/her own client who probably needs work on a body weight squat does not make sense…. the sad part is this is not part of all trainers “COMMON SENSE” lol

By: Jen Mathis

Jen Mathis — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:16:15 +0000

Love the Swiss Ball Training. But safety is #1. Does anyone ever think about what would happen if it popped? Oh it has too. Guys using it as a bench to bench press heavy weights then the ball pops. Funny but so sad and painful.

By: Latest swiss fitness balls news – Pilates Fitness Ball | Home Gym Machines

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:38:06 +0000

[...] 3000000 Exercise Balls Recalled: Where’s a Top-Level Trainer When … [...]

By: Robyne Arrow

Robyne Arrow — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:31:33 +0000

Unbelievable!!! His form is so out of whack. Why would another person, especially an authorative figure encourage someone to partake this movement. I mean look at his knees surpassing the feet. Could someone please explain the logic?

I honestly believe any type of ball workout other than perhaps calisthenics is insanely dangerous and illogical.

By: Doug Groce

Doug Groce — Sun, 31 May 2009 01:46:31 +0000

Darren and Nick – You brought up some solid points here. Anytime you perform a movement of any kind, there is an element of risk at play – Our goals as trainers are to make the distinction between calculated risk vs potential benefit and reward that can come out of a particular exercise

And as experienced trainers, we know that back squatting 135 on a ball falls WAY over on the risk side of the line with few benefits..

Yeah Lucas, it’s all about doing the best thing for the individual client – no doubt about it.

I think most trainers can appreciate the HUMOR of this situation and have a good laugh about it – I mean, 3,000,000 fitness balls weren’t recalled for no reason!

By: Nick Chertock

Nick Chertock — Fri, 29 May 2009 23:45:19 +0000

A few comments:

In general, I think most people in the fitness industry agree now that squatting with a barbell on top of a swiss ball is idiotic. I’m pretty sure the guy in the photo is J.P. from JPFitness dot com and he’s stated over and over that he is not a proponent of squatting on a ball, it’s just something he was messing around with a few years ago and that picture has been floating around as an indication of what an asshole anyone is who tries to make the swiss ball the anything and everything of training.

I’m not sure I see the big problem with the two ball flye. I’ve never tried it but it looks perfectly safe, just a bit weird. Cosgrove always says that in the fitness industry everything swings from one extreme to another. Either everyone is in love with instability training or then 6 months later it’s the worst idea ever. Meanwhile anyone who was photographed or videotaped training a certain way is held up for ridicule.

Chek has accomplished a great deal over his long career and should be treated with a bit more respect, he has certified hundreds of quality trainers and everyone I know who has worked with him respects him because he is always continuing to learn.

Great site by the way!

By: Lucas

Lucas — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:21:37 +0000

As a trainer, you need to make sure that what ever exercise you choose for your client, meet their needs. I find the sometimes some trainers add intense/or high risk exercise (swiss ball standing squats) just to see or bring something new to the table for their clients. But then again, its also about the level of comfortness of the trainer and client to execute those kind of risky movement on the swiss ball. Some exercises can be few as good for some, and others will try to avoid them as much as possible. For an example: I am a not a big fan of the bench press, and usually never add it in a workout plan because of its high risk of shoulders injuries.

By: Darren

Darren — Fri, 29 May 2009 08:21:09 +0000

Why are most of you so judgemental? I’m sure that guy squatting on the stability ball probably isn’t in his first month of training. If he has the skill and ability to try something outside the box, and he’s willing to accept the risks involved and owns up to his actions, why shouldn’t he do it. Have any of you actually been witness to someone injuring themselves that severely that they had to be taken to the hospital by an ambulance? In my 11 years in the fitness industry i’ve never seen that. According to all your logic, nobody should do any kind of contact or extreme sport because there is risk of injury involved. Ever been to a cirque du soleil performance? They probably train in ways 10 times more crazy and those performers are in better shape than any of you will ever be in your entire lives. If your only point is that inexperienced trainers are endangering deconditioned clients by skipping from point A to point Z and having them do extremely advanced stuff without any logical progression then say so, but don’t generalize that all extreme stability ball training is worthless or idiotic because that is not the case. I’ve been doing exercises like those for a decade and i’ve never injured myself, and neither have any of my clients. I see more people injure themselves playing golf than on a stability ball. Actually if you spend enough time in a large gym, you’ll see more people injure themselves by being thrown off a treadmill while they are messing with their IPOD or cell phone. I’ll bet more people roll their ankles doing step ups and plyo jumps on a bench, than stability ball stuff. In my experience, chronic overuse injuries and build up of microtrauma injuries is much more common than major acute injuries. Anytime i’ve ever heard of someone having a major acute injury in the gym or with a trainer, it was because the client tried to do something they hadn’t progressed up to. That can happen with any type of exercise. Doing a double ball chest fly is no more dangerous than doing an iron cross in gymnastics. Yes it takes a lot of shoulder stability which is why it is an advanced move. Standing on a ball seems no more dangerous than riding on a unicycle, ice skating, snowboarding, etc. I’ll admit I don’t have 90% of my clients progress to the point of doing exercises that advanced, but why should I limit the other 10%.
Also anyone that has their clients do extreme stability ball exercises on cheap equipment is just using bad judgement. All trainers and facilities should cough up the extra dough for the top quality reinforced stability balls.

By: Doug Groce

Doug Groce — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:28:15 +0000

Yeah props on finding that pic, Bias – When I saw the thread you started with that pic, I knew you were onto something funny ..

Haha Leanne – Yeah I’d have to agree that a girl’s never come up to me and complimented me on my ability balance.. especially on an inflatable ball.

Oliver, yes I’m sure there are times when it’s appropriate to do this type of training, but like yous said – for the greater population, not a CHANCE.

SARAH!! You’re absolutely right – new and different doesn’t mean smart – A lot of times it means nobody’s doing it b/c it’s flat out stupid!!! ha ha

By: Sarah Rippel

Sarah Rippel — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:08:56 +0000

YAY!
I’m so happy you featured this, Kaiser, and thanks to biastraining for starting up the “fun” in the forum!!!!!!!

I have mixed feelings about Paul Chek. The dude is a genius, but some of his stuff is flippin’ ridiculous. I know of a trainer who worships the ground he walks on, and i’ve witnessed people doing that 2-ball flye…that was like 3 years ago, so hopefully things have changed?

I have never been one of the “standing on a ball” proponents…nor have I ever been a wobble board proponent. I do own a BOSU, and blogged last week, in fact, about BOSU misuse, along with a few exercises for those who can handle them.

We all know that the basics work! When people try to make things “cool,” that’s when there’s a problem. I think this happens when a trainer feels inferior and/or has a lack of experience. It’s easy to try and “play” smart, when in fact you’re blatantly the opposite to those in the know!

Yours in Health,
Sarah