Athletes who want to gain muscle strength, may want to
start with balance training before weight lifting. Sports
doctors from Germany have evidence that balance training
can have preconditioning effects on strength training.
However, it's not a good idea to start with strength training
and follow it with balance training, according to their
study.
It's well known that high-intensity strength training,
widely used by athletes, boosts muscle strength. Balance
training or "sensorimotor training," the more technical
term, is often used in the prevention and rehabilitation
of joint injury and to stabilize or improve posture.
Dr. Sven Bruhn from the sports science department at
the University of Rostock and colleagues studied the effects
of combined sensorimotor and classical leg strength training
in 18 healthy young adult men and women.
One group performed four weeks of balance exercises,
such as balancing on one leg on a wobbly board, followed
by four weeks of strength training (leg presses). The
other group started with four weeks of strength training
and then moved on to four weeks of balance training. The
balance and strength training tasks were performed two
times per week for 45 minutes, according to the report,
published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine.
"Sensorimotor training including balance tasks has positive
effects on the force production capacity of the lower
extremity," Bruhn stated. "Sensorimotor training preceding
high-intensity strength training can enhance the effects
of the strength training," the researcher added.
However, the researchers also noticed that when sensorimotor
training followed high intensity strength training, gains
achieved through strength training were not preserved,
and strength levels declined almost back to the starting
point.
Therefore, Bruhn concludes: "In order to improve strength
at the lower extremity, a combination of high-intensity
strength training and sensorimotor training can be recommended,
but only if sensorimotor training is performed at first."
SOURCE: International Journal of Sports Medicine, May
2006.
