Schlagwortarchiv für: Wobble Board

FREO gear is a USA based company that produces strength training boards, designed by mountain runner, coach and author Eric Orton who also wrote the book “The Cool Impossible” (affiliate link).

These portable and highly durable slant wobble boards and disks are a must have for every serious strength coach, personal-trainer and simply anyone who wants to improve foot strength! Every health professional who works with clients should equip their “health-toolbox” with these beneficial boards! In this article I‘ll show you how I train with these instability tools to build stable performance.

Freo Foot Care System

FREO manufactures “cool tools” who are designed for „rapid muscle firing“. Not only in the feet but in the whole body. Think of it. You virtually perform almost every exercise while standing on your feet!

How important a proper alignment is can be read in my article: “Alignment from head to toes”. 

FREO is also used by New York Times bestselling author Tim Ferriss, who calls himself a “guinea pig” due to being a true “Bad ass” Biohacker.

Ferriss wrote books like “The 4 hour Body” (affiliate link) and “Tools of Titans” (affiliate link). In the latter you can find me in the chapter about my mentor Charles R. Poliquin aka “Strength sensei” (R.I.P.).

In a video about his evening routine (minute 4:32) he talks about the FREO slant wobble board.

Special thanks to the CEO of FREO, Frank Ranum who sent me a FREO Foot Core System for testing.

After having unboxed the boards my honest first impression was: “well, that‘s it?!”. Don‘t get me wrong, the quality is very solid and the haptic, too. But I couldn‘t see how so simple tools would generate a big benefit to my strength training.

Well, let me tell you, I WAS WRONG! Nothing is further from the truth! They might be simple, but they are definitely not easy to use! Especially the wobble disk, which actually is my favorite!

Why are todays people‘s feet so weak?

The problem with the feet of our modern society is obvious. From the earliest age on we are put into “foot prisons”. Being in shoes means that our tendons, muscles, ligaments etc. cannot develop properly anymore. Think for yourself: when was the last time you walked barefoot?

Not only is it the wrong footwear, it‘s footwear itself that disconnects us from mother natures surface. Rubber soles and asphalt ground. No chance for reconnecting to the soil in order to soak up some electrons for the body’s energy field.

And again, please ask yourself the question: when was the last time you did some Earthing, respectively Grounding?

Of course I understand that you cannot perform every job while being barefoot. Besides looking a bit like a weiredo people are just not used to walk barefoot anymore.

My recommendation is to start with a solid pair of minimal shoes. I  use shoes from a German Company that also sells in the US. They are called “Wildling Shoes” (advertisement, not payed).

Besides being a strength coach/personal-trainer, I  also work as a “Heilpraktiker” in Germany. A proper translation would be something like “complementary and alternative medicine practitioner”.

That means that I can work with patients, am allowed to diagnose and treat, do invasive stuff like injections, intravenous infusion and so on. To make a long story short I do see a lot of patients with lots of orthopedically foot problems.

Too weak muscles, tendons, over stressed ligaments, lots of hallux toes and soft tissue deformations, just to name a few.

Often these derive from wrong footwear and a severe structural imbalance! That is another great field of application for the FREO boards, rehabilitation!

No matter what your current foot strength level is, as long as you don‘t have any contraindications, you should start training your feet. Will this cure all your structural imbalances in your body?

Don‘t be foolish. Of course not! But it will definitely be a helpful tool along with proper footwear, a holistic way of healthy living and a proper strength training.

Strength Training vs. Circus Training

Ok, now let‘s talk a bit about serious strength training. You do not have to be a competitive athlete to distinguish between: “the good, the bad and the ugly”!

My mentor Charles R. Poliquin used to say: “There is nothing new in strength training since 1892”, and guess what: he was probably right!

The point is that all day long something “new” pops up to show you “how it‘s done”. Well, occasionally there might be some new stuff from time to time but the basics will still be the basics!

In my opinion it‘s the same with instability training. You won‘t find as much stupid stuff anywhere else like in this particular field of training. If you look up the word “bullshit” in a dictionary there should be a picture of someone doing squats on a bosu ball!

Now I am going to tell you why the FREO boards are good and do NOT fall in the field of “circus training”.

When it comes to instability training there are:

• The good (tool with flat surface and instable ground)
• The bad (vice versa as above, instable surface and stable ground)
• The ugly (all the crap you can buy on TV, won’t do any shit for you except emptying your wallet)

Is the earth really flat?

Wel, we are not going to do some flat earth debate but I tell you: if it comes to instability training for me, the “earth” should be as flat as possible! Why? Because in real life you do not perform on an instable ground (except playing beach-volleyball).

What do I mean by flat? Well, the board can have an inclination but its surface is still flat! On the contrary, its bottom side wobbles. That‘s the ONLY kind of instability training I recommend!

And for the smartasses, it does NOT work the way vice versa! If you have an instable surface and a stable ground. From my perspective an instable surface is simply too irritating for the central nervous system.

Of course there is no such thing as black and white and as we have learned in life, there are many “shades” of grey!

So, if you are a very skilled athlete and are for example really performing in a circus, like “cirque du soleil” you might also use an instable surface to perform on. Without a doubt, I pay my absolute respect to artists of this “caliber”!

But, when you are not a superb circus athlete/performer you should focus on working with tools whose surfaces are flat and whose bottom sides might be unstable. Just from my expertise this will bring you the fastest results!

Feet strengthening exercises with FREO Gear

As I mentioned before, strength training of the feet will not only benefit themselves but also the whole body. Especially in terms of structural balance!

That‘s due to the fact that feet contain a lot of small muscles, joints, articulations, ligaments and tendons. For them in order to perform at their optimum they should be able to move as mother nature designed them.

From my expertise especially when people are doing rehabilitation programs little to no attention is paid to the importance of foot strength and structure!

Most people rather rely on externally supporting devices instead of training and (re)strengthening the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of their feet.

I do consider that as one of the general problems in today‘s society. People always fall for the easy way…instead of taking responsibility for their own health they rather search for a short cut.

When we draw our attention to the “design” of a healthy foot we can see its arched shape on first sight. According to McKeon et al. this arch and its muscles are relevant to the foot‘s core stability (McKeon et al., 2015).

In their research paper: “The foot core system: a new paradigm for understanding intrinsic foot muscle function” Mc Keon et al. propose that: “(…) the concept of core stability may also be extended to the arch of the foot. The arch is controlled with both local stabilisers and global movers of the foot, similar to the lumbopelvic core.”

Therefore you can see that a stable “core” is not only achievable in your upper body but also in your feet!

In terms of structural balance you have to have a holistic point of view. That means if something (muscles) are too strong, something else is too weak! The goal is to create an equilibrium in all of your foot muscles to ensure proper stability in your whole body.

The FREO boards where designed by Eric Orton, who is a professional runner. But that does not mean that their usability is limited to endurance athletes! From my point of  view everybody who likes to improve foot stability and strength might benefit from these cool tools!

Even when you are rather a strength athlete I encourage you to have a look into Orton‘s book, “The Cool Impossible”.

At least you will learn techniques for foot strength exercises to catapult performance, combat injuries, and transform technique. All things you can also benefit from as a strength athlete.

How to work out with a FREO wobble board and wobble disk

A smart human being once said: “ Every exercise is a foot exercise if you are on your feet doing it”. I completely agree. According to that you can imagine how important the strength and structural balance of your feet is.

Using FREO tools my clients and patients (regardless of age and level of strength) are able to improve their (foot)strength, body equilibrium and balance.

Both the Slant Wobble Board and the Wobble Disk are really beneficial tools which amplify the exercises by introducing instability, forcing both dominant and more important lesser used muscles to fire, creating a more balanced, equalized mind and lower body (FREO 2020).

Rules for all Exercises:

• Wobble Disk Exercises can be started once the slant board exercises have been mastered! That means you can forward to the wobbling board exercises if you can perform the slant board moves with proper form! FREO recommends performing the exercises using two (hiking)poles (affiliate link).
• Balance on the center of the board while keeping your heel raised, your board leg straight and knee locked (except performing pistol squats). Keep the non-boarding leg slightly elevated off floor as the resting position.
• Keep the board balanced on the center, resist allowing it to tilt any direction while doing the exercise. Keep exercise movements smooth, fluid and controlled. Alternate each foot.
• Once you feel using two poles is easy and controlled for two minutes with proper form you are ready to begin using a single balancing aid.

Instead of two poles I use the boards performing the exercise in a squat rack. I place a barbell in the hooks in case I need a help for balancing. But if you do not perform the exercise in a gym stick to the FREO instructions mentioned above!

Also make sure that you perform the exercises on a suitable underground that prevents the boards from slipping. Especially the Wobbling Disk!!!

Exercise pictures and why I prefer videos

Pictures of exercises are nice, but what you commonly get are a starting- and an ending-position. What is done in between is left to the imagination of the reader/viewer.

Therefore I decided to shoot a quick FREO exercise guide.

This video shows you how I  use the FREO tools. So please feel free to adopt what you like and skip what you don‘t. Enjoy!

Conclusion

I stumbled upon the FREO Foot Core System while watching a video of Tim Ferriss. Funny enough because I‘m also mentioned in one of Tim‘s New York Times best-selling books, “Tools of Titans” (affiliate link). After having contacted FREO we found out that its CEO Frank Ranum had roots in Germany J

So, he was kind enough to send me a FREO Slant Board and a Wobble Board. After having unboxed the tools I first wasn‘t flabbergasted, to be honest. But I have to tell you I completely changed my mind after my first try in my gym!

The material is very solid and the tools are built to last a lifetime. They are super lightweight and therefore predestinated to travel with. Whether you are a Personal-Trainer/Strength-Coach or if you just use it for home training with family and friends.

The FREO strength tools are a very affordable investment in optimizing your foot strength. The training can be done almost everywhere and anytime, in- and outdoors. You just need a dry, horizontal and non-slippery surface to place the boards.

For all those who are new to the topic of instability training will benefit from the FREO Quick Start Guide that comes for free with every purchase!

© HP Bernd Stößlein, Master of Business Administration in Sportmanagement.

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If you like to book a professional online/offline consultation please feel free to contact me: info@bernd-stoesslein.de

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Literature/Reference

McKeon PO; Hertel J; Bramble D; Davis I. The Foot Core System: A New Paradigm for Understanding Intrinsic Foot Muscle Function. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015, 49 (5), 290–290 DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092690.

FREO Quick Start Guide.