Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Power Bag - Balance and the Full Body Workout

By Julia Channel

When training for any sport, there will always be multiple areas of the body to focus on. You may train to be a boxer by focusing on your upper body through the use of kettle bells, power bags and boxing rings. There is more to a strength based workout than just physical strength and stamina.

It is very important to be aware of your personal limitations of movement and to keep your focus on flexibility and an overall, even workout of the entire body. A simple way to incorporate the power bag into your workout is to focus on balance training.

Balance training is used by many athletes, martial artists and physical therapists around the world. It is a concentrated focus on your body, of maintaining position and coordination through time and movement. The power bag is a useful tool that can be included in your stretches before and after working out and it can be used with equipment or be used free standing.

The study of balance training which is known as proprioception can involve different exercise tools, one of which is a balance ball. This device can aid in elongating little-used muscles, resulting in enhanced range of motion and reduced muscle adhesions caused by scarring and tearing.

One should be careful not to jump into balance training without proper instruction and warm up. Physical trainers will generally be able to quickly assess your needs and determine which balance exercises will help increase your fitness without compromising your safety.

Remember that training should be done in moderation and you should slowly ease into the training.

Can you get a full body workout solely through balance training? No, but a combination of balance training and targeting specific muscle-groups will significantly impact upon the regimen you are able to do and the results you can achieve.

For more information concerning balance training, as well as equipment needed to maximize your total body workout, check out www.escapefitness.com - 17944

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