In the past few weeks I’ve participated in a couple of personal trainer led group workouts in Vancouver. One workout in particular was a bit of a disaster, with a variety of very pointless (and in one case dangerous) exercises.
By far the most pointless exercise in the workout was a resistance band lateral raise (nothing wrong with that) while standing on a balance board (there’s the problem).
If you’ve never exercised on a balance board before, then congratulations, you’ve managed to avoid one of the most pointless pieces of exercise equipment ever created.
I knew the balance board exercise was going to be a complete waste of time when the trainer couldn’t even demonstrate the exercise properly. She got on the balance board and tried in vain to balance on it while demonstrating a lateral raise. Painful to watch.
You know you’re being asked to perform a goofy exercise when it’s so off the wall that your trainer can’t even demonstrate it properly.
Unless you’re a professional log roller, tightrope walker, or are training for a competition involving standing on a balance board, there’s absolutely no reason to use such a pointless piece of equipment during your workouts.
And if your personal trainer gets you standing on a balance board during your workout, it may be time to find a new (and competent) personal trainer.
Btw, the “dangerous” exercise I mentioned earlier involved setting up three BOSU’s in a row and having people do tuck jumps from one BOSU to the next. Unbelievable.
Besides being completely pointless, that’s an ankle inversion sprain waiting to happen, with the very real possibility of much more serious injuries. There are truly some incompetent personal trainers out there. Beware.
