Working Out with Others to Get Stronger & Find Motivation

Working out with others increases your motivation to go workout, and the intensity of your workout once you’re there. A recent study by the Society of Behavioral Medicine found working out with a partner improved results while doing aerobic exercise. Another study found 95% of people completed a weight loss program if they had a friend doing it with them, compared to only 76% who did it on their own.

Working out with others at StrongBoard Balance Board Exercise For Vitality Class Inland Empire

Being around others can bring energy and added competitiveness, causing you to get more out of your workout. The one caveat is to try and find a workout partner or exercise group who are motivated to push themselves to get better. A lackadaisical group will only bring down your energy and make it harder to reach goals.

StrongBoard offers a number of StrongBoard Group X classes in California and Wisconsin, with more to come as more trainers are becoming certified to teach StrongBoard classes. Classes are available with a variety of classes for different exercises goals, including StrongBoard BURN!®, StrongBoard MOMMAS!®, StrongBoard BOOTCAMP!®, StrongBoard CIRCUIT!® and StrongBoard BURN!® Micro.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for great exercise videos and ideas!

StrongBoard and Muscle Progression

StrongBoard Balance Board Scott O'Neil

Muscle Confusion is a hot topic these days. Popular training programs tell their followers “mixing things up” is a great way to get bigger, stronger, and faster. Like we talked about last week, variety in a workout is a good thing, as it keeps things from getting stale, providing motivation and a new sense of energy to a workout routine. There’s not anything inherently wrong with muscle confusion, but it is overblown. Muscle progression is what you should aim for if you wish to reach your goals. What is muscle progression and how do you get it?

Muscle progression is simply lifting more weight, completing more reps, or completing a workout quicker. Muscle progression is really the only way you get bigger, faster, and stronger. While muscle confusion may make you feel sore (making you think you got a great workout), soreness is really only an indicator your body isn’t used to the exercise.

StrongBoard is great for muscle progression. Almost any workout you can think of can be made harder by using your StrongBoard. It provides the variety and challenge to give your workout a jolt of energy, while also making everything harder. Doing squats with dumbbells on a flat surface can be made more challenging while on StrongBoard due to the imbalance of the board, while also having to focus on stability and form. You may even have to go to a lower weight at first while you get used to the increased difficulty.

Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for great exercises to add into your routine, and continue progressing toward your goals!

Balance Working Out with Rest Days

StrongBoard Balance Rest & Recovery

Contrary to popular belief, getting stronger, faster, or more fit doesn’t happen at the gym, it happens during periods of rest. Over exercising can lead to decreased athletic or workout performance, elevated blood pressure, decreased immunity, disturbed sleep, and more.

To put it simply, working out damages and breaks down muscle fibers. Resting, especially during sleep, allows muscles to repair themselves in stronger formations, and even increase in size.

There is some debate about how many hours of rest is needed. The best answer is it depends on your body and how experienced you are. When competitive athletes were studied by the National Strength and Conditioning Association, muscle soreness was found to peak around 48 hours, suggesting at least two days rest is optimal.

A meta-analysis by Arizona State University found one to two rest days between workouts was ideal for beginners training three days per week, while experienced exercisers only needed to train two days per week to achieve their optimal results. If you haven’t worked out in awhile and you’re just starting a new routine, it’s best to wait 72 hours to allow your body to fully recover.

Combined with eating right and exercising on your StrongBoard, getting the right amount of rest will lead you to optimal health. Remember to listen to your body above all else.

Bring Balance to Your Routine with the Squat

StrongBoard Balance Board Physical Therapy

Summer isn’t too far off, and for those wanting to get fit, the squat is an essential part of a workout routine. The squat is often overlooked or avoided. Perhaps not being able to walk up the stairs, or walk at all the next day is the reason why. However, there’s no denying the importance of the squat.

The reason squatting often is so beneficial is because it is a complex exercise, involving multiple major muscle groups, including the calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings. The more muscle you build in your legs, the more calories your body will burn at rest to maintain your muscles. The power of compound calorie burning is a great thing.

Squatting will not only cause you to be faster, stronger, and jump higher, it can even improve your bone density, according to a study. Bone density in the neck and spine was improved by 2.9% and 4.9%, and which was only during the course of the study! The great thing about squatting with StrongBoard Balance is muscle confusion can happen without having to do different exercises. Simply trying to balance while squatting will work your leg muscles in different ways.

While squatting can be a challenging exercise to do on StrongBoard, the squat is perhaps the best exercise for having great balance, as it requires your whole body to be in control. Don’t be shy and try some squats on your StrongBoard today. We promise you’ll start seeing benefits!