Muscle Activation the Same During Lifts on a Swiss Ball or Stable Surface

Written by Shoshana Pritzker Thursday, 08 September 2011 20:04

Muscle Activation the Same During Lifts on a Swiss Ball or Stable Surface

Some athletes lift on unstable surfaces such as Swiss or Bosu balls to increase muscle activation during the exercise. The theory is that training on unstable surfaces requires additional muscle activation to control the weights.

A study from California State University, Northridge, led by Brandon Uribe showed equal muscle activation of the rectus abdominis (six-pack muscle), deltoid (shoulder), and pectoralis major (chest) muscles when performing dumbbell chest or shoulder presses on a Swiss ball or stable surface.
Other studies using more experienced lifters showed greater muscle activation on stable surfaces. Lifting on unstable surfaces is probably a waste of time. (Journal Strength Conditioning Research, 24: 1028-1033, 2010)