Instability Functional Training: Evidence-Based Recommendations for Coaches Brief Review
Main Article Content
Keywords
muscle hypertrophy, personal trainer, strength training
Abstract
Instability Functional Training (IFT) has been a popular form of program design in personal training certifications, and thus, widely accepted among trainers and coaches when creating programs for their clients. Training philosophies around this exercise style have been plotted in various directions, ranging from mainstream advocacy to vehement opposition. It is common practice for personal trainers to utilize unstable training and blanket all clients into this methodology in specific and non-specific exercise programs. The research does support its viability in clinical rehabilitation settings; however, it may not benefit a healthier population and may even undermine their goals. We ask trainers and coaches to consider their current position on the validity of IFT and to examine the evidence when programming it for the general public whose primary goal is to improve how they look (e.g., lose fat mass and increase lean body mass). Therefore, this article aims to help identify the merit of instability functional training, objectively review the current literature and recommend a practical approach for trainers and coaches when designing general exercise programs for clients with aesthetic goals.
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2. Ormsbee MJ, Thyfault JP, Johnson EA, Kraus RM, Choi MD, Hickner RC. Fat metabolism and acute resistance exercise in trained men. J Appl Physiol. 2007;102(5):1767-1772. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00704.2006
3. Shaw BS, Shaw I, Brown GA. Effect of resistance training on total, central and abdominal adiposity. SA J Res Sp. 2009;31(2). doi:10.4314/sajrs.v31i2.46331
4. Strasser B, Schobersberger W. Evidence for resistance training as a treatment therapy in obesity. J Obes. 2011;2011. doi:10.1155/2011/482564
5. Wewege MA, Desai I, Honey C, et al. The Effect of Resistance Training in Healthy Adults on Body Fat Percentage, Fat Mass and Visceral Fat: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2022;52(2):287-300. doi:10.1007/s40279-021-01562-2
6. Huang C-J, Webb HE, Zourdos MC, Acevedo EO. Cardiovascular reactivity, stress, and physical activity. Front Physiol. 2013;4:314. doi:10.3389/fphys.2013.00314
7. Silva-Grigoletto M, Brito CJ, Heredia JR. Functional training: Functional for what and for whom? Rev Bras Cineantropom Desempenho Hum. 2014;16(6).
8. Behm DG, Colado JC, Colado JC. Instability resistance training across the exercise continuum. Sports Health. 2013;5(6):500-503. doi:10.1177/1941738113477815
9. Liu C, Shiroy DM, Jones LY, Clark DO. Systematic review of functional training on muscle strength, physical functioning, and activities of daily living in older adults. Eur Rev Aging Phys Act. 2014;11(2):95-106. doi:10.1007/s11556-014-0144-1
10. Dobek JC, White KN, Gunter KB. The effect of a novel ADL-based training program on performance of activities of daily living and physical fitness. J Aging Phys Act. 2007;15(1):13-25. doi:10.1123/japa.15.1.13
11. Manini T, Marko M, VanArnam T, et al. Efficacy of resistance and task-specific exercise in older adults who modify tasks of everyday life. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2007;62(6):616-623. doi:10.1093/gerona/62.6.616
12. Maki BE, Cheng KC-C, Mansfield A, et al. Preventing falls in older adults: new interventions to promote more effective change-in-support balance reactions. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2008;18(2):243-254. doi:10.1016/j.jelekin.2007.06.005
13. Teasdale N, Simoneau M. Attentional demands for postural control: the effects of aging and sensory reintegration. Gait Posture. 2001;14(3):203-210. doi:10.1016/S0966-6362(01)00134-5
14. Orr R. Contribution of muscle weakness to postural instability in the elderly. A systematic review. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med. 2010;46(2):183-220.
15. Behm DG, Muehlbauer T, Kibele A, Granacher U. Effects of Strength Training Using Unstable Surfaces on Strength, Power and Balance Performance Across the Lifespan: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2015;45(12):1645-1669. doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0384-x
16. Kibele A, Behm DG. Seven weeks of instability and traditional resistance training effects on strength, balance and functional performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2009;23(9):2443-2450. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181bf0489
17. Clark MA. Optimum Performance Training for the Health and Fitness Professional – Course Manual.; 2004.
18. Anderson K, Behm DG. The impact of instability resistance training on balance and stability. Sports Med. 2005;35(1):43-53. doi:10.2165/00007256-200535010-00004
19. Seco J, Abecia LC, Echevarría E, et al. A long-term physical activity training program increases strength and flexibility, and improves balance in older adults. Rehabil Nurs. 2013;38(1):37-47. doi:10.1002/rnj.64
20. Šarabon N, Kozinc Ž. Effects of Resistance Exercise on Balance Ability: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Life (Basel). 2020;10(11). doi:10.3390/life10110284
21. Stenger L. WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL/NEUROMOTOR FITNESS? ACSMʼs Health & Fitness Journal. 2018;22(6):35-43. doi:10.1249/FIT.0000000000000439
22. Buchwald E. Functional Training*. Phys Ther. 1949;29(11):491-496. doi:10.1093/ptj/29.11.491
23. Behm D, Colado JC. The effectiveness of resistance training using unstable surfaces and devices for rehabilitation. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2012;7(2):226-241.
24. Handlery R, Shover E, Chhoun T, et al. We don’t know our own strength: A survey of strength training attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge in physical therapists and physical therapist students. Phys Ther. 2021;101(12). doi:10.1093/ptj/pzab204
25. Taylor NF, Dodd KJ, Damiano DL. Progressive resistance exercise in physical therapy: a summary of systematic reviews. Phys Ther. 2005;85(11):1208-1223. doi:10.1093/ptj/85.11.1208
26. Tsauo J-Y, Chen W-H, Liang H-W, Jang Y. The effectiveness of a functional training programme for patients with chronic low back pain--a pilot study. Disabil Rehabil. 2009;31(13):1100-1106.
27. Nikander R, Mälkiä E, Parkkari J, Heinonen A, Starck H, Ylinen J. Dose-response relationship of specific training to reduce chronic neck pain and disability. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006;38(12):2068-2074. doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000229105.16274.4b
28. Ylinen J, Häkkinen A, Nykänen M, Kautiainen H, Takala EP. Neck muscle training in the treatment of chronic neck pain: a three-year follow-up study. Eura Medicophys. 2007;43(2):161-169.
29. Nielsen PK, Andersen LL, Olsen HB, Rosendal L, Sjøgaard G, Søgaard K. Effect of physical training on pain sensitivity and trapezius muscle morphology. Muscle Nerve. 2010;41(6):836-844. doi:10.1002/mus.21577
30. Andersen LL, Andersen CH, Zebis MK, Nielsen PK, Søgaard K, Sjøgaard G. Effect of physical training on function of chronically painful muscles: a randomized controlled trial. J Appl Physiol. 2008;105(6):1796-1801. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.91057.2008
31. Signal NE. Strength training after stroke: Rationale, evidence and potential implementation barriers for physiotherapists. NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PHYSIOTHERAPY. 2014;42(2):101-107.
32. Wing CH. The BOSU Ball. ACSMs Health Fit J. 2014;18(4):5-7. doi:10.1249/FIT.0000000000000048
33. Dominski FH, Tibana RA, Andrade A. “functional fitness training”, crossfit, HIMT, or HIFT: what is the preferable terminology? Front Sports Act Living. 2022;4:882195. doi:10.3389/fspor.2022.882195
34. Stone MH. POSITION STATEMENT: explosive exercise and training. Natl Strength Cond Assoc J. 1993;15(3):7. doi:10.1519/0744-0049(1993)015<0007:EEAT>2.3.CO;2
35. Schoenfeld BJ. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2010;24(10):2857-2872. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e840f3
36. Haun CT, Vann CG, Roberts BM, Vigotsky AD, Schoenfeld BJ, Roberts MD. A critical evaluation of the biological construct skeletal muscle hypertrophy: size matters but so does the measurement. Front Physiol. 2019;10:247. doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.00247
37. Newman AB, Haggerty CL, Goodpaster B, et al. Strength and muscle quality in a well-functioning cohort of older adults: the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2003;51(3):323-330. doi:10.1046/j.1532-5415.2003.51105.x
38. Krzysztofik M, Wilk M, Wojdała G, Gołaś A. Maximizing muscle hypertrophy: A systematic review of advanced resistance training techniques and methods. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(24). doi:10.3390/ijerph16244897
39. Endo Y, Nourmahnad A, Sinha I. Optimizing skeletal muscle anabolic response to resistance training in aging. Front Physiol. 2020;11:874. doi:10.3389/fphys.2020.00874
40. Wolfe RR. The underappreciated role of muscle in health and disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;84(3):475-482. doi:10.1093/ajcn/84.3.475
41. Srikanthan P, Horwich TB, Tseng CH. Relation of muscle mass and fat mass to cardiovascular disease mortality. Am J Cardiol. 2016;117(8):1355-1360. doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2016.01.033
42. Ruple BA, Godwin JS, Mesquita PHC, et al. Myofibril and mitochondrial area changes in type I and II fibers following 10 weeks of resistance training in previously untrained men. Front Physiol. 2021;12:728683. doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.728683
43. Wackerhage H, Schoenfeld BJ, Hamilton DL, Lehti M, Hulmi JJ. Stimuli and sensors that initiate skeletal muscle hypertrophy following resistance exercise. J Appl Physiol. 2019;126(1):30-43. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00685.2018
44. Anderson KG, Behm DG. Maintenance of EMG activity and loss of force output with instability. J Strength Cond Res. 2004;18(3):637-640. doi:10.1519/00124278-200408000-00043
45. Saeterbakken AH, Fimland MS. Electromyographic activity and 6RM strength in bench press on stable and unstable surfaces. J Strength Cond Res. 2013;27(4):1101-1107. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182606d3d
46. Saeterbakken AH, Andersen V, Jansson J, Kvellestad AC, Fimland MS. Effects of BOSU ball(s) during sit-ups with body weight and added resistance on core muscle activation. J Strength Cond Res. 2014;28(12):3515-3522. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000000565
47. Zemková E, Jeleň M, Kováčiková Z, Ollé G, Vilman T, Hamar D. Power outputs in the concentric phase of resistance exercises performed in the interval mode on stable and unstable surfaces. J Strength Cond Res. 2012;26(12):3230-3236. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e31824bc197
48. Behm DG, Anderson K, Curnew RS. Muscle force and activation under stable and unstable conditions. J Strength Cond Res. 2002;16(3):416. doi:10.1519/1533-4287(2002)016<0416:MFAAUS>2.0.CO;2
49. Cressey EM, West CA, Tiberio DP, Kraemer WJ, Maresh CM. The effects of ten weeks of lower-body unstable surface training on markers of athletic performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2007;21(2):561-567. doi:10.1519/R-19845.1
50. Chulvi-Medrano I, García-Massó X, Colado JC, Pablos C, de Moraes JA, Fuster MA. Deadlift muscle force and activation under stable and unstable conditions. J Strength Cond Res. 2010;24(10):2723-2730. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f0a8b9
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Feb 6, 2023
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Instability Functional Training: Evidence-Based Recommendations for Coaches: Brief Review. (2023). Research in Strength and Performance, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.53520/rdsp2023.10561
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