Some health tools is price your cash; others are gimmicks that ought to keep on the shelf. It’s not at all times straightforward to know which is which. For instance, at first look, the Sanddune Energy Stepper is a squishy platform that, for $280 a pop, leaves you questioning why you may’t simply run and leap on flat floor.
After all, you may, however as Muscle & Health’ Zack Zeigler and Frank Sepe lately discovered whereas touring The Power Membership (positioned in New York, NY), the Sanddune is a energy coach-approved software for lowering joint affect and bolstering stability. And that, of us, is why M&F’s Health club Excursions sequence exists—to find out about new coaching instruments that we (and also you) would miss out on in any other case. Hold studying for extra in regards to the Sanddune.
What’s it?
The Sanddune Energy Stepper is a foam field that mimics the texture of shifting on sand. It options two particular person platforms, so your ft and arms work independently of each other. Each platforms are additionally barely angled to put your arms or ft on a decline or incline.
You may run, leap, and push off of the Sanddune, which offers extra cushion to your joints whereas additionally difficult your steadiness. It’s usually used as a warm-up and conditioning software. Frequent actions on the Sanddune embody excessive knees, strolling in place, vertical jumps, and push-ups.
What We Like
- The Sanddune is joint-friendly. It mimics a sandy floor, coaching on which has been proven to scale back muscle soreness and stress. A examine revealed within the Journal of Human Kinetics in contrast the outcomes of seashore handball gamers, half underwent regular preseason coaching; the opposite half added plyometrics carried out on the sand to their protocol. Within the textual content, the researchers write, “A sand floor is related to a larger diploma of shock absorption and decrease stress to delicate tissue and bones on the decrease limbs throughout plyometric train.” (1)
- It’s a very good warm-up and conditioning software. The Sanddune’s inherent instability offers advantages to your conditioning and warm-ups which might be exhausting to duplicate on secure floor. For one, the stabilizing muscular tissues surrounding your ankles, knees, wrists, and shoulders will fireplace constantly whereas utilizing the Sanddune. In consequence, your muscular tissues ought to turn into extra secure over time. You’ll additionally enhance your capability to steadiness and produce extra power.
- It has a small footprint. The Sanddune is 26” vast, 22” lengthy, and weighs 12.5 kilos, so it doesn’t take up a lot area in your fitness center. Whereas it gained’t match comfortably in your bag, you may simply toss the Sanddune in your automotive and haul it into your native fitness center.
What to Take into account
- It prices $280. That’s a fairly steep value to pay for a bit of apparatus that we’d hardly name important. Take into account the Sanddune a nice-to-have, assuming you already personal free weights, a rack, and a weight bench.
Its purposes are comparatively restricted. You’ll get probably the most mileage out of the Sanddune leaping, squatting, and working on high of it. That’s about it, which is okay in case you routinely carry out plyometric exercises. There are a number of different makes use of for the Sanddune, however they aren’t frequent data. For instance, you should use it as a knee pad for Nordic curls or lay on it for dumbbell pullovers. By itself, the Sanddune is an adjunct, so take into consideration the way you prepare and the way usually you’ll use it earlier than clicking “purchase now.”