Some health gear is price your cash; others are gimmicks that ought to keep on the shelf. It’s not at all times simple 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 soar on flat floor.
After all, you may, however as Muscle & Health’ Zack Zeigler and Frank Sepe lately realized whereas touring The Energy Membership (positioned in New York, NY), the Sanddune is a energy coach-approved software for lowering joint influence and bolstering stability. And that, of us, is why M&F’s Fitness center Excursions sequence exists—to find out about new coaching instruments that we (and also you) would miss out on in any other case. Preserve studying for extra concerning 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 toes and fingers work independently of each other. Each platforms are additionally barely angled to position your fingers or toes on a decline or incline.
You may run, soar, and push off of the Sanddune, which supplies extra cushion on your joints whereas additionally difficult your stability. It’s sometimes 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 cut back muscle soreness and stress. A research revealed within the Journal of Human Kinetics in contrast the outcomes of seaside 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 mushy tissue and bones on the decrease limbs throughout plyometric train.” (1)
It’s warm-up and conditioning software. The Sanddune’s inherent instability supplies advantages to your conditioning and warm-ups which can be exhausting to duplicate on steady floor. For one, the stabilizing muscle tissue surrounding your ankles, knees, wrists, and shoulders will hearth persistently whereas utilizing the Sanddune. In consequence, your muscle tissue ought to grow to be extra steady over time. You’ll additionally enhance your capability to stability and produce extra drive.
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 house in your gymnasium. Whereas it gained’t match comfortably in your bag, you may simply toss the Sanddune in your automobile and haul it into your native gymnasium.
What to Contemplate
It prices $280. That’s a reasonably steep value to pay for a bit of kit that we’d hardly name important. Contemplate 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 ok in case you routinely carry out plyometric exercises. There are a number of different makes use of for the Sanddune, however they aren’t widespread 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.”
