This year's LIW event saw great interest from personal trainers and the major operators in the pre-launch of the BaSE (Balance & Stability Exercise) training platform which has been developed by Jason McMahon of StudioSports.com.
Under licence with BalanceMaster, McMahon spotted a gap in the market for a functional version of BalanceMaster that will allow for a greater range of functional and sport specific exercises to be performed while under the controlled stresses of maintaining balance and stability, and which increases proprioception.
The BaSE platform as a prototype has been under trial with the English Institute of Sport in Manchester and was presented to some of the UK's largest operators while at IHRSA, San Francisco earlier this year.
Proprioception is the sense that indicates whether the body is moving with required effort, as well as where the various parts of the body are located in relation to each other.
It is achieved through muscles, ligaments and joint actions using messages that are continuously sent through the central nervous system.
A mounting body of evidence indicates that proprioceptive training can improve athletes' strength, conditioning, muscular balance and muscle reaction times.
