Some health gear is price your cash; others are gimmicks that ought to keep on the shelf. It’s not all the time 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 possibly can’t simply run and leap on flat floor.
After all, you possibly can, however as Muscle & Health’ Zack Zeigler and Frank Sepe not too long ago discovered whereas touring The Energy Membership (situated in New York, NY), the Sanddune is a energy coach-approved device for lowering joint impression and bolstering stability. And that, of us, is why M&F’s Health club Excursions sequence exists—to study 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 transferring 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 position your arms or ft on a decline or incline.
You may run, leap, and push off of the Sanddune, which supplies extra cushion to your joints whereas additionally difficult your stability. It’s sometimes used as a warm-up and conditioning device. Widespread actions on the Sanddune embrace 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 printed 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 gentle tissue and bones on the decrease limbs throughout plyometric train.” (1)
- It’s a very good warm-up and conditioning device. The Sanddune’s inherent instability supplies advantages to your conditioning and warm-ups which might be laborious to copy on secure floor. For one, the stabilizing muscle groups surrounding your ankles, knees, wrists, and shoulders will fireplace constantly whereas utilizing the Sanddune. Consequently, your muscle groups ought to turn out to be extra secure over time. You’ll additionally enhance your potential to stability and produce extra pressure.
- It has a small footprint. The Sanddune is 26” broad, 22” lengthy, and weighs 12.5 kilos, so it doesn’t take up a lot area in your fitness center. Whereas it received’t match comfortably in your bag, you possibly can simply toss the Sanddune in your automobile and haul it into your native fitness center.
What to Think about
- It prices $280. That’s a reasonably steep value to pay for a bit of kit that we’d hardly name important. Think about 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 operating on prime of it. That’s about it, which is okay in the event 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 typically you’ll use it earlier than clicking “purchase now.”
