On previous occasions we have talked about the use of ballast when performing certain exercises. It is true that ballast is an additional aid when we already have a certain level of strength and control over certain exercises such as those dominated by dorsal or flexions in parallel or in soil. But adding ballast to our movements is not always the best. So in this post we want to stop at this point, because we are going to see some disadvantages of the ballast and how we can do to obtain the same results without using it.

The purpose of the ballast is to add more weight so that the resistance that we have to overcome is greater when performing a certain exercise. But it is not always ballast is an aid, since many times can bother us in the execution of the exercise by the placement. Do not forget that the ballast is a weight that is either hanging from the waist, or is held with the feet, or placed on the back. Either way it is an external agent that can hinder the movement and with it the correct execution of the exercise.

Some drawbacks

For these reasons sometimes the use of the ballast is not the best thing to keep moving forward, because we can get the opposite, hurt or not perform the routines properly or with the intensity. To solve this and to have other alternatives we can adopt other strategies that will help us increase the intensity of the exercise and achieve better results.

Perform complete and controlled exercises

In the first place, what we recommend is to perform each repetition completely and controlling the movement at all times. One mistake we usually make is to shorten the courses and not properly affect all the muscles involved in an exercise. To improve the intensity and replace the last, a well-executed exercise and in its total path will help us to obtain better results in the long run.

Work Slowly and Controlled

Running the exercise slowly and controlled is another way to increase the intensity of the exercise without using ballast. In order to do this, we will concentrate on the muscles we have worked on and execute the whole exercise in a slow and concentrated way to achieve better and better results. In the execution is the success and therefore it is not always necessary to use an extra weight. Sometimes simply doing a little better exercise will serve to get better results.

Vary the grip and include devices in the exercises

Another point that we can take into account to substitute the ballast and to influence better in the muscles is to vary the grip in each exercise. For example, in dorsal dominated we can interleave open grips with other closed or change the position of the hands. In this way we will be introducing variations that will help us get a different job at muscle level. This will make us achieve a new way of working and with it better results.

The same thing happens with pectoral push-ups or parallel exercises. We can try doing these exercises using benches that elevate the legs and vary the position and with it the incidence of the exercise. In the same way we can perform the exercise on some devices like bosu, which endow our body with instability and with this will force us to involve other muscles in the exercise and thus get a job different from the usual.

Keep in mind that the only solution to keep growing is not to include more weight to ours. The ballast is fine and we will not demonize it at all, but we must bear in mind that for many people it is not the solution. Above all you have to keep in mind that you must be comfortable and allow us to perform the exercise completely. We can not do a correct training if the extra load bothers us or destabilizes us, because we already run the risk of falling into poorly performed movements, postural defects … which in the long run can lead to injuries.