Thread: Any reasons not to use "Genie balls" in upper body work when training beginners?

Genie balls are soft, slightly squishy, weights about the size of a grapefruit, weighing 3 lbs each, an alternative to dumbell weights. They are used in various ways -- to relieve back pain by lying down & rolling back & forth, etc. -- and I have found them useful for myself for toning & controlling upper body/arm movements. I have a couple of beginner students who can't seem to slow down their arm movements, esp. alternating snake arms. (Energy is starting to flow nicely through the fingertips, not stopping at the wrists or elbows, etc., problem is with speed.) I thought I would bring in the genie balls. They are comfortable, easy on the hands, and not too heavy. Obviously, they are not good for hand movements because of the need to be "grasped". But I find them useful particularly for snake arms as they tend to help you find the correct muscles and have positive side effects of toning the upper arms. They also help in chest circles and such. The weight slows the student's arms down and requires more focus. My question is, has anyone used something like this in teaching and/or can you think of any reason why their use would be harmful in any way, as long as proper alignment is maintained and body weight is not thrown off in any way?

Thanks for any advice!

I would never use large weight balls even for working out, because grasping a large object causes unnecessary stress to my wrists and hands (the stress is disproportionate to the actual weight of the object). I always use dumbbells instead.

I would make sure that if you use these balls, you make sure that your students let you know if they are experiencing wrist or hand pain - then give those students some other prop to work with.

In addition to sarahshimmies's excellent point about wrist strain, I'd be hesitant to use something like this in class because it's putting excess weight on the periphery of the body, and the muscles that need toning/isolation/flexibility are more central (shoulders and back). Especially with beginners, any misalignment or imbalance could cause undue strain on the rotator cuff or put them at risk for some other kind of injury. If it's helpful in your home practice, that's great, but personally I think it's too risky to use in a class setting, especially for beginners. The gym where I teach yoga offers a yoga class with (light) hand weights and I won't teach it or practice that way for the same reason.

Originally Posted by sarahshimmies

I would never use large weight balls even for working out, because grasping a large object causes unnecessary stress to my wrists and hands (the stress is disproportionate to the actual weight of the object). I always use dumbbells instead.

I would make sure that if you use these balls, you make sure that your students let you know if they are experiencing wrist or hand pain - then give those students some other prop to work with.

Thanks for your input -- what weight are the dumbbells that you use? (I should have stressed that the balls are not hard, they are soft & allow the fingers to sink into them, so I should not have used the word "grasp", which sounds more stressful than it really is.)

Originally Posted by omchantress

In addition to sarahshimmies's excellent point about wrist strain, I'd be hesitant to use something like this in class because it's putting excess weight on the periphery of the body, and the muscles that need toning/isolation/flexibility are more central (shoulders and back). Especially with beginners, any misalignment or imbalance could cause undue strain on the rotator cuff or put them at risk for some other kind of injury. If it's helpful in your home practice, that's great, but personally I think it's too risky to use in a class setting, especially for beginners. The gym where I teach yoga offers a yoga class with (light) hand weights and I won't teach it or practice that way for the same reason.

I see your point, thank you. These balls actually helped me strengthen my wrists & minimize risk of carpal tunnel syndrome when I was typing 80-90 hours a week in my medical transcription business, but, of course, I was not extending the arm when doing the exercises. Could I ask you the same question as Sarah: What weight do you consider "light" or acceptable (assuming I use dumbbells instead)? Or I guess you're saying you would not use them at any weight? Thanks for your input, I appreciate it!

Any reasons not to use "Genie balls" in upper body work when training beginners?

Just the obvious... what will you do with the rest of the genie?



Sorry, I don't have a serious answer.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Just the obvious... what will you do with the rest of the genie?



Sorry, I don't have a serious answer.

Fair enough .... a funny answer came to mind, but I'll resist the temptation to post .....

Originally Posted by naiyahayal

Thanks for your input -- what weight are the dumbbells that you use? (I should have stressed that the balls are not hard, they are soft & allow the fingers to sink into them, so I should not have used the word "grasp", which sounds more stressful than it really is.)

Well, I use them for working out, so it's not really the same purpose. I use 3 or 5 lb weights for the aerobics, and 8 or 12 lb weights for strength training. I do a moderate amount of lifting at work, also.

It may not be stressful for you to grasp grapefruit-size balls of moderate weight with the palm down, but I personally found it exceedingly uncomfortable when I tried it. I'm not suggesting that you should necessarily use dumbbells instead for your classes; I'm just saying that I found similar balls (the size of a large orange) so uncomfortable to use when I tried simple movements with them in a store, that I decided to not even think about buying them. I felt there was a very high likelihood that I would severely strain or injure my hands or wrists when using the balls for "normal" workout movements. So, since I already owned some light dumbbells, I just started using them for the aerobics video that called for balls of the same weight.

Since "Genie balls" worked so well for you, I think it's a great idea to share that method with your students. But students also should be encouraged to pay attention to the cues their bodies give them. If it feels really bad...maybe it IS really bad (at least for that individual).

Originally Posted by sarahshimmies

Since "Genie balls" worked so well for you, I think it's a great idea to share that method with your students. But students also should be encouraged to pay attention to the cues their bodies give them. If it feels really bad...maybe it IS really bad (at least for that individual).

Agreed. Absolutely! They were very enthusiastic about them, so I thought I would give it a try, but will only do it for a very limited sequence of movements (I was only planning to incorporate it into a warm-up set, not drills) and monitor closely for any signs of discomfort, in the shoulders/forearms/wrists/hands and elsewhere in the body as a whole. Good advice.

I have had some success with having some of my more senior student practice things like double veil with wrist weights on (small pouches filled with sand strapped to wrists, used in exercise for things like extra Resistance during aerobics) I find if they can hold good line for a whole dance with them on then in performance with out them there is no more saggy arms =)
However I would ideally only suggest them to someone who already has mastered correct technique and is really working on endurance. I think it is a good idea just start off using them for very brief periods of time as beginner dancers are not likely to have the technique or fitness to keep them selves from industry when tired. Keep this in mind and very slowly increase their use and you should be away laughing. Its always great to try new things to help us improve.

Kali

Originally Posted by naiyahayal

. . . Obviously, they are not good for hand movements because of the need to be "grasped". But I find them useful particularly for snake arms as they tend to help you find the correct muscles and have positive side effects of toning the upper arms. They also help in chest circles and such. The weight slows the student's arms down and requires more focus. . . .

Well, if you just want to slow the movement down, that would mean you need to create resistance. How about a class field trip to a pool, and work on the movements there?

Just a thought . . .

One idea that concerns me about using weights in class is that it makes the dance more about muscles than learning to use your body properly as a dancer. If you want to built arm endurance and strength, then weights are definitely the way to go, but if you are hoping to make self-generated muscular resistance (that you're eventually going to use as a means of emoting on stage), why not just drill proper arm work for dancing more aggressively, and cross-train with weights separately? Is there any other dance that routinely uses weights as part of their training like this? I've heard of isolated people doing odd things for practice and claiming great results, but for every one of them, there are far more people saying not to use weights while dancing because they cause unnatural stress on the body and increase the risk of injury.

I think it can be a legitimate problem that students can't do strong arm work because their upper-body conditioning is poor, but if a student has that problem, using arm weights in dance class is asking for trouble. You're not going to fix a weak upper back, shoulders, and arms by putting light weights in the hands and flapping around. Mostly you'll just fatigue the muscles and compromise good posture. An hour of doing snake arms holding soup cans probably accomplishes less than doing ten minutes of normal arm exercises with heavier hand weights and ten minutes of concentrating on snake arms with empty hands.

OTOH, if you have students who have strong upper bodies and want to work on extra endurance, I'd say use wrist weights over held weights. At least the wrist weights don't interfere with practicing good arm lines. Students who don't know how to move their arms well surely don't need practice in creating white-knuckled, clench-y hands.