"power Ball" - Wrist/arm Workout, .. another workout gadget |
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Jul 21 2008, 02:17 PM
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Hi,
I found this little thing called "Power Ball" and i was thinking it could be interesting for some of you guys as well. Maybe you have heard of it, but i don't remember to have seen it mentioned before here at GMC. [attachment=8715:powerball.jpg] I think every guitar player is sometimes looking for some workout gadgets to strengthen the arm or finger muscles in the hope to find any kind of shortcut through endless hours of practicing. For different reasons i was looking for something to work on my right arm and wrist. The Power Ball is mainly a workout tool to strengthen the arm and wrist muscles. Not really targeting specifically the group of guitar player, but i think it could be useful when using it the right why. How does it work: Inside the Power Ball is a unbalanced rotor which is rotating around two axis. By doing a circular movement with the wrist, the rotor starts to turn around the two axis and thereby causing a centrifugal moment. As faster you turn the Power Ball, as more force you need in your arm to keep this little thing in place, by still being able to do a constant circular movement with your wrist. Tension and strength is not everything here. If you loose the rhythm, the rotor inside the Power Ball will change direction and you have to synchronize your movements again, which can be difficult or at least take a while. If you manage to turn it really fast you will be surprised about the force the Power Ball develops. Video: I have added a small video, as my explanations above are maybe not that clear: [attachment=8714:PowerBall___Mobile.avi] The rotor need a minimum speed to start turning around both axis. You can see that i need a while to adjust my movements. With my left hand it goes much quicker to find the corresponding rhythm. The Situation: Maybe i should explain why i was searching for something like this to evaluate for yourself if it could be helpful for you as well. First of all, i guess everybody has a preference for one hand and fine motions on the other hand/arm are a little underdeveloped. I am left-handed but play standard guitars, so of course in general i have lesser control over my right hand. I can not even brush my teeth properly with the right hand (without having the toothbrush in my nose at some point). This should have make me skeptical much earlier .. Another thing, i was a bit unlucky around 4 year ago and had a serious car accident. The most damages i've had on my left leg and ... what a surprise ...on my right arm. Without going in to too many details, i needed some fundamental reeducation on these both extremities. Everything is fine now, but maybe as a result of that, some muscles in my arm are still not equally developed and need some improvements  .Experiences: Damn, no shortcut . The Power Ball is not a guitar and it is not improving any guitar specific technics. I used to have some strange movements of my wrist in all directions when i come close my speed limit. I have the impression those movements are reduced a bit. There is more stability in my right arm and with that more control.To do coordinated movements, muscles need some fine tuning. Not only when putting the muscle on tension, as well the way to release the tension is really important. Warning: I don't want to miss to remember you that this thing is a workout tool !! If you see some advertising video of the Power Ball or other videos on you tube, they try to break records of doing it as fast as possible. This you don't want to do !! If someone wants to try it, please don't overdo it !! I really suggest you to adapt the speed to the goal to gain more control and flexibility over your muscles not for to do free-climbing. Slowly, constant and controlled ... you all have hear this before as an advice for good practicing Informations: http://www.powerballs.com or ebay. I hope you find this interesting. Criticize it, laugh about it, ... or just let me know what you think |
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Jul 21 2008, 02:21 PM
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QUOTE (wrk @ Jul 21 2008, 03:17 PM)  Hi, I found this little thing called "Power Ball" and i was thinking it could be interesting for some of you guys as well. Maybe you have heard of it, but i don't remember to have seen it mentioned before here at GMC. [attachment=8715:powerball.jpg] I think every guitar player is sometimes looking for some workout gadgets to strengthen the arm or finger muscles in the hope to find any kind of shortcut through endless hours of practicing. For different reasons i was looking for something to work on my right arm and wrist. The Power Ball is mainly a workout tool to strengthen the arm and wrist muscles. Not really targeting specifically the group of guitar player, but i think it could be useful when using it the right why. How does it work: Inside the Power Ball is a unbalanced rotor which is rotating around two axis. By doing a circular movement with the wrist, the rotor starts to turn around the two axis and thereby causing a centrifugal moment. As faster you turn the Power Ball, as more force you need in your arm to keep this little thing in place, by still being able to do a constant circular movement with your wrist. Tension and strength is not everything here. If you loose the rhythm, the rotor inside the Power Ball will change direction and you have to synchronize your movements again, which can be difficult or at least take a while. If you manage to turn it really fast you will be surprised about the force the Power Ball develops. Video: I have added a small video, as my explanations above are maybe not that clear: [attachment=8714:PowerBall___Mobile.avi] The rotor need a minimum speed to start turning around both axis. You can see that i need a while to adjust my movements. With my left hand it goes much quicker to find the corresponding rhythm. The Situation: Maybe i should explain why i was searching for something like this to evaluate for yourself if it could be helpful for you as well. First of all, i guess everybody has a preference for one hand and fine motions on the other hand/arm are a little underdeveloped. I am left-handed but play standard guitars, so of course in general i have lesser control over my right hand. I can not even brush my teeth properly with the right hand (without having the toothbrush in my nose at some point). This should have make me skeptical much earlier .. Another thing, i was a bit unlucky around 4 year ago and had a serious car accident. The most damages i've had on my left leg and ... what a surprise ...on my right arm. Without going in to too many details, i needed some fundamental reeducation on these both extremities. Everything is fine now, but maybe as a result of that, some muscles in my arm are still not equally developed and need some improvements .Experiences: Damn, no shortcut . The Power Ball is not a guitar and it is not improving any guitar specific technics. I used to have some strange movements of my wrist in all directions when i come close my speed limit. I have the impression those movements are reduced a bit. There is more stability in my right arm and with that more control.To do coordinated movements, muscles need some fine tuning. Not only when putting the muscle on tension, as well the way to release the tension is really important. Warning: I don't want to miss to remember you that this thing is a workout tool !! If you see some advertising video of the Power Ball or other videos on you tube, they try to break records of doing it as fast as possible. This you don't want to do !! If someone wants to try it, please don't overdo it !! I really suggest you to adapt the speed to the goal to gain more control and flexibility over your muscles not for to do free-climbing. Slowly, constant and controlled ... you all have hear this before as an advice for good practicing Informations: http://www.powerballs.com or ebay. I hope you find this interesting. Criticize it, laugh about it, ... or just let me know what you think IMO I'd rather stretch and do the excersizes I need on the guitar. |
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Jul 21 2008, 09:19 PM
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I've had a powerball for about a year now. It's a great warm up before you play guitar. 2 minutes with it is like the same as 20 minutes guitar playing.
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Jul 21 2008, 10:05 PM
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There was a thread about it long time ago
 I've had mine for approximately 3years, and yeah, it really is a good way to warm up
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Jul 21 2008, 10:11 PM
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Nice gadget,haven't seen it before,thanks.
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Jul 22 2008, 11:39 AM
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I've tried a similar version contraption, and it is a nice toy, but haven't managed to get it inot my practice schedule
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Jul 22 2008, 11:54 AM
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I tried the similar thing...It really works out your wrists
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