TFS Review: Trigger Point (TP) Stability PODS
Posted May 28th, 2007 at 4:00 PM by Paul Petersen
Section: Gear & Apparel, Product Reviews, Exercise Equipment, Special Features, TFS Reviews
Trigger Point Technologies hit a home run with their TP Massage toolkit, which is designed to release trigger points, restore muscle elasticity, and improve biomechanics for runners, cyclists, and other athletes. For me, TP massage as been key component of returning my body to health and my recent rise in running performance (Also see my full review on the TP Massage Ball).
Another oft-overlooked aspect of injury prevention, performance, and biomechanics is core strength. Many runners will be willing to train for hours and hours each week, but fail to put any time into improving their core — the result of this neglect is sometimes poor biomechanics that propagate into injury.
While actively recovering from my barrage of injuries in 2006, I dedicated myself to improving core strength, both during physical therapy and at home. From wobble boards and stability balls, to simple crunches and bridge exercises, I consistently invested about 15 minutes per day into my core muscles. And it has been time well spent, as I have logged over 1400 miles in 5 months and set several big PR’s…all while staying injury-free.
The TP Stability PODS are designed to increase core strength through challenging balance and symmetry. They come as a set of three different-sized, concave, foam…er…pods (for the lack of a better description). The differential heights of the three pods represent three difficulty levels (I, II, and III). In other words, it is much harder to find balance with the tallest pod than with the shortest pod, which engages greater work in the core muscles.
Those who use wobble boards and stability balls will immediate see the challenge and utility of the TP Stability PODS. Due to their concave shape and foam material, it’s pretty difficult to find your equilibrium while using these things! I enjoyed using the PODS to spice up my normal core exercises, such as my “bridges” and “bird-dog” poses. I found that I was unable to hold my stability poses as long when using the PODS, and activated a more intense workout compared to without them. This new challenge was quite welcome, as I was getting rather bored with my exercises lately.
The PODS also play well with other apparatus. For instance, doing push-ups with my feet on a stability ball and hands on the PODS was a great full-body workout. There are other inventive POD exercises that can be done in synergy with a stability ball or even the TP Baller Block. Just as you can intensify just about any core exercise by using a stability ball, you can further intensify any core exercise by applying one or more Stability PODs to any of your points of contact with the ground.
TP Technologies has also developed a series of POD exercises specifically for runners. They are essentially various forms of one-legged knee raises and hip abductions that stimulate balance and symmetry. While these exercises won’t engage an intense “burn” or anything, they do activate the deeper muscles of the core, which are often under-developed. I’ve been performing these balancing exercises 3-4 days/week for a couple months now, and have noticed a size-able improvement in my balance, and have been able to steadily increase my balancing time on the POD. These exercises remind me much of the wobble-board poses I had performed during formal physical therapy sessions while rehabbing a groin strain, only I’m not being billed $150/hour by some therapist.
Trigger Point Technology’s Stability PODS should be considered by any athlete looking to prevent injuries, rehab injuries, or simply increase performance. There is a significant amount of valuable training and rehab that can be completed right at home. A set of PODS sells for $26, which is much less than the amount my physical therapist would bill my insurance for 15-minutes with a hot pack. Products like the PODS empower athletes to take their health into their own hands and implement home programs.
As a runner, I can’t say enough about core strength in general. I sincerely believe that increasing core strength and improving biomechanics was a key aspect to my recent half marathon improvement from 1:12:50 to 1:09:27. TP Massage and Stability PODS were just a couple ingredients in my stew of training, but they most certainly helped.
If you’re interested in core strength, investing in a stability ball should be your first step, and I also recommend giving the Stability PODS a try.
For more information, please visit: http://tpmassageball.com/pods.php
This review was initially published on the “Of Marathons and Maps” Blog and has been reproduced here with permission.
***Note: We encourage EVERYONE to see a doctor before altering their diet, taking a supplement and/or performing athletic, fitness or other strenuous physical activity. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, instruction, opinion or advice contained in the content. Please also see our complete disclaimer.***
Tags: biomechanics, core strength, full body workout, home workout, injury prevention, injury treatment, performance, physical therapist, physically therapy, POD, POD exercises, PODS, product review, rehab, rehabilitation, review, TP, TP Massage Ball, TP massage toolkit, TP Stability PODS, TP Technologies, training, trigger point, trigger point technologies, workout
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The Final Sprint