NSD Powerball

Pace2008

I noticed this while browsing the Argos catalogue the other day and was intrigued.

http://www.powerballs.com/

Has anyone had any experience with this product, and if so, would you recommend it?

In the past I often found my wrist/forearm strength was a bit of a block to my progress in weightlifting, so I'm considering using a powerball along with wrist curls and gripper exercises to avoid having the same problem.

I did do a quick search of the forums but the only relevant thread was from 2005, with little feedback provided.

cmyk

I was looking at these the other day, for the same reasons as yourself, and same posts came up, I'd be interested to hear too.

dcRoadie

here's my two cents:

I got one a few years back as a Christmas pressie - before they were cool I might add :cool: - they're immense fun as a handy way to work out your forearms. I've even gone shopping in Tesco whilst using it!

They can be used at a low RPM (7-8k) for a few minutes, or at a high RPM (12-14k) for a short savage burst. After the first week of ownership the sides of my figures were in bits from trying to grip it, and after use my forearms would be seriously pumped!

Has it improved the strength in my forearms? Inconclusive I'd say as I made no effort at the time to measure or monitor the changes - and my use after a few weeks became sporadic at best - I get bored easily.

Hope this helps.

dc

madmik

get the metal one if your a man

its more expensive but its way better


its heavier,slighly larger and is way more of a workout

the smaller plastic one is better for women or teens

Home:Ballyhoura

One word, "BRILLIANT", go for it! Get it here though, cheapest place around: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Brands.aspx?BrandID=287

amazingemmet

My opinion is they are basically a load of b*llock, they won't increase forearm strength in the slightest the only reason people think they are good is that they give a burn feeling from making it spin at high revs for a couple of mins, this burn feeling is basically due to keeping the forearms under tension for that whole time.

AARRRGH

I have one. I got it because my wrists were a bit weak and I felt this was causing me to fail on some of my lifts.

IMO, wrist curl type exercises are better, but I wouldn't have a problem recommending a powerball as part of your routine.

rubadub

The metal one is pricey and hard to find places selling it. Do other companies make similar heavy duty harder ones?

rubadub

I got the heavy duty metal one of these. I couldn't get it going at all, was even thinking it broke in the post (box was a bit damaged). I watched a few youtube clips in my mates and we finally got it going. Pretty soon I could get it going full belt and it is very powerful. On sites they advise you start on the standard but I thought I would eventually upgrade if I liked it. I do a lot of chinups and use grippers, and lately do dumbell work with a towel wrapped on the handle. I got to 7700rpm on the metal one. My mate who does no training got 6300 I think. There is serious power generated you really have to grip on hard, I got a blister on my finger near my knuckle with the force generated against it (I did not touch the rotor).

amazingemmet wrote: »

they give a burn feeling from making it spin at high revs for a couple of mins, this burn feeling is basically due to keeping the forearms under tension for that whole time.

There is no way I could keep it at high revs for minutes!, after 10seconds or so I was in agony. In this way I think it could be working you isometrically. The whole novelty/game aspect is fun and keeps you going further than you might otherwise. i.e. I do static holds on the grippers which I find help me a lot, but there is no "fun" or incentive to try and hold on a few seconds more. I think this is pretty much the equivalent of static gripper holds. Most say to do isometrics for 6-10seconds, with this you can stop forcing it and it stays spinning, then you can easily get it to high revs again for 10 seconds, and slow and start again, sort of doing reps.

There is a good article about chinups here
Talking of limiting factors, and one requirement is listed as

Hands: Static strength, static strength-endurance

I have found grippers great in increasing my chinup endurance.

I also have a niggly left wrist which is why I wanted to give the powerball a go. It actually feels a little better today, I will lift tonight to see if it has really improved at all.

I would value my chinup bar and gripper far more than this for strength, but it is a fun toy.