Shake Up Your Routine: The Bodyblade Strengthens All of Your Muscles

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GETTING INJURED wasn't part of Adam Berg's weight training plan. But busting his knee in a boating accident turned out to be not such a bad move for the personal trainer at Mint Fitness (1724 California St. NW; 202-328- 6468). That's because in rehab three years ago, he met Bodyblade.

The device looks like a giant slap bracelet with a grip in the middle that you hold so you can get the sides to flap. Even inventor Bruce Hymanson, the physical therapist who developed it nearly 20 years ago to work with patients, admits it can appear underwhelming. "I embrace that first response of, 'Come on, you're telling me this stick is going to do something?' All it takes is to try it," he says.

To hold on while propelling the ends of the blade to bounce regularly is much more difficult than it looks, because whatever force you create, you must also control. "It turns your body into an exercise machine that's trying to push you down and rotate you. The mass of your body becomes the challenge," explains Hymanson, who boasts that users experience 270 muscle contractions per minute. The other challenge is it demands every muscle get in on the action. If some are being lazy, the blade won't oscillate properly, so perfecting form trains greater activation. As Hymanson says, "It's like an orchestra learning to play together."

But although it's undeniably hard work to spend time with Bodyblade, it doesn't require a lot of impact or joint movement (which is why it's ideal for injured folks), the difficulty is scalable depending on the size of the exerciser, and it raises one's heart rate faster than traditional weight lifting, so it's also a cardio workout. These are all reasons Berg, even though he's long been healed, keeps using it and spent the summer introducing it to the other trainers at Mint.

"I immediately saw this would be a great tool for sports," says Berg, who's not the first to come to that conclusion (it's become a staple in the training programs for college and professional sports teams). He's a fan of using the Bodyblade as you go through athletic moves, such as a tennis serve or a golf swing, because the device helps build strength throughout the entire motion. It can even improve the most basic functional actions. "Walking with a lunge while you're using Bodyblade and twisting your torso puts the whole system under duress. Do that for a week and you'll walk better," he says.

Berg's progression from Bodyblade patient to exponent is something Hymanson has become used to over the years as Bodyblade has made the transition from doctors offices to gyms with increasing regularity. It's made huge inroads with personal training and small-group training (you'll also find it in Mark Jenkins' popular Jump Off class at Soma Fit), and the next frontier is large-group exercise.

The hope is to help as many people meet Bodyblade as possible without their having to get injured in boating accidents.

Photos courtesy Bodyblade