A
set of Gliding Discs is the perfect answer to what piece of
small equipment you should own that is versatile, inexpensive,
and easy to use. Mindy
Mylrea, creator of the Gliding
Discs has made the ordinary round disc into a novel piece
of equipment. Years ago, I taught a class with paper plates.
It was the only piece of equipment I needed. I thought, "Wow,"
"Easy" and "Inexpensive!"
The format of the class allowed a low cardiovascular response
and some strength training because the paper plates were used
against air as the resistance, or slid against the floor surface
under muscular control. A good deal of stretching out the
legs from a standing, kneeling, or seated position could be
achieved as the plates were slid along the floor. The upper
body could be stretched from a down on all fours or lying
frontal down position. A complete workout can be designed.
Who knew, a few years down the road, the paper plates would
morph into sophisticated discs, similar to a Frisbee, made
of a hard plastic or tough Kevlar fabric. You can choose from
two different materials so as to accommodate different gliding
surfaces. The hard plastic gliding discs work great on carpet
while the Kevlar fabric can be used on wood floors and linoleum.
Although the discs have been a great supplemental piece of
equipment to the adult fitness classes, I see no reason not
to include them with the kid age arsenal of equipment. Every
exercise I've incorporated in the adult fitness classes using
the gliding discs can work perfectly with the kids! In fact,
kids might even enjoy the discs more! I see the kids trying
new locomotive movements with the gliders under their feet.
Adults are a little more reluctant to lengthen their strides
and keep the momentum moving. Some adults will want to think
too much about right, left, extend, slide, and glide while
the kids are more spontaneous movers. Aren't we striving for
spontaneous activity?
There are a few basic guidelines related to proper alignment
when using the discs that glide. And, there are a few general
posture checks that need to be taught. Safely using the discs
is important. Each time anyone glides with the discs, alignment
and posture cues and safe use reminders should be verbalized
during the active exercise session. A couple of overview points
include: 1) keep repetitions to about 3 or 4 for the difficult
movements, 2) use variations liberally, 3) modify leg work
by using one disc at a time, 4) partnering work allows one
to spot while the other glides.
From time to time I create an in-service opportunity for
our Physical Education Activity Program instructors with gliders
as the sole piece of equipment. The in-service highlights
a series of common exercises, just adding the discs to switch
it up. Let's take a look at a few variations of lunges, push-ups,
back extensions, hamstring curls, and abdominal exercises
that incorporate the use of the discs. At the end of this
piece, I have included a sample class format that is tried
and true. Be free to adjust and modify for your students.
LUNGE
Lunges can be executed in a forward direction, to the side
or laterally, and toward the rear. A leg that lunges toward
the rear is usually called a reverse lunge. Let's look at
the reverse lunge first.
Place a disc under one foot, the ball of the foot, while
the other foot is not standing on a disc at this time. The
heel of the working foot, the foot with the disc, never touches
the ground. Touching the ground surface with the heel of the
foot is called braking and braking will stop the glide.
Standing tall, all ten toes forward and legs parallel, release
some of the body weight from the leg that will glide in reverse.
More body weight is on the front leg that remains stationary.
Remember, the heel is up so the gastrocnemius
is contracted. Slide the disc along the floor in a reverse
direction. I like to start with a mini lunge, and talk about
the distance the knee is going toward the floor. You might
say a mini reverse lunge is 10 %, when the knee is half the
distance to the floor you might say 50% and a knee that touches
the floor is 100%. One can come up with their own cues. You
really do want to have a gradual progression to work through
until the point when the knee eventually touches the floor.
This allows everyone to go to the distance that they feel
is right for them.
Someone, for example, may have a bad knee and can't touch
it all the way down to the floor. Perhaps the posture, which
requires engaging core muscles and balancing on a reduced
base of support with a controlled dynamic movement, is the
challenge. Keep the posture first, and go for the knee drop
second.
Small mini lunges are a warm up to the half lunge. The half
lunge series is preparation for the full lunge. Add variety
to the series as you increase the range of motion, of the
reverse glide. When the reverse is executed, with posture
engaged and alignment in control, you can add variety with
what the upper body is doing. While gliding, try reaching
forward with the opposite arm, then reach with both arms.
Try isolating the obliques
and rotate about the trunk. Add free weights and perform bicep
curls, overhead
shoulder presses, pec
(pectoralis) presses, or tricep
kick backs.
Once your working leg is at the fullest point, engage the
core and align the torso even more so and lift the foot off
of the glider. Put the foot right back down on the glider
and slide it back in to meet the supporting foot and leg.
Speeding up the tempo of the mini glides and alternating right
leg, left leg will create a cross-country ski - like action.
Add arms and pretend you are holding ski poles!
The side lunge emphasizes leg control and adduction.
Controlling the leg that glides to the point where the torso
stays in alignment, then adducting those inner thigh muscles
when gliding back toward the stationary leg is the key element
in executing this lunge. Variations of the side lunge include
adding an arm reaching diagonally across the center of the
body. Next, hold a medicine ball and rotate the torso as the
leg slides in abduction.
Slide the leg away from the center of the body then raise
it up from the disc a few inches; engage the gluteal
muscles and hold. Perform several repetitions to one side
then change to the other leg, or alternate the gliding legs
more frequently. Change the direction of the slide from due
right and due left to a more angled glide off the hips and
slightly backward.
The forward "lunge" is really a small single leg
squat for the leg that doesn't have the disc. The sliding
leg makes contact on the center of the glider with the heel
of a dorsi
flexed foot. More body weight is on foot and leg without
the disc. Slide the glider forward then back to the center
of the body for this forward "lunge." Now we know
the forward, side, and reverse lunges. Have fun and put all
the directions together by calling out the hands of the clock
as the point to where the leg glides.
For example, six o'clock, twelve o'clock, three o'clock,
eight o'clock, working both legs depending on the time you
call. You can also be more controlled with a pause at the
end of each point on the floor. Slide, or glide, forward and
pause, side and pause, back and pause, let the disc cross
the midline a little bit and pause, drop the knee that is
moving the disc, glide back to reverse, then side then front
and return to center.
DISCS UNDER THE HANDS
By placing the gliding discs under the hands and sliding
along the floor, muscles of the upper body, back, shoulder,
and arms are recruited. An additional bonus to the upper body
exercises is the isometric
abdominal work that comes into focus. Key cues for progression
are to start on the knees and increase the work load by going
to the toes. Also, perform 2 or 3 repetitions per exercise.
Start with a collapse, or letting the torso rest on the floor
a moment, before finishing the exercise. Eliminate the collapse
as strength is gained. Start by gliding the arms as wide as
the shoulders then reduce that distance. Back extensions are
executed by lying front side down, hands on discs positioned
under the arm pits then gliding the discs to a "Y"
position. At this point, the upper body may be raised from
the floor surface for a moment, while hands stay in contact
with the discs, and torso gently drops and slides to the return
position.
A push up may start with hands on discs and kneeling as in
a child's pose. Slide one arm at a time, arm into extension,
while taking hips into a lowered and extended position; add
a collapse, return one arm at a time and drop hips back into
child’s pose.
Picture a modified plank. When the body is extended, engage
the abdominals so as to discourage the lower back from going
into an unplanned extension. Reproduce the push-up by starting
standing instead of kneeling in child's pose. Micro bends
at the knees, and begin to slide both hands along the floor
surface away from the body. Hold that plank! With a strong
abdominal contraction, pike the hips upward and forcefully
slide the hands back toward the feet, keeping a micro bend
when necessary, at the knees.
This exercise is sometimes called an elephant. A full plank
is realized as you are on your balls of the feet or toes and
hands instead of knees and hands. For variety, cue the variations
that you normally would challenge the participants with. For
example, to do a side plank, put the discs under the feet
(side of the foot) and scissor the legs back and forth.
HAMSTRINGS
Focus on the hamstring
by lying down on your back with the heels of the foot on each
glider, shoulder width apart. Warm-up the hamstrings by gliding
the discs one at a time, full range
of motion (ROM) from buttocks to the longest leg extension.
Increase the difficulty of the muscle challenge with raising
the hips and keeping them high, as in a bridge, while gliding
the discs, buttocks to long leg extension. Variations include,
but not exclusive to, raising a leg from the disc while maintaining
the bridge. Perform abdominal
curls in rhythm with the hamstring
curls. Add complementary arm movements for fun or for a purpose.
Have fun partnering for some of the variations and keep the
exercises in synch!
CARDIO
Cardiovascular sports activities as we know them include
the movements of, for example, a cross country skier, a skater,
a tennis player, or a runner. That is why, mimicking the glides
of an athlete on skates or skies, doing squats or lunges,
and dynamic core training is easy to attain by training with
the discs.
As you've been reading, the discs set the tone for active
movement, fun, and challenge! You can add more body parts
and more movement or take them away, which is a great way
to meet various abilities and to individualize. Sports movements
core to such sports as skating, cross-country skiing, gymnastics,
hockey, and competitive dancing can be easily mimicked. Supplemental
sport training which incorporates lunges, squats, side steps,
push-ups, and abdominal strengthening are enhanced with the
use of gliders.
Discs move wonderfully along the progression of movement
continuum. The challenge aspect of reducing a base of support,
of sliding a long lever away from the center core, and the
challenge to add movement to a previously stationary skill
all increase the difficulty of the exercise. Working with
kids, you have an instant activity and a pocketful of variations.
I think using the gliding discs is the ticket to a varied
workout. Using the discs provides consistency with muscle
challenge, yet they are new and fresh enough each time they
are used to keep it interesting.
Warm-up on the discs (one foot on each, no braking):
Stationary squats, vary tempo
+ 2 quick squats to the right, two quick squats to the left,
REPEAT 3 or 4 times
+ skate (right/left diagonal slides)
+ reverse lunges (right/left)
+ x-c ski (right/left)
REPEAT quick squats, skates, reverse lunges and x-c skies]
Main Body of Workout:
Abductions
Slow slide X4
+ fast slide X4 then raise leg off disc
+ single hack squat, slow slide, fast slide X8
+ slow slide X4
REPEAT OTHER LEG
Reverse Lunges
Slow mini rev lunge, slow half rev lunge, full rev lunge X8
ea
REPEAT mini lunges, half lunges, and full lunges at a faster
speed
Lunges, tempo variation, pause, raise toe off disc
Clock lunge
REPEAT other leg
Squats X2 and SlidesX2, slow tempo, several sets
Squats X2 and Slides X2, fast tempo, several sets
+skate X8
+reverse lunge X8
+ X-C ski X8
+ stationary squats
REPEAT series
Pike Push-ups , arm variations, single arm slides, double
arm slides, parallel arms and "Y" arms.
Plank Series, hand/elbow variations including abduction,
one leg at a time.
Frontal and Side Planks.
Hamstring curls Series, bridge, slide legs one at a time
then double, raise leg up and hold. Add abdominal curls to
hamstring curls on tempo.
Tricep dips, discs under heels, hands on bench, bleacher,
or step, drop hips while sliding single leg then double legs.
A
set of Gliding Discs is the perfect answer to what piece of
small equipment you should own that is versatile, inexpensive,
and easy to use. 
