Good Find

I found this today, I try to explain this to athletes, coaches, and other trainers all of the time. I think the author does a great job of defining what specificity is not. There was other good information in the article, so if you got the time check it out.

Unstable Surfaces and Performance
The question and the controversy are whether or not training on unstable surfaces, i.e. wobble boards etc. really do improve performance in sport. A recent article in the NSCA Journal of Strength and Conditioning seemed to de-emphasize the importance and effectiveness of this type of training. The fact is that at this time there is no clinical evidence that training on unstable surfaces actually improves sport performance. The important concept to understand is that almost everything boils down to “Specificity”. If an athlete practices throwing a medicine ball on a foam roller he, or she, will ultimately become very good at throwing a ball on a foam roller. According to the article the transfer effect to throwing a ball with power and accuracy on the playing field may simply not exist. This is because when we learn a new skill we do so slowly and as we practice we are able to do it faster and more efficiently. What results is a specific neuromuscular pattern the author refers to as an engram. When we introduce a new variable like a wobble board two things happen. First, time that could be spent on the needed skill is not used and secondly we may wind up confusing the original neuromuscular movement pattern. The result can actually be a decrease in performance.

http://www.kettlebellathletics.com/articles/article/2169506/58440.htm