It’s true, friction training does sound like something out of a sci-fi movie but in reality, it’s a method of training that can help build muscle strength, using a variety of low impact yet high-intensity exercise routines. In the video above, I demonstrate some exercise routines that I enjoy doing with the Flowin Pro. These workouts will improve core strength and build up stability in your leg and shoulder muscles.
Friction training is low impact as you’re encouraged to keep your feet, or arms (depending on the exercise) connected to the board via the friction pads and it’s high intensity as you can push yourself as hard as you like. You’re also using your own body weight and muscle power to initiate movements and will notice the added challenge of horizontal friction between the board and the pads. The friction is where the real fun comes in. This all means that your body-weight to power ratio is of a natural balance. You should notice this when transitioning your friction training over to running on the trails.
I’ve had a lot of fun building exercise routines by mixing and matching recommended exercises from the Flowin Pro Manual. Each one seems to provide me with its own unique set of challenges.
Key components of the Flowin Pro
Soft Friction Pads
The Flowin Pro consists of two key elements; the board and the friction pads. The pads are soft to the touch and have a good amount of ‘give’ when your full body weight is on them. The Flowin Pro comes with 5 pads in total; two circular ones for your hands, two rectangular ones for your feet and a larger ‘non-slip’ pad for kneeling on when doing certain exercises.
The Board
The Flowin Pro board is made from a stiff material and has been designed for use in a stationary environment such as your home or a gym. That means that this board is not a portable device as you can not roll it up. Flowin does offer an alternative product called the Flowin Sport if portability is important to you.
The board itself has a ton of useful markers on it that guide you your arms and legs to a particular angle or distance. Having these markers allows you to measure progress and move consistently for each rep. As you become more flexible, you should find yourself pushing deeper into the board and hitting distance markers that may have seemed impossible to reach at first.
Using the Flowin Pro
I’ve been having so much fun improving my fitness with the Flowin Pro and I’m continually discovering new ways in which to use it. This is largely down to the “MyFlowin” page on the Flowin website that hosts a large database of video exercises. It’s also free to access, thank you Flowin!
Soon I will be releasing more exercise videos that combine friction, balance and other types of training. Keep an eye out for some more complex Flowin exercises in those videos, I can’t wait to show them to you.
Friction training is very different to balance training per se but there is still a fair amount of balance and core stability that goes into using this innovative piece of equipment. With that in mind, please take care when using the Flowin Pro for the first time. I would always recommend warming up and getting used to the feel of the Flowin Pro. Do this by starting with short-range, low intensity movements until you are feeling confident enough to step up your training.
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Where to purchase?
We recommend you go straight to the Flowin Online Store where you will be able to get the best support and ask any specific product questions that you may have. If you shop through the links on this page and use the code TRAILANDKALE10 then you will receive a 10% discount on any product that you purchase from Flowin.
Have a question about the Flowin Pro Friction Trainer?
If you have any questions about the Flowin Pro Friction Trainer or how to use it, then please leave it in the comments below.
