The Sanddune Stepper
The Sanddune Stepper is a versatile and unique balance training tool that offers a variety of benefits including rehab, prehab, strength prep, sensory, etc…
I’ve been a regular user of the Sanddune Stepper since early 2018 and I’ve personally found it to be very effective. There’s nothing else like it currently on the market and it provides an entirely different stimulus from other popular balance tools.
The Sanddune Stepper joins the Breath Belt as the only two third-party products that are sold at Garage Gym Lab, and there’s a reason for that: I completely believe in them.
This item ships for free.
Read below for more details on the Sanddune.
$279.00
The Sanddune Stepper
The Sanddune Stepper is a balance trainer that uses a combination of foams to replicate the feeling of sand, making it challenging, yet low-impact. Created initially to treat lower extremity issues, particularly the feet, ankles, knees, hips, and low back, the Sanddune has since been found to be very effective in a wide variety of ways.
Its foam is unlike anything else currently on the market. Where most balance trainers use air or a different foam construction, the Sanddune Stepper absorbs impact and provides a responsive rebound effect.
It also utilizes two independent platforms whereas other tools tend to use a single surface. This allows for pure unilateral training and it makes for a surface that’s unaffected by what happens on the opposite side. In this sense, the Sanddune is well-suited to handle everything from dynamic movements to even the most low-impact movements.
Each platform is slightly angled to offer a high side and a low side (5% grade), giving the user some control over the amount of ankle flexion/extension.
Weighing less than 13 pounds and taking up less than 4 square feet, the Sanddune Power Stepper is low-profile, easily stored, and great for the space-constrained user.
The Sanddune has successfully been used by professional athletes, elite strength competitors, traumatic brain injury victims, everyday Joes, and everyone in between.
Here are some of the best uses for the Sanddune:
- Rehab – Because it’s low-impact, it can be used in the early stages of injury/pre-op/post-op and progressed through more challenging movements on the way to recovery. Among others, Foot injuries/plantar fasciitis, ankle injuries, knee injuries, hip injuries, spinal injuries, shoulder injuries, and wrist injuries are all prime candidates to benefit from the Sanddune.
- Prehab – The Sanddune is excellent at priming the muscles and brain for training, especially strength training. There are dozens of lower body and upper body movements that make for great strength preparation. Donnie Thompson calls it “the largest kept secret in the world of sports preparation.”
- Conditioning – It can be a very challenging conditioning piece and it can also be used in a more steady state casual manner, such as walking. High intensity intervals are especially good on the Sanddune Stepper. 10 seconds each of a walk, to a jog, to quick feet, to high knees, for 5 minutes is an example of a simple and effective conditioning workout. It’s an unassuming piece that can leave you breathless in minutes.
- Active Recovery – Try things like lightweight marches, carries, kettlebell goblet squats, single-leg deadlifts, etc… for active recovery on non-training days.
- Sensory/Neurological – The Sanddune is effective at enhancing proprioception, improving spatial awareness, providing vestibular input, and re-integrating neural pathways that have been damaged. People with Cerebral Palsy, MS, Parkinson’s, autism, sensory disorders, traumatic brain and spinal injuries, etc… have seen great success using the Sanddune. There are many case studies on their Instagram page as well as that of Neal Dakmak, a Sanddune power user. My wife is a pediatric occupational therapist, and in her clinical opinion, the Sanddune is a very effective tool to treat sensory and neurological issues.
If you’d like to read more on the Sanddune, you can check out my full review of the product here.