Why Should we be Thinking about Balance Training

One of the most overlooked and possibly the most important component of fitness is balance. When we talk about fitness and exercise, we automatically conjure up thoughts of treadmills, dumbbells, the latest trend of fitness classes or celebrity "keep fit" DVD's. Does anyone actually put aside time in their busy fitness regime to concentrate on the art of balance? No they don't.....at a push perhaps 5 minutes on the Bosu ball but that's it!

The Importance of Balance

Good balance is required for just about everything we do such as walking, standing still, getting out of a chair and bending over just to pick something up from the floor. Balance skills may not come naturally to some and this skill needs to be worked at with consistency. Balance training strengthens the muscles that keep us upright and stable. This includes our legs and core muscles and working on these will improve stability and prevent falls later on in our lives. Movements we need to think about as we age

Improving Your Balance Skills

Balance exercises can be somewhat challenging depending on your own balancing skills. Intense exercises such as yoga type poses are best left to the more experienced exerciser. Simple exercises that can test your balance skills lasting from seconds to minutes, can be a better choice for gradual improvements without too much risk to the exerciser. You can also use equipment that forces your stabilising muscles to engage, such as a Bosu stability ball or balance board. Try testing your balancing skills with these simple but effective examples:

• Standing with your weight on one leg.....raise your other leg to the side or behind you.

• Walking the tightrope.....place your heel directly in front of your opposite foot's toes and walk the imaginary tightrope. Walk forward and then try walking backward.

• Stand up and sit down repetitively from a chair without using your hands for around a minute

• Table Top....Starting position on all fours, head in line with the spine, focusing on a point on the floor in front of you, engage your core and slowly extend your right leg and left arm simultaneously, holding the position for 5 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat using the left leg and right arm. 

Overtime you can increase the intensity of these exercises and improve your balance skills by:

• Holding the positions or increasing the moves for a longer amount of time

• Closing your eyes whilst performing the moves

• Holding the positions steadily without using your arms to aid your balance.

• Add movement to a pose

You can do balance exercises as many times as you like, every day if you wish. There is no impact on joints to accomplish good balancing skills, you just need patience whilst using methodical and slow movements. Balance exercises are strength exercises and with the improvement of your stability you will also strengthening your core, legs, glutes and back muscles.

What Can you Expect by Improving your Balancing Skills

Balance is a functional and fundamental skill required for your progression towards optimum health. Balance is the ability to maintain correct posture through effective stabilisation during steady or fast movements. Improve your Balance in 5 minutes!

In other words good balancing skills equate to increased control during all types of movements. Balance can be affected by many factors including ageing. Balance skills will assist in the prevention of injury and falls, whilst increasing joint stability. By adding effective balance exercises and drills, we will not only increase strength in our core, legs, glutes and postural muscles but improve our stability and capacity to perform fundamental movement patterns. 

©HealthyForeverFitnessMotivation

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