September 20, 2019

5 Ways to Improve Your Balance

As we come to the end of national balance week (yes, that's a thing). I wanted to talk about balance and why it is so important. As babies we are all over the place struggling to find our center of gravity, then as we age we start getting into some complicated things like skipping, climbing trees and tumbling. However, most of us hit an age where we stop playing and that skill of balance escapes us. It's not just a sedentary life that is to blame for losing this skill. As we get older our inner ear, brain, and vision start to decline. This has a huge effect on our equilibrium, and the deterioriation is a very slow process that takes us a decade or so to notice.
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Every year, one in three people over age 65 fall; and in 2009, more than 20,000 people in that age group died from falls. In fact, balance begins to decline progressively in your twenties unless steps are taken to prevent it. THERE IS GOOD NEWS! You can practice this skill and cruise into your older years with bad ass balance! Just like any skill though, it is gona take some practice! Practicing your balance as you age will pay huge dividends in the long run. Just like cardio strengthens your heart, your body needs exercises to practice balance. Otherwise, you’ll slowly lose the ability to balance. Fortunately, some of these exercises are so simple you can practice them while you brush your teeth! 
 
Balance isn't just seeing how long you can stand on one leg. Remember, physical balance is a dynamic state, requiring continuous, coordinated adjustments. Think back to when you learned how to ride a bicycle: At first you made constant and deliberate corrections on the pedals, but as you continued to ride, your corrections became subtler and less conscious as healthy neuromuscular patterns established themselves. Keep this learning curve in mind as you take on balance-boosting activities.
 
Here are 5 simple and easy ways you can improve your balance. Your future self is already thanking you!
 
1. Strengthen Yo Core

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- Now before you start going a bunch of sit ups, listen up. Your core is way more than those 6 pack abs you are rocking. Your core muscles are any muscle that attaches to your pelvis. See Below.

 

SMXLL

 

By building the muscles in the center of the body, you become more centered. Crazy right? When you get to where you can fall back on your core strength, every day balance tasks such as carrying grocery bags or picking up a child are a piece of cake! 

 

2. Do More Single Leg Work

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- Whether you start brushing your teeth on one leg or you get to working on those single leg rdl's, you will build a great base of support by removing the other limb off the ground. The ability to stand on one leg is important. When walking, you spend about 40% of your time with one foot on the ground as the opposite leg is moving through the air. It is even higher when you are running! The single leg stance is a simple, but very effective exercise for improving balance! 

 

3. Get Your Yoga On

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- I'm not telling you to go out buy a lululemon mat and sign up at the nearest yoga studio. Yes, classes are great, but you can pull up a few poses on you tube and do them in your own living room. In these poses you are working different muscle groups at one time and moving in a manner that requires stabilization and control. Start with Mountain Pose where you stand with your feet together, arms by your side and standing real, real tall.

 

4. Close Your Eyes

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- When our eyes are open, they are constantly gathering sensory data and telling your brain where it is in space. Here is a quick exercise. Try balancing on one leg for 10 seconds, then close them for the next 10. You probably wobbled right away. The reason is your brain becomes slightly behind any changes in balance you have with your one standing leg. The muscle impulses then become a bit out of phase with the shifts in balance. The brain/muscles then have to overcompensate but by then because of the lag you’ve already started to go too far, or too fast to fix the problem. AKA the wobble/fall. SO! Try closing those baby blues! Whether in a seated or standing position, (In a safe place of course) let your body find its center with out your vision guiding or telling you where it is. 

 

5. Use Different Tools and Surfaces

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- Just by changing the surface to one that is more unstable you will be progressing you balance practice.  Unstable surfaces increase proprioceptive drive into the muscles and cause them to work hard compared to doing the same movements on a stable surface.AKA your body must adjust and learn different firing patterns to make sure you don't go down. This has been primarily shown to be beneficial in rehab situations, where regaining muscle contraction timing can be a huge importance to returning to activity. So grab that BOSU, stand on a folded mat, or towel and practice that balance!

 

All in all, you don’t have to be a top gymnast to reap the benefits of balance-boosting exercises. In fact, good balance is important for people of any age and fitness level—from the weekend warriors, to parents of squirming toddlers, to active senior citizens. So, don't wait until its too late! Be proactive not reactive! 

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