Exercises for balance may not seem obvious for the list of activities for exercise. I mean, most people don’t think of balancing as exercise. And while it doesn’t increase your heart rate, burn many calories or help you lose weight, it definitely is a very legitimate activity for exercise. Reason being, once we get older, our balance is one of the first things to go. In fact, one of the number one reasons of injury to seniors is from falling.
But, balance is not only important for seniors. Everyone, including competitive athletes should be doing balancing exercises. It helps make sure you are keeping your body in proper alignment for exercises and general activities of daily living.
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Exercises for balance can take many forms and utilize a variety of tools. Overall, there are two categories of balance exercises: Static and dynamic. Static balance exercises are those that work on your balance as you are standing still. Dynamic are those that work on balance while you are moving. Both are important to work on. Static balance points out possible imbalances you may have. I.E. you may be unconsciously placing more weight on one leg than the other which could lead to eventual back problems. Dynamic could show possible erroneous shifts in balance while you are moving that could also lead to problems.
These are just a few tools that can help you improve balance:
Simply standing on one leg, especially when barefoot, helps with your balance. You can further enhance it by moving around, standing on a soft surface like a mat, pillow or mini-trampoline. You also try playing catch with someone while balancing on one leg. And, if you want to really spice things up, try closing your eyes while balancing. But, don’t do all these variations at once. I’d hate to see you play catch while standing with eyes closed on a trampoline.
Balance discs can also be used for standing one leg. But, I like to place multiple discs out for athletes to step on, over, or between while maneuvering through the balance disc obstacle course.
wobble boards are primarily used for static balancing. It’s very helpful to practice balancing while standing on these boards. I also find it helpful to try squatting while standing on a wobble board.
Stability Balls can be used for a multitude of exercises. In fact, that will be an article all it’s own coming soon.