Improve Balance, Improve Life: The Ultimate Guide to Balance Training
What is Balance?
Balance is an essential component of daily function, whether you're hiking, gardening, or playing golf. Your ability to balance is an expression of multiple different systems in the body working together. Balance has three components;
- The Vestibular System (inner ear)
- The visual system (eyesight)
- The somatosensory system (sensation).
Information from these systems is processed in the brain and expressed by the neuromuscular systems. Despite its importance, balance is often overlooked until it significantly declines.
Balance and Longevity!
Research shows that improving balance may help you live longer. A 2022 study found that individuals over 50 who couldn't stand on one leg for more than 10 seconds were twice as likely to die within 10 years. We have all heard stories of that “one fall” that started a cascade of decline. In this case, the best treatment is prevention. And the best place to start is long before balance becomes an issue.
Use it or lose it
As children, balance is a key part of play. As we age, we slow down, sit more, and reduce movement variability, leading to decreased balance. To maintain balance, incorporate activities that challenge it. Balance is often unplanned, reactive and dynamic and should be trained as such.
Start from the ground up:
Your feet are the gateway to your balance. Poor footwear choices and a lack of activity can lead to stiff and weak feet. Your feet are mobile adapters that conform to the shape of the ground. Without appropriate mobility in your ankles and feet, stability might come from higher up the chain (ie. your hips or knees).
Test Your Feet and Ankles
Here are some simple home tests that you can do to check the function of your feet.
- Ankle mobility: Can you bend your knee 3-4” past your 3rd toe without your heel lifting?
- Toe dexterity: Can you splay your toes? Can you lift your big toe off the ground? Can you lift your 4 other toes without the big toe lifting?
Like training we do for the rest of the body, we are capable of building stronger, more stable feet and ankles. Where possible, training barefoot or in minimalist shoes that have a wide (foot-shaped) toe box can help improve your sensory connection to the ground, giving your brain more proprioceptive feedback.
When training for balance or strength, find your Tripod foot; the mound of your big toe, baby toe and heel connect to the floor. Watch for gripping of your toes. Instead, lengthen and spread your toes rooting them into the floor.
Get Stronger
Even if all three of your balance systems (eyes, inner ears and feel) work perfectly, if your body is not strong and reactive enough to stabilize your joints, you might not be able to balance as well as you should. Strength is your ability to exert force, while stability is being able to resist force. Stability relates to your ability to position joints and maintain alignment.
When building strength to complement your balance and stability, some exercise options work better than others. Instead of machines that require very little positional awareness, consider closed chain exercises like squats, push-ups, and lunges. These exercises improve your proprioceptive awareness (ie. how your body moves in space). Another way to improve balance/stability is to train unilateral exercises (one side) - for example; single leg squats. Add balance to every strength session. Try to incorporate it into the start of each session so that you’re doing it while you’re fresh. Also add movement snacks throughout your day, especially if you’re sitting at a desk.
We often neglect power-based training like hopping, jumping and skipping as we age. However, these things are still important, so we must practice drills that train fast, reactive movements to catch and steady ourselves!
Build a strong core
Your ability to control your center of mass plays a massive part in your ability to balance. Training your core to reflexively handle everyday forces can enhance your balance. Ideally, implement a 3 dimensional training focus where you can resist forces from various angles.
Drop the Bosu Ball
Great news! Balance and stability training do not have to be precarious or strenuous. While many people go straight to a Bosu ball for practice, it’s not actually a great catch-all tool. Unstable surface training lacks specificity and has very few real world applications. The Bosu ball is likely not transferable to your life, unless you star in Cirque du Soleil! Instead, master balance on the floor. To progress try closing your eyes, or adding dynamic movements or perturbations.
Another misconception is that you can improve balance and strength at the same time; ie. weighted squats on a Bosu. There are no extra benefits to these movements, if you want to get strong; lift heavy. If you want to improve balance and stability; challenge your balance.
5 Exercises to Improve your balance:
1. 4-Way Balance Taps: Improve balance and coordination
2. Weighted Marches: Enhance balance, trunk and hip stability and leg strength.
3. Calf Raise in Split Stance: Strengthen ankles and improve balance.
4. Lateral Lunge: Challenge balance and stability.
5. Kickstand Ball or Weight Passes: Improve reaction time and balance.
References:
Men's Health: 10 Balance Improving Exercises to Make Your Workouts Better