Exercises to Improve Your Balance
Being in shape means having a toned body, which also includes constantly making progress in your resistance and improving your balance. There are a variety of exercises to help us with this and we want to share them with you.
Do you want to improve your balance?
Improving your balance isn’t something that’s exclusive for those who have an injury or problems with their coordination.
Balance is something that we should all encourage ourselves to work on, given that good posture strengthens our muscles and helps our bones to age without any issues.
Therefore, we should all take note of the exercises that will help us to improve our balance. You will be able to do these exercises at home or at the gym. Here are a few to get started:
Pilates
We’ve discussed the importance of doing Pilates in other articles, and without a doubt, improving your balance is one of the many benefits of this discipline. The types of exercises that you complete with Pilates include holding some unusual positions. This means that by practicing them regularly, you can easily improve your balance in no time.
Obstacle course workout
By using several different objects, whether at home or at the gym, will make for a great combination to help you improve balance. For instance, to encourage you to walk in a straight line, place a pole above your head, use a mat and try some cartwheels or why not mark out a space where you can run in circles?
If you also measure your start and end times, you’ll get to see daily improvements. Are you ready to try it?
Jump rope
One of the oldest workouts to improve balance is to jump the rope, with your closed legs. Apart from working your motor skills and your reflexes, you will also have to combine arm and leg movements. This means you’ll need great focus to maintain your balance.
Don’t try too hard on the first few times, start with a rhythm that you can easily sustain and increase it when you feel ready.
With time, you’ll soon notice greater resistance and balance.
Fit ball exercises
Have you seen those huge gym balls? Either at the gym or at home, you can use these to do a series of exercises to help you improve your balance.
Start by sitting still, on the ball with your arms open, lift one foot first and then the other.
Count the number of seconds that you are able to hold the position. If you fall or stumble, start again.
With time, and when you’ve achieved this, you may also lie above the ball, with your arms and legs extended.
Heel-to-toe exercises
Walk, by putting one foot in front of the other, but make the heel from the first foot, touch the toe of the second one. This is undoubtedly one of the best exercises to improve balance. Take as many steps as you can and progressively increase your speed when you feel in control.
Balancing table pose
Apart from being an ideal exercise for your glutes and muscle stretching, by supporting yourself with one hand and the opposite knee, is the perfect exercise to work on your balance. Just stretch one leg and the opposite arm at the same time, while supporting yourself with your hand and knee, and hold it for as long as you can.
If you keep doing these exercises on a daily basis -it only takes a few minutes- you will see improvement, not only in your balance, but also in your reflexes. This will ultimately lead to a better quality of life.