You may think balance isn't all that important. After all, we tend to want muscles or weight loss – what can balance possibly contribute to my fitness routine?
1. Work your core. Think floor crunches are your only way to a tighter midsection? Think again – balance training recruits core muscles for overall stabilization, activating and tightening your abdominals and obliques without doing isolating exercises.
2. Burn more calories! As more muscles are recruited to keep your body in position, extra calories are burned when you incorporate balance, doing the same exercises you'd normally do!
3. Strengthen your mind-body connections. Balance training challenges your eyes, inner ear, mind, and body to work together. The more you train, the more your mind and body strengthen those connections.
4. Prep for life. Balance training is increasingly more essential as we get older. With proper balance, the risk of falls and injuries decreases, allowing you to live a strong and healthy life for years to come.
1. Stand on one foot during the day, trying to give each side equal time.
2. Try standing on one foot while doing standing upper body exercises, like bicep curls.
3. Lift one foot and try a one-legged squat, doing 20 reps per side.
4. Try a one-legged touch down, where you hinge from the hip to reach your hand toward the ground, then slowly rise back up.
5. If you're feeling super strong, try an unstable surface: stand on a stability pad, or flip a Bosu ball and do squats.
6. Try a yoga class or video. Many yoga poses (tree, half moon, eagle) are all about balance, stability, and core strength.
Try something new! The benefits of balance training are well worth the wobble.
Do you work balance into your workouts? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!