What visual image pops into your head when someone says the word "balance?" Shannon Miller on the balance beam? A tightrope walker suspended above the circus stands? Or maybe even a ballerina en pointe? From now on, when you think "balance," visualize yourself doing whatever YOUR favorite physical activity. We all use and need balance in everything we do.
For most of us, having "good balance" means we can walk and chew gum at the same time. To determine how good your balance really is, ask yourself these three questions about your physical condition:
- Do your quadriceps and core muscles provide a solid foundation for movement?
- Are you able to maintain precision in your movements?
- Are your muscle groups symmetrical in terms of strength?
Solid as a Rock: Quad & core strength
One of the first exercises I do with a new client is evaluate the strength of their "foundation," or lower body. I have them stand on one leg with a bend in their knee. We always keep a chair nearby, just in case, while they stand on one leg as long as they can. If the don't wobble, they're encouraged to gradually straighten their standing leg. This "test" is a wonderful way to check on postural alignment, as well as quadricep and abdominal strength. Try it yourself and see how you do. Most people benefit from working on exercises designed to increase the strength of their "foundation."
By strengthening your foundation, you prevent a host of injuries -- especially if you play a sport marred by the threat of falls. In-line skating, ice hockey, hiking, and gymnastics are just a few of the sports that benefit from balance training. Strengthening the muscles of your quads and gluts helps you recover more quickly when your balance is compromised and can keep you from "losing your balance" in the first place. For example, when you're skating across the ice rink, start to wobble, and get that "I'm gonna fall!" feeling, strong abdominals and quadriceps can pull your body back into balance. And by strengthening these muscles even more, you avoid reaching the panic stage in the first place.
In addition, by conditioning your foundation, you help fight fatigue in these important muscle groups. By the end of a game, a hike, or a race, our muscles have been pushed close to their limits. Through training, these muscles gain endurance that keeps us upright to cross the finish line, take a victory lap around the field, or trudge up the stairs of the house to the tub for a relaxing soak.
To the Point: Precision Movements
According to Robyn Eresfield, a champion rock climber, precision is the key to impeccable performance, no matter what your sport may be. "Think of the best athlete in your sport," she says. "It's the precision that defines the distane between your level and hers." By training with precision you begin to find your body in the same position in space every time you perform a certain movement. And that leads to perfect balance and performance. You're always steady. You're always physically prepared.
Precision has 3 important components:Time: Think ahead and be prepared for your next move. In swimming, that means planning for the flip-turn at the wall ... in biking it means shifting to meet the incline of a hill ... Plan your attack on the opponent or obstacle in your path to perform at your best every time.
Space: Know where you are in space. The technical term for this is "kinesthetic awareness." Good kinesthetic awareness means that if your coach says to you, "Your left shoulder is easing up when you shoot. Press your shoulders down." you'll begin to sense when your left shoulder is creeping up and will instinctually press it down in reponse. This kind of body awareness can be difficult to learn. If you have trouble, practice moving in front of a mirror tom memorize how different positions feel. For example, watch yourself in a mirror and shrug your shoulders up and down. Relax them into the down position and memorize that feeling. Shrug your shoulders up and down with your eyes closed. Try to relax them into the down position again and check yourself in the mirror. Are they down? This drill works for just about any position you are trying to master. With practice, they will eventually become second-nature and you'll be able to re-create them on the field, court, or exercise floor.
Energy: To perform with the highest level of endurance and skill, it's essential to learn just how much energy is enough to get the job done. Exert too much too early and you may not finish. Hold back and you might miss the winning shot or blow your opportunity for a really killer workout. So how much is "just right"? Only practice will tell you. One of the things we tend ot forget is that training and exercising aren't only for the immediate beenfits -- they also teach us about our bodies and their abilities. Take the time during your workouts to test your limits a little bit. Add sprints to your running workout, see just how far from the basket you can stand and still sink it, test how many times in a row you can spike the volleyball ... whatever it takes to push yourself past the limits you may have set in your head.
By combining these three components, you begin to improve the precision of your movements; you'll be able to accurately predict where your body will be and when it will be there. That, in turn, leads to excellent balance.
Mirror Images: Muscular symmetry
Another key to preventing injury and improving performance is maintaining equality among the strength of your opposing muscle groups. For the most part, muscles are in pairs:
- biceps and triceps
- quadriceps and hamstrings
- calf (gastrocnemius) and shin (anterior tibialis)
- chest (pectorals) and back(trapezius, rhomboids, latisimuss dorsi)
Sports that encourage us to be one-handed (tennis, baseball, softball, etc.) can develop more strength in one side of our bodies than the other. These imbalances are often more obvious, and easier to correct, than the ones that can occur through a natural inclination to use one side of our bodies more than the other. And this second kind of imbalance can affect all of us.
The easiest way to prevent and correct this favoritism is to be sure to always train muscle groups in pairs and, when you do you strength training exercises, don't move on to a heavier weight until both sides of your body are ready for the increase. Also, an emphasis on exercises that use many muscle groups simultaneously -- push-ups, overhead presses, squats, and lunges, for example, can help restore symmetry.
If you play one sport exclusively, you'll want to add some cross training to your fitness routine to avoid over-use injuries and maintain muscular balance. Research has shown that rather than detract from performance in an athlete's primary sport, cross-training actually helped athletes improve their speed, accuracy, and endurance. Here are some ideas on ways to add cross-training to your workout plan:
| Primary Activity | Try adding ... |
| Aerobics classes | Cycling, Swimming |
| Cycling | In-line skating, Rowing |
| In-line skating | Running, Cycling, Rowing |
| Running | Cycling, Swimming |
| Stair climbing, Step aerobics | Walking, X-country skiing, Rowing |
| Swimming | Rowing, In-line skating, Running |
| Walking | Cycling, Swimming, In-line skating |
The last word
Improving your balance can enhance your performance and enjoyment of every activity in which you participate. The confidence that results from knowing the strength of your body can't be beat. In addition, your posture will improve, you'll avoid falls that might put the brakes on your sports season, ... and you'll always win bets based on how long you can stand on one foot! Add some balance exercises to your regular workout routine and build a strong foundation on which you can build all of your movements.
No comments:
Post a Comment