Day Seven – Improving Balance
Balance is the most undertrained pillar in general exercise culture today. Remember, the big message so far on this course lesson is that if you want to feel like an athlete and get in tune with your body, then you have to have a varied routine that hits all seven pillars of athleticism.
There are many sports and activities that require (and thus) improve one’s balance; for example, Skiing, Snowboarding, Surfing, Skateboarding, Slack Lining, and other activities not necessarily beginning with S.
The way I personally assess balance when starting with a new client is by first testing their “static balance”, we do that (and you can do it too now) by simply standing on one leg and then closing your eyes. This is testing how well you manage to make the tiny micro-adjustments in your foot’s weight transfer and tension to allow you to stay still. The tiny little stabilising muscles around the ankle joints, the side of the knee and the core will all be tested… as will your mental focus.
When you compete in sports or do more advanced training, then testing “dynamic balance” becomes more relevant. A good test for this is to stand upright with legs hip-width apart, then do a big jump forward, but land on only one leg (cushion the landing, please). And then hold still. This requires tremendous balance and is relevant to both sports and real-life functional movement.
Training balance, along with training another pillar, is a smart idea as you’ll also improve coordination; you can mix it with strength work (e.g. with single-leg deadlifts), or with agility training (e.g. with speed ladder drills), or you can mix balance with mobility and strength (e.g. by doing handstands). This is yet another reason why a varied training regime usually makes the most sense for most of us.