If you have followed my content or heard me speak before, chances are you’ve heard me preach, “train with a purpose.” or “move with a purpose.” It’s a point of emphasis because at the end of the day we are all chasing optimal health. Within my structured training, I coach and teach balance training in my programs. Balance training gives us the a purpose of injury prevention for both training and moving.
Balance in general is when the body is at an equilibrium. When we hear balance we may think, “not falling”. Whether we are an athlete or an everyday adult, balance allows us to stand still and not fall. Dynamic balance is when we are moving, changing direction in multiple conditions and have the ability to not fall.
To dig into some science without confusing you all, naturally we develop imbalances in our body. Keeping that in mind, if we don’t consistently work on our movement patterns, mobility, exercise, then certain muscles won’t operate properly. A flawed movement pattern from mind to body (neuromuscular efficiency) can lead to joint pain, dysfunction, injury. Then when we are injured,
1. We are limited in our daily lives, with pain
2. We lose our ability for balance.
When you are training balance, the key is limit your stability. Your environment will need to be unstable yet controllable. To create this environment the progressions would be as, floor, balance beam, half foam roll, foam pad, and a balance disc. You don’t need every single piece of equipment, begin using the ground. The ground is what we experience in our everyday lives, the other modalities are just the next step to the challenge.
Just like anything, there’s many different way to get this done but the main thing is- get started. Click here for a video of a few movements with audio instruction. If you’ve never performed these before, start off small. 5-10 minutes a day. If you’re intermediate or advanced in training, these can be performed in your pre-workout routine. If you have any further questions please reach out to me, I’m more than happy to help. Again, thanks for reading and all the support. Now let’s get to work.
In Health,
Coach Izz
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References
Sutton, B. G. (2021). NASM essentials of personal fitness training. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
