The Importance Of Exercise: Balance

There are 4 types of exercise; strength, cardio (aka endurance), balance and flexibility. We have previously touched on strength and cardio training. The main topic this time is balance. Balance is extremely important for everyday life, it keeps our posture stable, keeps us upright and stops us from flopping all over the place.

The body and balance

Our body has a very smart way to maintain balance. Your balance is co-ordinated through 3 main aspects; eyes, feet and ears. Your eyes of course tells your brain where you are and how you are perceiving things. The feet acts as our proprioceptors. In other words they tell the brain how and where our bodies are positioned. Finally our ears keep our body in balance. Your ears consists of a part called the semi-circular ear canals and they are filled with tiny hairs. These tiny hairs in our ear help relay motion and gravity information to and from our brain. On a physical aspect, our core is what keeps us upright physically. By strengthening your core, you will gain more stability thus leading to better balance.

Most of balance actually comes from our core as well. Having a healthy strong core helps us balance and prevents injuries too. We have done plenty of videos on core exercises so head over to our instagram page to find some exercises. I would recommend you to work on your core 2-3 a week for around 15 mins each time.

How to improve

If you are doing a lot of strength training with weight, consider swapping out bars with dumbbells or kettlebells. By using dumbbells  or kettlebells you will engage your core more as each side will be functioning individually. This allows you to engage your core more so you can stay balanced while lifting weights. Another way you can train your balance is to include yoga or Pilates in your training. Yoga and Pilates trains your balance by staying different positions for a period of time while engaging your core muscles, legs and muscles that keep you up right. At the same time it helps your flexibility.

You don’t have to have a 6 pack to show that you have a good stable core. Just specifically work your core 2-3 times a week. Like mentioned previously we have made plenty of videos teaching you how to strengthen your core. Additionally, we have just made videos on exercises that help improve balance. Think about how you can change up your regular exercise routine to better your balance as well. Remember, balance is just as important as strength and cardio fitness. Having good balance can help you with injury and accident prevention.

 

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