An often-overlooked area of fitness training is balance training. As a corrective exercises specialist its key to a lot of my clients programs as it puts a lot of emphasis on core stability. Yet a lot of people often just associate with the training the elderly or working with clients that have had long term injuries and balance has become affected because of it.  Here are a few reasons why I believe it should be a part of everyone’s program.

What is Balance training?

Balance is essential for all human movement and is necessary for all activities of daily living. Therefore, it should be considered a foundational component of all programming and trained early in the exercise program once core function has been established.

Balance training involves doing exercises that strengthen the muscles that help keep you upright, including your legs and core. These kinds of exercises can improve stability and help prevent falls.

Why is balance training important?

Unfortunately, when other things such as eyesight and hearing start to deteriorate, strength and coordination also begin to decrease (NASM 2012). Research has suggested that balance training may prevent or reduce the risk of falling in certain populations, such as those aged 75 and older (El-Khoury et al. 2015). Other age groups can benefit, too. According to NASM 2018, “Research has also shown that performing exercises that demand balance can reduce the rate of ankle sprains and other lower extremity injuries.” Therefore as important for an athlete as it is the elderly.

Is balance training for everyone?

The beauty of balance training is that anyone can, and should, do it. Balance training improves the health, balance, and performance of everyone from beginners to advanced athletes, young and not so young.

Although balance is a key skill for many athletes, it is frequently ignored when designing training programs. If you run or jump as a part of your sport, you need good balance and agility the ability to change direction at speed. This can improve your performance and reduce the risk of injury.

How can I test my balance?

There are several simple ways to check your physical balance but here is one test often used by strength and conditioning coaches to assess a clients ability

Stork Test

How Do You Perform The Test?

Remove your shoes

Stand with your hands on your hips

Place the sole of your non-standing foot against the inside knee of your other leg

Raise your heel from the floor so you are balancing on the ball of your foot

The assistant starts the stopwatch as soon as your heel is off the floor

If at any point your hands come off your hips, your foot begins to twist in any direction, or the non-supporting foot loses contact with the knee, the test is stopped.

What Results You’ll See

Record your best time from three attempts. Compare your result (measured in seconds) with the following chart:

	Poor	Below Average	Average	Above Average	Excellent
Male	20	20-30	31-40	41-50	50+
Female	10	10-15	16-25	25-30	30+

 

Have a go today and see how good your balance is.

If your results are low and you would like advice on how to improve your balance then seek out a personal trainer who will point you in the right direction.