Better Balance Training - 3 Functional Balance Exercises to Try
Feb 12, 2020
Need Better Balance?
Why is it important to even work on balance training in the first place? Being strong and stable on one leg is not only important for longevity and avoiding injury due to falls, it is also a huge driver for feeling good and performing at a high level in your sport or workouts. If you are missing balance, this can create compensations in other areas that can cause problems down the road.
Balance training can look a lot of different ways, but usually the more extreme, elaborate, or crazy the setup the exercise is - the less effective it is and the less likely you are to ever do it. Most of the active people we see regularly with balance issues don't really have true balance issues, but rather strength, mobility, and/or stability limitations presenting as balance issues.
In these cases, to see improvement, you don't need bosu training on one leg with your eyes closed, you need to improve your functional strength and mobility to make the balancing task easier.
While there are some times where our vestibular systems, which controls a large portion of our balance, can be involved and a limiting factor to balance - lacking mobility or strength through your core, hips, and legs will be the first place to start that can yield the biggest improvements.
Once you have a good base of mobility and strength then it’s time to move to some advanced and functional balance activities. Check out some of our favorite movements below to take your balance training to the next level.
High/Low Diagonal Chop w/ Med Ball
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Single Leg Balance and Kettlebell Pass (upright and with hinge)
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Lateral Step Down
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We don’t give any thought to improving our balance when it is working correctly. However, when it’s not, this can be a cause of pain, limited mobility, and limitations with your workouts and the activities you love most. We see people every single day that have been putting off these activities for weeks, months, or even years due to pain or a fear of further injury. While this is common, this is by no means normal.
Most people don’t know how to stay healthy and fit without getting hurt. At Inside Out Strength and Performance, we provide a clear plan to get you in the best shape of your life, without getting injured, so that you can be active and confident that you’ll feel your best for years to come.
We help North County San Diego’s active adults and runners dealing with pain or injury get back to living a pain-free, strong, and confident life.
We are the Strength Docs who help active adults and runners live a strong, confident, and pain-free life. Fill out our contact form here to get a clear plan and get started.