The best balance exercise includes real-life movements that challenge you just the right amount.
The best way to improve your balance is to almost lose it, on purpose, in a safe environment.
Check out the video to see examples.
The best balance exercise includes working safely at the edge of your comfort zone. The problem is that many balance exercise programs, especially designed for seniors, don’t offer realistic movements to challenge the balance muscles and balance systems.
The need for lifelike, moving balance exercises is based on three scientific principles:
- Principle of Specificity: The best balance exercise program prepares you for real life! Because we get better at whatever we practice, we need to practice overcoming challenging situations like tripping and stepping over obstacles.
- Principle of Neuroplasticity: Our brains and our bodies need two things: repetition and novelty. We need to repeatedly practice movements that we want to ingrain into our muscles and brains, and we need to consistently challenge our bodies and brains in new ways.
- Principle of Overload: If we never push the edge of our comfort zone, or training threshhold, we do not get stronger. We lose bone and muscle mass as we age, and we absolutely must challenge ourselves with balance exercises that really make us work at our personal edge.
My goal for my students is that they are prepared for life’s challenges by practicing the best balance exercise program several times per week.
You might also benefit from this blog post about bone density tests.
interested in balance moves
very interesting, my husband and I have been doing the old kind of balance and this is a good point you make