Question about Balance

aspmg5

I've been working out pretty regularly for about 1.5 months and my balance is still terrible. Does this improve with the more fit you become or do I need to do exercise that helps increase my sense of balance like yoga? Whenever I do lunges or side kicks I tend to wobble and lose balance almost every time and it slows me down. It gets better right? Maybe I'm just an ungraceful duck!

mreeves261

Core work will help with that. Your core supports your body. Better balance = Stronger core.

aspmg5

Thanks for the reply! I will incorporate more core work in my workouts!

CoachDreesTraining

The two aren't necessarily related.

To work on your proprioception, take off your shoes so you can "feel" the ground and do various balance drills. DO NOT use a BOSU ball.

Here are a couple basic exercises.

- Stand on one leg for 15-30 seconds
- Stand on one leg and turn your head side to side
- Stand on one leg and close your eyes for 15-30 seconds

Once you progress through these you can try these exercises on top of a couple of yoga mats or another soft surface.

TeaBea

Yoga definitely helps. Some people just have to work their balance more than others (myself included) ..... just as some people are inflexible and others are not.

Here are some balnce poses to get you started ........

http://yoga.about.com/od/yogaposes/tp/Standing-Balances-Sequence.htm

pkinblue

I am a klutz and one legged things are very hard for me. I trained for my black belt exam kick set (5 sets of 5 different kicks, one leg, no tapping in between) by standing on one leg to dry my hair. I alternated legs by day and held my leg up in front, bent 90 degrees at the knee as high as I could. Squeeze your butt and your abs and pick a point to look at. I also practice standing on one leg whenever I have to wait in line. It will get better...but you have to keep trying.

Bekahmardis

I've been working on strengthening my core and getting my balance back for a while now. It is slowly working, but I DO have to concentrate!