Many think balance training consists of standing on one foot. And, this is a great way to test your balance!
But like any test, it’s the prep that goes into it that helps you to succeed.
That “balance test prep” includes things like improving your overall strength through your core, legs, feet, and ankles. It includes finding and practicing your most balanced posture. It includes finding stability after purposely reaching a point of instability. And, most importantly, it’s training your brain to make all of these things work together.
So in this analogy standing on one foot is the test, and working your physical and mental strength and coordination is the test prep. But there’s one more big piece that might come up, and that’s the pop quiz! The balance pop quiz is when you’re walking down the hall and your foot gets caught on the carpet causing you to trip. It’s when you didn’t see your dog on your way to the bathroom and have to quickly move around him. It’s when the weather is bad and the ground is slippery as you walk to your car. It’s all of the things around us every day that, if we’re not prepared, might cause us to fall. But when we are prepared, it’s our brain quickly sending out messages to our feet and ankles and legs and core and having them all work together to keep you from falling. And that’s what the test prep is really all about.
Now I’m not saying that standing on one foot is not a good way to practice balance as well. That’s like taking a practice test! In fact, if you’re able to, go ahead and try it right now, and pay attention to all of those areas that we just talked about. (If standing on one foot is not feasible for you, maybe try just lifting the heel of one foot so you are standing on one foot and a “kickstand.”) I bet you’ll feel that standing foot trying to find the best position on the floor. I bet you’ll feel your ankle and lower leg wiggling to keep everything else lined up on top of it. Bring your hands to your core (your abdominals, your back, or your glutes) and I bet they are engaged—if not, go ahead and tighten them up a bit, and you’ll probably feel more stable! And finally I bet you are standing as upright as you can—if not, see what happens when you do—because having every piece of your body stacked on top of the one below it is going to be the most stable position to stand in.
All of the things listed above in the “test prep” are things that can be practiced standing up or sitting down (or even kneeling or laying down!) and in fact we need to be able to find and maintain good balance from all of these positions, not just while standing. And, you guessed it, all of the things listed above are things that we work to improve during every 2MW class.
So I hope you’ll come “study” with me sometime soon! The more prepared you are, the easier that pop quiz will be.
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