What are the weird looking toys you see in the gyms these days? I know you have seen these funny looking things that look like a cut-in-half stability ball called a BOSU. There are also the small circular "pillow discs" that are filled with air. Don’t forget about the other items like balance wedges, wobble boards, and rocker boards. They look interesting enough, sometimes even fun, but what's the point of all these devices? Are they right for you? Some people look at me like I have 4 heads when I tell them to stand on one of these "toys." And after all, what's the point?
These "toys" are actually tools to help people improve their balance. Balance is important for people of all ages, not just "older people." The ability of our body to interpret, use and adjust to information about our position in space is vital to maintaining balance. The system of feedback and your ability to adjust is known as proprioception. We gather information through environmental cues, the bottoms of our feet, the inner ears relationship to gravity, and through our eyes. Our body then senses which muscles are needed to be activated or deactivated to maintain the position we are seeking (think - not falling).You use this ability every time you stand up from a chair, walk down the street, ride a bike, ski, stand on your tiptoes to reach something overhead and while strength training at the gym or performing most yoga poses. When your body isn't used to deciphering this information, which at times can be complex, you lose your balance. And as the old saying goes "if you don't use it, you lose it." However, with training you can regain your balance and master what had previously been impossible tasks.
With proper balance training you will improve your coordination, posture and athletic skills. Proper balance will also help you avoid injury by reducing or preventing injuries due to falls as you age.
These "toys" are actually tools to help people improve their balance. Balance is important for people of all ages, not just "older people." The ability of our body to interpret, use and adjust to information about our position in space is vital to maintaining balance. The system of feedback and your ability to adjust is known as proprioception. We gather information through environmental cues, the bottoms of our feet, the inner ears relationship to gravity, and through our eyes. Our body then senses which muscles are needed to be activated or deactivated to maintain the position we are seeking (think - not falling).You use this ability every time you stand up from a chair, walk down the street, ride a bike, ski, stand on your tiptoes to reach something overhead and while strength training at the gym or performing most yoga poses. When your body isn't used to deciphering this information, which at times can be complex, you lose your balance. And as the old saying goes "if you don't use it, you lose it." However, with training you can regain your balance and master what had previously been impossible tasks.
With proper balance training you will improve your coordination, posture and athletic skills. Proper balance will also help you avoid injury by reducing or preventing injuries due to falls as you age.
Balance training is a progression and the first step is determining how good your current balance is. Start by standing on one foot on a flat, hard surface.DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES. By closing your eyes you would be cutting off one of the main information systems for your bodies proprioception. If you can do this for at least fifteen seconds on each leg move on to the next step.
Now you get to start playing with the toys at the gym. Get a BOSU, and a friend, and try standing on it with 2 feet.The friend can help you get on and off the BOSU until you become more comfortable doing it yourself. Remember that the BOSU surface will be moving and likewise your ankles and feet, along with muscles you likely have no conscious control over,will be recruited to help you stand upright on it.
If you can stand comfortably on the BOSU at this point you can start integrating the use of the BOSU into your other exercises. Weight training while standing on the BOSU: Shoulder presses, Bicep curls, overhead triceps extensions to name a few, can all be performed while standing on the BOSU. When you start, you should reduce the weight you are using for the exercises by about 10%-20%.
Even just adding one or two of these types of exercises can improve your overall balance. As you get stronger and gain better balance you may want to try doing squats on the BOSU, with the flat side up! Hope you brought that friend with you again. Really advanced? Let's try a squat with a shoulder press, or a 1 leg squat on the BOSU.
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