What is Balance?

Longevity Exercise Physiology Drummoyne, Edgecliff, Marrickville, Bella Vista, Randwick, Lindfield and Balmain look at balance and how it is important to maintain as you get older.

Balance is the ability to control your body and position, while being either stationary e.g. stretching or whilst moving e.g. skipping

What is balance?

Balance is the ability to control your body and position, while being either stationary e.g. stretching or whilst moving e.g. skipping. It’s an integral part of our day-to-day functioning and something that can be easily influenced by your environment, injuries, inner ear issues or vision problems. As we get older, we typically see a gradual decline in balance, which is why it’s so important to maintain to reduce the risk of having a fall (and fracture for those with low bone density). A lot of people we see say they don’t feel confident in their balance as much as they used to, and with appropriate training and adherence to exercise we can expect an improvement in balance and confidence. Balance is much more than just having the ability to stand on one leg, we use it when we walk up the stairs, carry a heavy object or get up off the floor.

What if I want to practice some balance-based exercises at home?

If you want to try some balancing at home, I would recommend starting with a chair or a wall nearby to ensure safety so you have something near you can hold on too if needed. I would firstly start with the following if you haven’t had any balance training before or are unsure where to start:

• Tandem balance which is basically a ‘heel-toe’ position on the floor, and try and hold that for 30 seconds on each side. Repeat this 3 times each side

• Single leg balance which you stand on one leg, keeping your hips square and aim to hold for 30 seconds as well, repeat this 2-3 times each side

From there we can increase the difficulty of these exercises by standing on a softer surface, performing another task at the same time or making it more dynamic. Depending on your level of fitness and physical health, we can always prescribe appropriate balance-based exercises.

Contact Longevity Personal Training and Exercise Physiology Edgecliff, Lindfield, Marrickville, Randwick, Drummoyne, Balmain, Bella Vista on 1300 964 002 to enquire today.

Written by Susannah Mah-Chut