Better Balance With One Move
Can You Prevent Falls?
Every day in the U.S., 86,400 falls happen.
That’s 31 million falls a year!
And unfortunately, women are falling disproportionately more than men.
The truth is that most of these falls can be prevented.
A fall happens when you lack the balance, strength and reflexes throughout your body to correct the position of your body in that moment, and you go down.
Each of these things can be trained and developed, so that falls don’t happen.
To prevent falls, it’s important to improve your balance, coordination, power, and strength.
Today I’ve got an exercise that will help you improve ALL of these areas in ONE move.
Talk about efficient!
JUST ONE THING
A balance exercise that does NOT involve standing on one leg? What?!?!
Your JUST ONE THING to Help Improve Your Balance - the Total Body Extension.
As soon as you start practicing these total body extensions, you’ll notice that your balance involves so much more than just being a master at standing on one foot 😉
At the tippy top of these “total body extensions”, there’s a moment where your center-of-gravity and your foot/ankle strength have to work in symphony to hold you steady.
Plus, it’s working your “dynamic” balance - training your body to have great control while you’re moving.
I also love that these are super safe.
Because both feet stay in contact with the floor, you’re at minimal risk of falling or feeling too wobbly.
How you do it:
Total Body Extension
- With feet planted firmly parallel, swoop down into a squat, drawing your arms down and back
- Swing arms overhead while you stand up powerfully, lifting all the way up onto tippy toes
- Balance momentarily on the balls of your feet with strong ankles, then carefully swoop back down into the squat
Extra tip: If you exhale firmly as you swoop upward it will engage your core muscles, creating better stability and balance through your trunk. Do 5-10 repetitions.
Did You Know...
- Total Body Extensions don’t just improve your balance - They also improve your full body strength & power!
- “Dynamic” balance - controlling your balance while in motion - is more valuable for avoiding falls than simple “static” balance alone (standing on one foot).
- The stronger your core, the better your balance will be.
No Falls This Fall 🍂
By training your balance, coordination, strength & power with exercises like this one, your chance of falling and getting injured goes way down.
You don’t have to be one of those terrible stats!!
Until next week... Be strong
