3 Challenging Balance Exercises
Balance of All Sorts
Today, I worked on getting new videos up for social media and YouTube, which I’m still very much learning. I moved the whole living room around and got everything set up, and my cat, Onyx, would not stop demanding attention. I embraced this, since she clearly really wanted attention (one of the positives about being at home!). To me, this is a pretty clear image of work-life balance, which can definitely be a challenge, but I’ve found with practicing life balance it is possible. The fact that I was focusing on balancing exercises seemed to mirror pretty closely what was happening on a personal level.
Due to this, Onyx makes a few appearances for your enjoyment.
A couple of things to focus on when working on balance. The more you can hug in towards the center point/center line of your body the stronger you will be able to hold the position. You will want to squeeze the inner thighs towards the midline. Pull the belly button and pelvic floor in and up, this should not effect your breathing. Push into the ground to strengthen more and allow for more balance.
Speaking of breathing….
Make sure to breathe consistently and steadily throughout the exercises. This will keep you more focused on the exercise, pushing you through it a little further. This also improves your overall core and body control!
Try to pay attention to what you are doing. It is okay to be off balance, the more you feel off balance while you can still hold the position or self correct without falling, the stronger you will get. The more aware you are of your body and breath you are, the easier it will be to improve the moves and overall strength & balance.
The Boat Crunch Twist is definitely a challenging move, but there are plenty of modifications.
Start in a seated position with your feet out in front of you, knees bent, feet on the floor. It will be important to maintain a flat back throughout the exercise. If you find that you are rounding your back, you have gone back too far.
Hug your knees in towards your chest and lift the feet of the floor. The knees can be completely bent to completely straight. The higher you lift your legs and the straighter they are the harder the move will be.
Extend legs out and lean back to an extent where you can keep your strong back posture.
When you hit your max extended length, pull legs back in to starting position and rotate your chest and arms to the RIGHT side of your legs.
Lean all the way back as you did in step 2. Repeat and go to the LEFT side of the legs.
Alternate for 12 reps on each side. Do 3 sets.
Modifications: Use any or all of these to make this move possible for you.
Keep feet on the ground.
Eliminate the twist.
Focus on holding the Boat Pose with feet up or down.
Side Plank Crunch - Step
Start on your RIGHT arm with LEFT foot stacked on top of the RIGHT foot. Your LEFT arm should be pointing overhead in line with the LEFT ear.
You will left your LEFT leg up, make sure to keep the hips high. Crunch the LEFT knee and LEFT elbow towards each other.
In a controlled motion, step the LEFT foot down the the ground and square the shoulders off to the ground, setting your LEFT hand down in a plank like position. Your LEFT leg will be to the outside of your LEFT hand.
Step your LEFT foot back and bring your LEFT arm back to the starting position and then repeat for the 12 reps and then switch sides. Complete 3 sets.
Modifications: Use any or all of these to make this move possible for you.
Just practice side plank, side plank crunch, or just plain plank!
Place your bottom knee down, you may have to move your body a bit to figure out the best alignment, but this should work.
You’re welcome to give this a short on your forearms, but you will need to have open hips, don’t do this if you can’t keep the form.
Warrior 3-Pistol Squat
Start in the standing position and begin to lift your RIGHT leg behind you. You want to make sure that you keep your RIGHT leg straight and engaged. Make sure to squeeze both inner thighs towards the midline. Keep your RIGHT foot either fully flexed or pointed, just make sure that it is active. Your LEFT leg stays planted, you will begin to bend into the RIGHT knee and you shift your hips back. Your arms will come out directly in front of you. When you get into this position you want to be in a T type form. You will want to have your hips and squared to the ground. You may want to focus on pushing your chest forward to keep your back body more engaged.
Begin to shift your hips forward as you begin to bring your RIGHT knee to meet your LEFT knee. You should still have a very strong posture here.
Start to bring your RIGHT knee out in front of you, straighten your RIGHT leg and flex your RIGHT foot. You want to be aiming to have the RIGHT leg parallel to the ground. You will have to activate your RIGHT quad and hip flexors to keep the leg extended.
Begin to bend your LEFT knee and sit your hips back into a pistol (single leg) squat. Your arms can extend directly out in front of you or you can even grab your RIGHT foot with your RIGHT hand if you have the flexibility and strength. You will keep the foot bound with the hand until you complete the pistol squat.
When you are as far down as you can be in the pistol squat, push through your heel and push the ground away to stand up.
Bend your RIGHT knee and bring it back to meet the LEFT knee.
Complete 12 reps on each side for 3 sets.
Modifications: Use any or all of these to make this move possible for you.
Practice one or as many of the pieces of the exercise as you would like. You can also set your foot down between the transitions.
Practice just being on one foot.
Hold onto something as long as it does not change your posture.
Let me know if you try any or all of these exercises and what you think in the comments.
