Balance Training

What is Balance Training?

Balance training is training for the ability to recover balance or base of support (BOS) from
postural sway (body movement over your BOS) following a destabilizing stimulus caused by
objects, self-motion or the environment.

This means that because the human body is naturally equipped to be in balance, the whole concept
and goal of balance training and the training protocol lies in the state of going from unbalanced
back to balanced, otherwise known as balance recovery.

There are three types of balance training. Yeah, I know… you thought there were only two. Keep
reading and you'll find out there are three. The first is "Dynamic Balance." The dynamic (in
motion) ability to recover from an out of balance situation created by an unstabling environment.
This is commonly known as "Dynamic Balance Recovery"

The second is "Static Balance." The static (stationary) ability to recover from an out of balance
situation created by an unstabling environment. This is "Static Balance Recovery."

The third is "Dynamic/Static Counterbalance" the ability to oppose and counter an equal or
greater weight or force and maintain or recover balance. This is also referred to as "Perturbation
Training." Examples would be a football player preventing a blocker from moving him or a hockey
player avoiding a check.

Balance training, to be most effective must be performed using the same type of full body motion
and equipment in a destabilizing environment as the intended activity itself. The balance training
involved to re-stabilize your body while doing a backside 720 on a snowboard isn't the same as
what's needed by a linebacker making an open field tackle or a golfer swinging his club.

Just like any training protocol, once mastered, additional stimulus must be added to continue
progression.

23 Benefits of Balance Training

Here's a short list of benefits associated with balance training. Which ones will you train for?
• Multi Sport-specific applications
• Has aerobic and anaerobic capabilities
• Has fat-burning and cardio capabilities
• Improves agility
• Improves muscle memory
• Increases confidence levels in competition
• Balance training enhances full body movement
• Improves joint stability
• Improves muscle and joint strength/flexibility
• Improves muscular endurance
 • Exercising and training can improve your appearance
• Exercising can lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attack
• Exercising can lower blood pressure
• Helps prevent injury from falls
• Increases performance for all physical activities
• Easily incorporated into any training protocol
• Increases muscle strength and mass
• Economical and time saving
• It's fun and relaxing
• Stimulates brain activity
• Can be used by almost age group
• Limitless applications and uses
• Portable and space saving

Who Uses Balance Training?

Balance training is centuries old, dating back to the use of martial arts like Tai Chi. In modern
times, the use of balance training devices like the original Stanley Washburn Bongo Board as a
balance training tool for skiers dates back to the fifties.

Although still a niche in the training equipment market, balance training devices are used at gyms,
training centers, physical therapy centers, hospitals, at home, rehab centers, in the military and
more.

Users are comprised of almost every age, gender and physical capability including trainers,
coaches, professional and amateur athletes, persons with learning and physical disabilities, the
entertainment industry, action/extreme sports enthusiasts, recreational users and others.

Balance Recovery Strategies

Because Vew-Do Balance Boards have the unique ability to destabilize the rider in all three planes
of motion and they do it at such a high level of performance, they are the most logical choice for
and type of balance training.

When the three human balance systems are working properly, they detect perturbations and other
unbalanced threats by sending signals to the brain for use in corrective action to restore balance.
From a static upright position like a soldier standing at attention, there are three main balance
strategies we employ to regain equilibrium. They are the ankle strategy, the hip strategy and the
step strategy. Let's take a look at each one…

Ankle Strategy - Think of the human body as an inverted pyramid with the ankles as the focal
point of support. During a mild balance threat, internal and external somatosensory input recruits
the ankles to correct and maintain balance. The ankle strategy is a somewhat sub-conscious and
an ongoing static response for maintaining and recovering balance.

Hip Strategy - When greater forces act on the body and increase the intensity of a balance threat,
the body will step up its defenses to remain or recover balance using the hip strategy. The ankle
strategy still plays a role, but now, the body adds segmentation of the upper and lower limbs,
contraction of the upper body muscles and movement in the hips to recover balance. The hip
strategy accompanies an increase in speed of movement to regain equilibrium.

Step Strategy - When violent disruption of balance over-powers the ankle and hip strategies, the
step strategy is called upon as a last resort. In the step strategy, the balance system sends signals
to indicate the need to re-position our base of support. We do this by stepping forward, backward
or laterally until an acceptable base of support is achieved. Many times the ankle and hip strategies
are also recruited to gain total stability.

By: Rick Contrata