I think they’d generate more interest in the exercise program if a supermodel was doing the demonstration.
intercst
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This lady isn’t a supermodel but her balance exercises are deceptively simple.
I find slow balance exercises to be more challenging than Zumba. It’s like riding a bicycle – easier fast than slow.
But since you like beautiful ladies, try a few sets with the lovely (and super-nice) Diana Velazquez. To find the warm-up (without weights) click the arrow to the extreme right. “Nos Vamos de Rumba” Once you’re warmed up, do the sets with weights.
Wendy
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If you really want balance training / testing try this. I use it a couple mins every day along with most of those things the article mentioned.
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I like the look of the wobble board. My current balance exercise is simply to strip off and put on sox, pants, and undies all while standing and balancing on first one foot and then the other. Doctor tells me most men cannot do even that.
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When I had that brain tumor excised in 1988, the nerve connecting the balance information from my left ear to my brain came with it. So I’ve been operating with a 50% deficit to begin with. When I try that standing on one leg thing, I can only hold it for 2 or 3 seconds.
The wobble board looks like an accident waiting to happen for me.
intercst
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I like that set of balancing exercises. I start my morning with a balancing exercise of sorts - I stand in the middle of the room and try not to fall down when I put my pants on.
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I get Silver Sneakers as part of my Medicare supplement. This link doesn’t require an account. It has several balance exercises.
https://www.silversneakers.com/?s=balance
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I have the wobble board mentioned upstream and use…sitting down. I was introduced to it during physical therapy following my first lapiplasty ( I wish I’d used it as a run up, pre hab exercise) Sit and plonk the foot dead center and then try to rotate the ankle so that the outer rim of the board touches the floor throughout the whole 360°. I purchased this toy for myself after my first session to be able to do homework. No wonder it was so bloody hard on the “surgurised” foot…I found that I had little more ankle flexibility on the other side. I set about fixing that in preparation for the 2nd lapiplasty.
For balance training on unstable surfaces, airex balance pads and stability cushions provide more than adequate challenge for functionality…without the risk of being included on the list of dumb things that land a person in the ER.
My 2nd lapiplasty was far more debilitating than the first but, being forwarned by experience, found that the balance and strength and flexibility exercises I did pre op (one legged sit-to-stand etc) were a real boon to, say, getting clean underps on and off or getting off the toilet unassisted.
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We do a less dramatic version of standing on 1 leg when we find ourselves stationary, wherever we are. You just have to lift one foot slightly off the ground so that you are standing on just one foot. It’s crazy the muscles you strain and develop that way, all while standing in line for groceries, etc.
IP
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Yes! And if balance itself is questionable, just resting the hands on a solid surface…kitchen counter while the kettle boils, for instance…is a good start to one legged balance training.
Had to start back this way after both surgeries as my proprioception was shot after the rearrangement of the bones and damage to various nerves.
Going into a “no shoes” house, I was asked why I stood on one foot while I took a shoe off as is my habit. I replied, “So I can.”
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If anybody likes to ski, and lives in a snowbelt, skate skiing is the best balance exercise I’ve ever done. It is a continuous series of balancing on 1 leg, loading up on that leg, and driving your weight down to edge and power the kick, then gliding on the opposite leg, and repeat the cycle. You do of course ride both ski’s at the same time, but the power to propel down the trail is done by getting all body weight on 1 leg, while moving, and doing the skate kick. It is by far the hardest sport I’ve ever done, but it’s fun. My usual ski is about 15 miles, about 1500 feet of climbing. On a good day I can break 2 hours, but most day takes about 2:05-2:15.
It’ll test every part of your body. Wish I was better at it, but didn’t start till I was in mid-50s, and there is a lot of subtle things to learn that makes your motion more efficient ( easier ).
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I started skate and X-country skiing as a teenager, and you are absolutely correct. After five years of debilitating shingles attakcs, I am now slowly rebuilding my stamina and strength and I expect getting back to be able to skate ski well would increase my life expectation hugely, but my joy in life even more.
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Oddly, I can still ice skate fine. But I can’t walk a 4" wide balance beam. My balance is much better when I’m moving.
intercst
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“My balance is much better when I’m moving.”
In my mind, that’s a good thing. While watching a million tutorials on how to get faster, the coaches are always talking about dynamic balance. Much harder than static balance, though that’s important in life,too. Newbie skate skiers stay in the center, they don’t trust getting all of their body weight on one ski, while it’s gliding. It is kind of disconcerting for quite awhile, but until a skier does it, they’ll never be any good at it. The whole key is having your foot under yourself when you place the bodyweight on it. Kind of like in basketball, when you are jumping off 1 foot on a breakaway layup, you can’t jump very high if your takeoff foot is extended away from the body at the start.
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" I expect getting back to be able to skate ski well would increase my life expectation hugely, but my joy in life even more."
People think I’m nuts, but I like winter every bit as much as summer. Get outside in all conditions pretty much, winter just flies by. ( I stay home in freezing rain,lol, hate that stuff, been caught out in it plenty of times, so avoid it when I can )
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