3 Days to Better Balance
You don’t have to be elderly to be concerned about your balance. We all need good balance to safely move around our world on a daily basis, but have you ever thought about it? As adults, poor balance can lead to injury.
Formerly a paid course, I have unlocked the videos and posted them below, along with the newsletter content. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The advice and recommendations provided by Amanda Sterczyk are not medical guidelines but are for educational purposes only. You must consult your physician prior to starting any exercise program. |
3 Days to Better Balance will help you improve body awareness, strengthen your brain-body connection, and learn how to use your feet more - taking off your shoes and getting those feet activated! The exercises and tips shared below are designed to improve muscle strength, joint flexibility, and body awareness. All of these components are critical to maintaining good balance as you age.
Topics: Day 1: Your balance system: visual, vestibular & proprioception Day 2: Active standing Day 3: The mechanics of walking Bonus! Walking backwards for posture and balance |
DAY 1: YOUR BALANCE SYSTEM
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Your balance system is quite complex and relies on sensory input from 3 distinct systems: visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive. Let’s break them down below. Please keep reading, as there’s a bonus balance exercise that’s not included on the video.
1. Visual system: this is pretty self-explanatory. It’s your eyes - they provide visual input to your brain as you’re moving through life. |
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2. Vestibular system: Sensory information about motion, equilibrium, and spatial orientation is provided by the vestibular apparatus - also known as your inner ear. Close your eyes and slowly move your head side to side. Your vestibular system is now sending crucial input to your brain. As we age, the side to side head movement becomes less frequent, which negatively impacts your vestibular system. It doesn’t work if you don’t use it. “Use it or lose it” doesn’t just apply to our muscles: it applies to every single part of our bodies.
3. Proprioception: your brain’s ability to sense your body’s position in space. That’s why you can walk through your house in the dark without falling down - unless of course you bang into an unseen object. The nerves in your body send signals to the brain that allow you to maintain an upright position. And you have just as many sensors (i.e., nerve endings) in the bottom of your feet as you do in your entire spinal column. That’s why it’s so important to remove your shoes every day and active the sensors on the bottoms of your feet.
The exercises in the video will help you work every system involved in balance. And now the bonus exercise: balance on one leg - try to stay there for 20 seconds. Now repeat on the other leg. If you can’t hold it for 20 seconds, set a timer and see how long you last. Repeat this exercise every day and try to increase your balance time by 1 second.
END OF DAY 1
3. Proprioception: your brain’s ability to sense your body’s position in space. That’s why you can walk through your house in the dark without falling down - unless of course you bang into an unseen object. The nerves in your body send signals to the brain that allow you to maintain an upright position. And you have just as many sensors (i.e., nerve endings) in the bottom of your feet as you do in your entire spinal column. That’s why it’s so important to remove your shoes every day and active the sensors on the bottoms of your feet.
The exercises in the video will help you work every system involved in balance. And now the bonus exercise: balance on one leg - try to stay there for 20 seconds. Now repeat on the other leg. If you can’t hold it for 20 seconds, set a timer and see how long you last. Repeat this exercise every day and try to increase your balance time by 1 second.
END OF DAY 1
DAY 2: ACTIVE STANDING
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Today, you’re going to remove your shoes and socks to learn how to activate your feet and all of the muscles up to your head that help maintain good posture. Balance and posture are inextricably linked; you can’t have one without the other.
But it all starts with your feet: balance, posture, alignment, load path. Just like the foundation of a house, your feet are the foundation for your entire body. What would you do if your home’s foundation was crumbling and broken? You’d fix it, of course. So why do anything less for your own body? It’s a rhetorical question; no need to answer. |
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Try this simple exercise: walk around with “stiff” ankles - i.e., lock your ankles so they can’t flex your foot as you take each step. How does it make the rest of your body feel? Can you walk quickly? When our feet are constantly locked in footwear and immobile, it can affect our balance, posture, and walking speed. As mentioned in today’s video, you want to imagine a triangle under each foot. Instead of sinking onto your heels and dropping into your hips, use your entire foot by transferring more weight forward.
Next, you’ll want to work on pulling your hips back. This will align your bones and the weight-bearing joints of your body. They’re the part of your body that are meant to support you. Not your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. When our joints are out of alignment, we have to rely on delicate connective tissue (i.e., tendons and ligaments) to hold us upright. This practice causes wear and tear on the joints and unnecessary strain on the connective tissue, and can lead to pain and discomfort.
When you pulled your hips back, did you notice a tug on the front of your body? That would be your abdominal muscles helping to hold you upright. It takes about 100 muscles working together in your body to maintain good posture and correct alignment, including your abs. Next, think about your shoulders. Pull them back and down as you think about lifting the top of your head towards the ceiling.
Active standing should feel like work. Are you feeling your muscles? They’re working together to hold you upright. This is a more effective way to stand, instead of dropping into your heels and hips. Resist the pull of gravity!
Next, you’ll want to work on pulling your hips back. This will align your bones and the weight-bearing joints of your body. They’re the part of your body that are meant to support you. Not your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. When our joints are out of alignment, we have to rely on delicate connective tissue (i.e., tendons and ligaments) to hold us upright. This practice causes wear and tear on the joints and unnecessary strain on the connective tissue, and can lead to pain and discomfort.
When you pulled your hips back, did you notice a tug on the front of your body? That would be your abdominal muscles helping to hold you upright. It takes about 100 muscles working together in your body to maintain good posture and correct alignment, including your abs. Next, think about your shoulders. Pull them back and down as you think about lifting the top of your head towards the ceiling.
Active standing should feel like work. Are you feeling your muscles? They’re working together to hold you upright. This is a more effective way to stand, instead of dropping into your heels and hips. Resist the pull of gravity!
END OF DAY 2
DAY 3: THE MECHANICS OF WALKING
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Balance is a critical component of walking - because walking is essentially a weight transfer and balance exercise. One foot, then the other. Repeat. If you’re having trouble with balance, how will you be with walking? Well, walking will also be difficult, and that’s when you’re most likely to risk a fall.
Try this simple exercise: walk around with “stiff” ankles - i.e., lock your ankles so they can’t flex your foot as you take each step. How does it make the rest of your body feel? Can you walk quickly? When our feet are constantly locked in footwear and immobile, it can affect our balance, posture, and walking speed. |
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Hopefully, you’ve removed your shoes to work through the Day 3 video. And don’t forget to grab a few paper towel tubes or small (1-3 lbs) hand weights.
The first tip for better walking posture is to drop your shoulders down and back. Imagine you’re trying to slip your shoulder blades into your back pockets. Are you holding the tubes or weights? These tools will help you keep your shoulders rotated correctly. Many people round their shoulders forward when they walk. You can tell they’re rounded by looking at their hands: if their palms are facing behind them, their shoulders are rounded. With the paper towel tubes/weights, it’s more difficult to round your shoulders. And if you start to do it, you’ll feel them touch the sides of your legs. So you’ll be able to correct your position immediately.
Next comes the “heel-toe express." Walking should be just that: planting the heel, rolling through the foot, and pushing off the ball of your foot and big toe. This helps propel you forward, using your leg muscles. What many people do is swing their leg instead of pushing off. But involving your entire body in the practice of walking properly will improve your balance and posture.
The first tip for better walking posture is to drop your shoulders down and back. Imagine you’re trying to slip your shoulder blades into your back pockets. Are you holding the tubes or weights? These tools will help you keep your shoulders rotated correctly. Many people round their shoulders forward when they walk. You can tell they’re rounded by looking at their hands: if their palms are facing behind them, their shoulders are rounded. With the paper towel tubes/weights, it’s more difficult to round your shoulders. And if you start to do it, you’ll feel them touch the sides of your legs. So you’ll be able to correct your position immediately.
Next comes the “heel-toe express." Walking should be just that: planting the heel, rolling through the foot, and pushing off the ball of your foot and big toe. This helps propel you forward, using your leg muscles. What many people do is swing their leg instead of pushing off. But involving your entire body in the practice of walking properly will improve your balance and posture.
END OF DAY 3
BONUS: WALKING BACKWARDS FOR POSTURE AND BALANCE
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I decided to include this bonus video on backwards walking because it’s another key element to improving your balance.
Backwards walking to improve your balance? You betcha! It’s important to rely on more than just your eyes when you’re moving around in life. Walking backwards helps you improve your proprioception, by relying on the input from your feet. |
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It’s also strengthening your brain-body connection by creating new pathways in your brain AND improving coordination in the lower half of your body.
Walking forwards involves planting your heel first then rolling through the front of your foot to finally push off the ball and big toe. With backwards walking, you do the opposite: plant the ball of your foot first, then roll backwards and push off the heel.
Hang on to a wall to steady yourself and give you a visual cue before you start walking backwards. And check to make sure there are no hidden obstacles behind you! Walk about 10 steps backwards then turn around and repeat.
Well, that wraps up the course. I hope you found these exercises, tips, and techniques beneficial to improving your balance. You may also want to try the videos in Balance 2.0: Progressions in Motion.
Walking forwards involves planting your heel first then rolling through the front of your foot to finally push off the ball and big toe. With backwards walking, you do the opposite: plant the ball of your foot first, then roll backwards and push off the heel.
Hang on to a wall to steady yourself and give you a visual cue before you start walking backwards. And check to make sure there are no hidden obstacles behind you! Walk about 10 steps backwards then turn around and repeat.
Well, that wraps up the course. I hope you found these exercises, tips, and techniques beneficial to improving your balance. You may also want to try the videos in Balance 2.0: Progressions in Motion.