Exercising or working out regularly is important to improve the quality of your life and become fit and healthy. Working out can also help address specific problems and alleviate them if performed in the right way. Exercising may help improve your body balance and prevent you from falling. It is especially concerning for older individuals since falling can be extremely detrimental for them and they may need a long time to heal and bounce back to their original form.

Why is exercising important for maintaining body balance?

Body balance is essential for every step that we take or every activity we choose to do. Be it going on a walk, tying your shoelaces or doing something as simple as picking up a spoon- it would have been next to impossible without body balance. Body balance is an acquired trait, that our body develops as a response to the different activities in our surroundings. 

Working out, conditions strengthens your muscles and helps you maintain a good body balance. Starting body balance improving workouts is not an expensive matter at all. You do not need gym memberships, imported equipment or a simulated area to start working out. You just need your body, a determination to succeed and advice from time to time from a certified training instructor.

What are 7 exercises that improve body balance?

Some individuals who have suffered from an intense health conditions, chronic illnesses or older adults may face body balance issues. You may have noticed that in a moving bus, some people topple over when it comes to a sudden halt, while some others stand still no matter how turbulent the journey is. The latter group of people have a great body balance.

Just as body balance can be acquired, it can be forgotten by our bodies too. Being bedridden for too long is one of the leading causes contributing to the complete or partial loss of balance. However, it is not the end of the world. Your balance skills can be brushed up and the situation can be improved through regular balance training.

Balance training can be of different intensity levels- easy, moderate or advanced. You should choose one according to your body’s needs.

Let us explore 7 exercises of easy to moderate intensity that may help improve the body balance in an individual when practised regularly or as directed by your physiotherapist.

Clapping crunches

Lift one leg and balance on the other one as you bend the lifted leg to a 90 degrees angle. Clap your hands once above your heads and then below the knee of your lifted leg. Repeat this 15 times before moving on to the other leg.

Rolling Side planks

Get down on all fours to a plank position. Slowly shift your upper body weight to one arm and lift your other arm straight up. Stay in that position for 5 seconds before repeating the same with the other arm. Continue doing this 10 times. Take it slow in the beginning.

Tying your shoelaces

If your body balance is particularly bad then start with simple exercises in the beginning. Start wearing shoes with laces instead of shoes without laces. Begin with sitting down somewhere and leaning forward to tie or untie your shoelaces. As you become a little habituated try tying your shoelaces while standing.

Walking through a stipulated narrow path

Mark a narrow stretch of area in your home or backyard with chalk or a marking tape so that there is space for only one foot at a time. Try walking through this path without falling over. Slowly reduce the space and make it narrower as you eventually get habituated. Once you are confident in yourself you may even do this on a slightly elevated surface to increase your body balance even more.

Arm workouts on lifted heels

Lift your heels and stay in this position. Do moderate weight lifting with your arms (a filled one-litre bottle in each hand) while in this position. 

Squats

Stretch your hands in the front and get into a chair-like position with your knees slightly bent. Keep your back straight. Work your way up to 15 repetitions each time.

Lunges with sideways crunch

Bend down on one knee while keeping the other leg straight. Get up and lift the same bent leg sideways and perform a sideways crunch. Alternate with both legs and repeat this 15 times.

Exercising is a great way of regaining or maintaining body balance. Some exercises which may help improve body balance are squats, lunges, rolling sideways planks and walking through a narrow path. Consult your doctor before initiating a new exercise if you suffer from an underlying orthopaedic or other health condition. 

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