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Military Muscle: Simple exercises improve balance

This is not about balance in your life; this is about balance in your body.

Physical balance is an attribute that affects us throughout our lives.

Whether we are competing in an athletic event or simply walking over an uneven landscape, the ability to have and keep our balance is key. Naturally, the effects of good or bad balance become more important as we get older.

The bottom line is that balance is a dynamic variable that controls movement.

Here are some easy exercises that you can accomplish anywhere to improve your balance. You can do these daily, or several times a day, for several minutes at a time.

Stand still

Stand straight with your head erect, eyes forward. Have someone with you to time you and catch you if you start to lean. Close your eyes and find out how long you can stand still without starting to lean. Record your time and attempt to stand for longer periods each time you try this.

On one foot

Stand straight with head erect, eyes forward. Lift one foot off the floor and time your ability to keep your balance. Repeat with the other foot off the floor. There are several progressions to this exercise:

• Stand on a fairly stiff cushion with one foot off the ground.

• Stand on a piece of two-by-four with one foot off the floor. You can place the two-by-four either in line with your foot or across it to add different challenges to the ankle ligaments.

• Use a wobble board to execute the one-foot balance.

• Do everything with your eyes closed.

Steady lunges

Practice this in several directions. You should aim to be steady and controlled during the movement.

• Using tape or a piece of chalk, put a large plus sign on the ground and then an “X” intersecting the plus sign. Stand in the center and practice lunge movements down each line. Stick one arm out in the direction of the movement, or perhaps use a stick with both hands on it. Keep your back straight and make sure you bend your lead leg as you make the lunge, since this will build up strength in your quads, as well. Always begin each lunge from the center of the symbols.

• A progression for this is to put a number at the end of each line and have a partner randomly call out the number that you are to lunge to.

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Bob Thomas is director of the Navy Wellness Center in Pensacola, Fla. E-mail him.