Be familiar with the kinds of exercise that focus on balance and core stability.
Balance is such a fundamental part of mobility that you can find components of balance training in most physical activities, even if no one explicitly defines it as balance training or uses specialized equipment. Nevertheless, as the importance and effectiveness of balance training in performance optimization, injury prevention, and rehabilitation has become better documented, schools of exercise that focus on developing balance and core stability have developed. Many of these disciplines are well-established, and many were once very specialized for specific activities (such as dancing). Now, physical trainers, physical therapists, athletes and enthusiasts tout the reverberating benefits of Pilates, Gyrotonics, Yoga, the Feldenkrais Method and the Alexander Technique, offering practitioners increased strength, improved flexibility, better balance and generally improved mobility.
Core Strength Exercise #1: Back extension using the Swiss Ball
Lie facedown on a Swiss ball, making sure that the ball is securely under your hips and lower torso. Your toes (or knees, for beginners) should be on the floor, and your hands should be behind your head (though be sure you do not pull your head forward ¨C you could strain your neck). Slowly roll down the ball, lifting your chest off the ball and bringing your shoulders up until your body is in a straight line. Make sure your body is in alignment (that is, be sure your head, neck, shoulders and back form a straight line), your abs are pulled in, and that you are breathing continuously. Repeat ten to twelve times.
The Alexander Technique is a method that works to change movement habits in everyday activities.
The Alexander Technique is a simple and practical method for improving ease and freedom of movement, balance, support and coordination. The Alexander Technique focuses on teaching people to use of the appropriate amount of effort for a particular activity, thus giving an individual more energy for all of his or her activities. Rather than a series of treatments or exercises, the Alexander Technique focuses on re-educating the body and mind, helping and individual to discover a new balance in the body. This mental realignment can help relieve tension, which can disrupt physical (as well as mental) balance, and the approach may be well-suited to people with severe mobility issues, the ill, the overweight, or others for whom a fitness regimen might be difficult to start, as the method can be applied to sitting, lying down, standing, walking, lifting, and throughout other daily activities.
Gyrotonics emphasizes controlled resistance and the development of flexibility and strength.
Developed by Rumanian dancer Juliu Hovarth in the late 1980s, Gyrotonics has been described as "yoga with resistance." Based on components of yoga, ballet, swimming, dance, tai chi and gymnastics, Gyrotonics is a fluid system of exercises performed on a specialized resistance machine to help practitioners stretch, bend, twist, and turn their muscles with minimal effort. Gyrotonics works all major muscle groups interdependently to encourage a complete range of circular motion, full articulation of stabilized joints, and improved balance and coordination. Other benefits include cardiovascular and aerobic stimulation and neuromuscular rejuvenation.
Iyengar Yoga strives for correct physical alignment, creating physical balance that will be reflected in the mind.
Traditional yoga is generally focused on breathing and flexibility. While balance is necessary to many yoga poses, few forms of yoga specifically concentrate on developing balance. Not so with Iyengar yoga. A form of Hatha yoga, Iyengar yoga gives primacy to the physical alignment of the body while performing the poses. The Iyengar school teaches that there is a correct way to do each pose, and that students can perfect poses over time through consistent practice. Iyengar yoga utilizes many props, including blankets, blocks, straps, pillows, chairs, and bolsters, to assist students in attaining ideal alignment. Poses are held longer than in other forms of yoga to allow time for correct alignment to be achieved. Holding the poses develops balance, builds strength, and increases flexibility. Iyengar yoga is suitable for beginners, as well as people who are ill, elderly, and overweight. Because perfect alignment is a long-term goal. Iyengar yoga is also good for the physically active and the experienced.
For real core strength and stability, it is necessary to target underlying abdominal muscles.
Exercise in pursuit of the ¡°six pack¡± ¨C such as sit ups and crunches ¨C targets the superficial abdominal muscles, most often the rectus abdominus. This only partly trains your core, and overdeveloping those superficial muscles can result in weak core stability. Therefore, to really capture the benefits of core strength, including better alignment, balance and functional movement (as well as flat abs!), it is necessary to work the deep, underlying abdominal and back musculature, such as the transverse abdominus (TVA), the internal and external obliques, the latissimus dorsi (lats), and erector spinae (spinal erectors) muscles that combine to make up the "core". One way to make sure that you are targeting these deep muscles is to get off solid ground and onto an unstable surface, such as a Swiss ball or a balance board. The instability created by this equipment forces the user to adopt the correct posture in preparation for and during exercises, and maintaining that posture engages the deep muscles. Add work to that, and it¡¯s a powerhouse combination to strengthen your core.
Core Strength Exercise #2: Ab Roll
Kneeling on a mat or other soft surface with a Swiss ball in front of you, place your arms parallel to one another on the ball. Pull your belly button towards your spine and tighten your torso, and slowly roll forward until your chest touches the ball. Keeping this tight and aligned form, slowly pull your body back using your arms and abdominals. Try not to collapse as you roll forward. Repeat ten to twelve times.
Pilates focuses on developing core strength and stability as a foundation for functional movement.
Borrowing a lot of moves from dance therapy, Pilates changes the way people use their bodies by building core strength and teaching movement that originates in the core. Students of Pilates exercise begin to move more gracefully, with better posture and more fluidity. Pilates tones up the torso, training the abdominal muscles, hips, buttocks and lower back to work together as the body's "powerhouse." Pilates movements challenge the deeper, often neglected abdominal muscles, creating a strong core that is a great foundation for safe, strong movement.
Core Strength Exercise #3: Balance Board ¡°Crunch¡±
Sit on a balance board or a wobble board. Leaning backward slightly, lift your feet off the ground and try to stabilize your abdomen to balancing yourself on the board. This alone is a great deep abdominal work-out. To take it to the next level, lean further back while lowering your legs slightly, then bring your upper body and knees closer together. Stay balanced the whole time.
Core stability training is essential to sports performance and injury prevention.
Think of your ¡°core¡± as your trunk - core muscles lie deep within the torso, and are attached to the spine, pelvis, ribs and shoulder blades. These muscles stabilize the spine and create a solid base of support from which we can generate functional and powerful movements of the extremities. Building core strength and stability can correct postural imbalances, which can lead to injuries, and will help you to develop functional fitness, or fitness essential to regular activities and daily living.
The Feldenkrais Method uses gentle movement to enhance functional mobility.
The Feldenkrais Method can help you increase your ease and range of motion, improve your flexibility and coordination, and (re)discover your capacity for graceful, efficient movement. Based on principles of physics, biomechanics and an understanding of learning and human development, the Feldenkrais Method enables you to include more of yourself in your functioning movements, becoming more aware of your habitual neuromuscular patterns and rigidities and learning new ways of moving. The Feldenkrais Method increases your awareness and sensitivity, thus enabling you to live your life more fully, efficiently and comfortably.