Want to improve your balance?
A lady I trained for many years, had this quirk of closing her eyes when she did an exercise. Not all the way through each exercise. But for most of it.
I tried it myself back in my 40’s but it didn’t do it for me. I didn’t get it! But I loved watching her…..she was in the zone!
Now in my 50’s I get it! I close my eyes all the time when I train! Not the WHOLE time! But just during part of some exercises.
It puts you right IN the exercise
Your mind immediately tracks to….
- What you’re doing.
- The muscles you’re working AND how they feel.
- And you become connected to your breath. You’ll love it!
It heightens your sense of proprioception
Proprioception is your brains knowledge about your body’s position.
Close your eyes. Extend your arm to shoulder height and bend it. Even though you can’t see your arm, your brain gets info from your muscles and tendons about its position. The muscles and tendons send signals to your spine about your joint position. Then signals are sent back to correct your position.
Aren’t our body’s amazing!
Most movements require balance
Balance is the ability to keep your centre of gravity over your support base…ie; two legs OR one leg. Also balance requires co-ordination and accuracy. To move your body where you want it to go. All this can be trained!
For balance you need…….
- Vision
- Proprioception
- & Inner ear feedback
If you remove one of the above…the others have to work harder to compensate. This will improve and fine-tune your balance, accuracy and coordination!
So close your eyes for 20+ seconds when you do an exercise.
Play around with it!
It adds another dimension to your workouts!
BUT don’t start off trying it while standing on one leg! Build up to that!
Try it first when you squat. Just for a few reps. You might feel a little off balance at first. But it’ll start to feel more natural over time.