Looking for simple balance exercises for your balance workout? We'll show you how to train stable balance with a simple workout at home.
Wow, how it wobbles. It's quite strenuous to stand on just one leg. You can well imagine that we had a lot to laugh about during the balance exercises.
The insight of the day: balance training is not that easy. Even if you don't otherwise have a problem keeping your balance.
We have seen that at the latest with our Balance Pad Exercises and the Balance Board Workout noticed. For those who are just starting with balance training, there are also much easier exercises without the risk of injury.
When it comes to holding balance exercises for longer than 5 seconds, things can get pretty shaky. Even if you train regularly.
This starts with very simple Balance exercises like walking over a rolled towel. Sounds easy as pie, doesn't it? But it's bound to make you wobble in the beginning, too.
Today we'll show you why it's so important to train your balance and which balance exercises are particularly suitable for the living room.
Table of contents
What is the sense of balance?
The sense of balance helps us to move in a good and balanced way. Balance gives us the ability to keep the entire body in balance while stationary and in motion. In other words, not to fall. A good sense of balance makes it easier to control movement, gives us confidence and reduces the risk of falling.
Balance is a coordinative skill that we learn as early as kindergarten age. Adults often unlearn their sense of balance, this is mainly due to their inactivity. After all, our body simply adapts to the conditions. But this also has the advantage that we can teach it the sense of balance again.
Through special training stimuli, i.e. targeted stimuli on the nerve-muscle system, we can improve our balance again.
How is the balance controlled?
The body has many perceptual systems. The information from these converges in the brain and spinal cord. This very process is the basis of our balance.
One perception system is our eyes. It shows the body the position in space. It is particularly important that the eye can recognize the horizon as well as above and below.
A little test shows how much your eyes have to do with your balance. Stand on one leg and fixate on a point. No problem, right? Now close your eyes. And it gets really difficult.
The inner ear is also involved in our balance. It informs the body about rotational movements and acceleration. You're probably familiar with this after getting up. When we abruptly get up from the sofa, we often see black.
How to train the sense of balance?
Improving balance requires very little effort. A number of balance exercises can be done without any training accessories and strengthen your sense of balance. You can do them in your living room or outdoors - you don't need much space.
And that's exactly the kind of balance exercises we'll show you in this Balance Training.
We strengthen the sense of balance through very conscious balance training. It will also strengthen your muscles a little, but is especially aimed at balance.
Build balance exercises into your workout and everyday life on a regular basis. Soon your balance will improve. There are a few tools that can help you build more stability.
The balance board
It is also called balance board, wobble board or training spinning top. This equipment is a circular board with a hemisphere on the bottom. When you stand on the board, it tilts to one side, forward or backward. You have to compensate for this with your sense of balance.
That's really hard at first. A lot of muscles are required at the same time. Especially the deep muscles have a lot to do. Already quite simple exercises with the balance board such as standing on the board are thus difficult.
The balance pad
It looks like an overly thick exercise mat. The pad I use regularly is 5 cm high and made of foam.
When you stand on the pad, you will quickly notice that especially the feet and legs have a lot to do when you want to stand still on it.
You can with the Balance Pad exercises like push-ups, lunges, squats and more. The soft base will make you unstable. It is equally suitable for beginners and advanced. And in my opinion, especially for beginners better than the balance board, because the risk of injury is lower.
This particular pad has nubs on the top to give your circulation an extra boost.
The exercise ball
Admittedly, I hated it at first. Performing an exercise while trying not to fall off the ball is not so easy.
But the dear old exercise ball is just wonderful when it comes to strengthening deep muscles. That's why you should regularly incorporate it into your balance training.
What are the benefits of balance training and what are balance exercises anyway?
Balance works quite subconsciously. We hold it in almost every moment without knowing it. Be it while walking, sitting or cycling. Balance exercises strengthen the muscles especially of the legs and train our balance.
The term balance exercises hides simple exercises that are designed to improve our balance. It's not primarily about sweating, burning calories or becoming a jock. This time it's purely about inner balance. The workout strengthens and sharpens the sense of balance.
With balance training
- you strengthen the small, stabilizing muscles
- you can perform exercises more cleanly
- you prevent injuries
- you train your body awareness
For many yoga exercises, a good sense of balance is crucial. It simply won't work without it. Because many asanas are performed on one leg.
In everyday life, it can happen that your sense of balance gets a little rusty. Especially if you've been sick for a while and the flu has really brought you to your knees. The first steps feel shaky and unfamiliar. Time for Balance Training, because the sense of balance wants to be trained again.
But balance exercises have even more benefits. When we have good balance, we can perform much more confidently in everyday life. Also the mobility becomes much better.
If you want, you can watch this workout. I found it on YouTube and find it very successful for beginners.
Who are balance exercises good for?
Everyone can and should do balance training. A few small exercises in between do not hurt. And they are not strenuous this time. So don't be afraid of sweating or enormous effort.
Those who want to be more athletic, but have poor balance, should first start with exercises that strengthen balance. Because they are prerequisites for a large number of workouts. Not only yoga.
The older we get, the more difficult it is to maintain a balance. But those who already at a young age Balance Training who does a lot of it later on.
The 11 best balance exercises for your balance training
There are a whole lot of exercises. We have tried many ourselves and found our top 11. The advantage of this balance workout is that you don't need any equipment. You can simply do the balance workout at home in your living room.
And who knows: Maybe you'll soon be one of the next slackline pros? Sounds absolutely unfeasible? But it's not! When you stand on the taut rope for the first time, your leg trembles, the rope swings and wobbles properly. Most people only manage 2-3 steps before the fun is over.
But you can learn that, too. After all, with a little practice, your muscles will work more efficiently and no longer react too slowly. Let's start in small steps, these exercises for balance will help you:
One leg stand on tiptoes
Balance exercise for: Advanced
Balance, calf training and coordination training all in one - you get it all with this exercise from Balance Training.
- First stand on both legs. Lift your right leg off the floor and bend it backwards.
- Stand with your left leg on the ball of your foot and gently rock your heel up and down.
- The best way to do this is to stretch out your hands. This helps you to keep your balance.
- If you don't have good balance, you can support yourself with your right hand by a chair or a wall.
Lower leg circles
Balance exercise for: Advanced
In order not to get off balance during this challenging balance exercise, you need to fix a point in the living room.
- You start in an upright stance. Put your hands on your hips.
- Lift your right leg off the floor and make sure your knee is about level with your hip.
- Now draw circles with one foot. The knee always remains in the same place.
If you like, you can also stretch your hands out to the side. This is purely a matter of taste.
Raise knee
Balance exercise for: Beginner
The great thing about this balance exercise? You also train your butt and thigh muscles.
- You start again in an upright stance. Lift the right leg off the floor and pull the knee as far as you can toward the chest.
- Distribute your weight on the left foot surface.
- And slowly lower again.
Repeat this exercise as many times as you can, making sure your standing leg is always in the same place.
Lateral leg lift
Balance exercise for: Beginner
The lateral leg raise is a great beginner exercise for balance training. The exercise promotes balance and trains the legs at the same time.
- You start in an upright position. Now put the weight on the left leg.
- Lift the right leg to the right side. Lift it as high as you can without losing balance.
- Arms stretched out to the sides help maintain balance.
- Slowly lower the leg and then raise it again.
Do at least 5 repetitions before switching sides. If this is too difficult for you, you can hold onto the back of a chair with your left hand or brace yourself against the wall.
Single leg stand with pendulum
Balance exercise for: Beginner
Now we re-function the stretched leg into a pendulum. This challenges the balance quite a bit and is at the same time an incredibly effective coordination exercise.
- Stand upright again and stretch your arms out to the sides.
- Lift one leg off the floor and bring it in front of the other.
- Now swing it slowly like a pendulum right and left in front of the standing leg. You don't have to lift the leg as far as in the photo.
For whom this absolutely does not work, just grab an armchair again.
Quadruped stand
Balance exercise for: Beginner
While this is one of our most popular Butt exercisesbut this also requires a lot of coordination and balance.
- Start this balance exercise on all fours. Now lift your left arm and stretch it forward.
- At the same time lift your right leg and stretch it backwards.
- Try to focus on finding your center point and distributing the weight well between the palm and the knee.
Hold the position as long as you can before switching sides. By the way, it also helps to shake your arms and legs well before a new pass.
Lunges as a balance exercise
Balance exercise for: Advanced
This exercise is a combination of legs and butt exercise and balance hold. Anyone who has ever done several lunges in a row knows that it does not work without balance training.
- Step forward with your right leg and backward with your left leg.
- Now lower your pelvis until the front leg forms a nice right angle. Lower the pelvis until the buttocks are approximately at the level of the front knee.
- It is important that the knee does not protrude above the tips of the toes.
- Now rock a little up and down again. The hands are on the hips or stretched out to the sides.
- Hold this rocking position for at least 15 seconds.
Balance on a towel
Balance exercise for: Beginner
For this simple balancing exercise, you'll need to grab a bath towel. Of course, you can also balance without a towel or blanket. But with the small aid it's much more strenuous and therefore much more effective.
- Form a roll from the towel and place it on the floor.
- Take off your shoes and walk barefoot along the towel.
- When you reach the end, go backwards to the start.
- If you dare, you can also try it with your eyes closed.
Asana "The tree
Balance exercise for: Advanced
- Stand with both feet firmly on the floor.
- Now lift the right leg. Place the sole of the foot on the thigh of the left leg. The knee points outward.
- Bring your hands together above your head. As a beginner, you can also stretch your hands to the sides - it's a little easier.
- Fix a point in space so as not to fall over.
Single leg stand with arm circles
Balance exercise for: Advanced
- You start in an upright position. Now lift the right leg backward and grab the toes with the right hand. Hold the foot firmly.
- Important: The thighs are parallel to each other.
- Stretch your left arm and draw small circles in the air. The circles get bigger from round to round.
If it doesn't work at all, you can also position the leg differently. Either to the back, to the side or to the front. And here, too, you can choose between stretched and bent. Just try what works well for you.
Single leg squats
Balance exercise for: Advanced
- Stand on the left leg. Lift the right leg and place it at heel level over the left knee.
- Stretch your arms forward and try to go down with your butt as far as you can.
- You do a squat with only one leg. Slowly go up and back down.
Our conclusion
Balance exercises are an easy way to train and improve balance. Balance training can do in the living room, in the office or in the park. Just a few minutes a day is enough to strengthen your sense of balance.
Only go as far as you dare during the exercises. If you are unsure, use a chair, a partner or a wall to help you. Go into the balance training completely relaxed and breathe deeply in and out beforehand. Then it's much easier :)
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