It can be easy to forget about balance training when developing a fitness regimen. Nonetheless, just like endurance, resistance, and flexibility, it’s an important part of a well-rounded exercise program. Staying on top of it can make a difference in the way we move throughout our daily lives.
The Value of Balance
When our body is both active and at rest, the balance system ensures that there is an equilibrium with our center of mass. With the combined work of spatial awareness, vision, and feeling, we’re able to control our body posture. Together, they help us to maintain our balance. By giving it adequate focus, we’re able to improve and maintain postural stability that can help us in a mix of ways.
As a woman, it’s especially important to consider the relationship between osteoporosis and balance training. Classified as low bone density, osteoporosis is the most common bone disease. Postmenopausal women tend to have a higher likelihood of experiencing the condition. Due to this, nearly half of women over the age of fifty experience fractures related to osteoporosis. To add, as we get older, our postural stability diminishes, further impacting our balance. In older age, women are more likely to fall and have a greater chance of being hospitalized if it happens.
Balance training is not only of benefit to those with or at a greater risk of dealing with osteoporosis. Its impact on cognitive function is quite impressive. A research study examined the impact of balance training and spatial cognition. They found that after 12 weeks, those in the balance training group exhibited major improvements in both memory and spatial cognition. This may be due to the engagement of the vestibular system, a sensory system within the ear that plays a role in detecting linear increases in speed when we’re moving. Through balance training, we’re able to recruit this system, helping to enhance our balance.
Balance training is not only of benefit to those with or at a greater risk of dealing with osteoporosis. Its impact on cognitive function is quite impressive.
Seeking to improve balance can be a fun, innovative, and new learning process. If you enjoy fitness in social settings, group classes focused on this area can be a great choice. Modalities such as yoga often incorporate mixed variations of balance work. Pilates can also be of benefit due to one of its main focuses being to strengthen the core. Since this is the center of the body and involved in trunk stability, there is a great connection between these muscles and balance. If you enjoy working out at home with your own equipment, certain props can also be great for in this area. Consider investing in things like a BOSU ball, stability ball, or a core balance disc to mix into your fitness regimen.
The next time you’re preparing to get a workout in, make sure balance has a space in your routine!
Rashida A. Marshall, MS is the creator of AFIYA Magazine, a digital health and lifestyle publication for Black women. This creative venture grew out of her love for learning, teaching, and sharing valuable wellness information to help improve the quality of life. Rashida is also a Pilates and dance instructor specializing in women’s health.
