Improve Your Stability

Have you experienced problems with trying to balance? Do you have poor posture? How strong is your core? If these are areas in which you'd like to improve, continue reading. There are several exercises you can perform that will add strength to your muscles which will help improve your posture and overall physical stability.

Balance Exercises
When you practice balancing exercise, like standing on one foot, you engage your leg muscles, core muscles, and lower back muscles to help in this process. Even if this is a challenge for you at first, with continued practice, you will notice a significant change in your physical structure, strength, and stability.

A popular yoga pose that can help with building better balance is Tree Pose. It is the act of standing on one foot with your arms in the air. You can start this posture by standing on your left foot. Place your right foot on the inside of your standing leg with your knee pointing to the right side of the room. If you are able, extend both arms into the air, and hold the posture for at least 30 seconds. If you are new to this type of balancing exercise, start by standing near a wall. Place one hand on the wall as you perform the pose. This is to help the initial balance work. Meanwhile, your abdominal, lower back and leg muscles will build the stabilising strength you are looking for. (Be sure to practice the pose on both sides.)

Squats
Another exercise that you may perform at the gym is squats. Often performed with a weighted bar across your shoulders, you would bend your knees and sit back as if you were sitting onto a chair. Then you would raise your body until your legs are straight. With repetition, your core muscles, quads and hamstrings, and lower back erector muscles build more strength.

You can also perform squat exercises without the use of a weighted bar. You can use a Professional Balance Mat to also improve your stability.

Balance Mat
This is a non-slip foam pad that works to improve your core stability. It is designed to improve your posture, strengthen your abdominal core strength, build and tone your leg muscles, and help with your overall balance and stability. The "wobble" component of the Balance Pad encourages you to activate the stabilising small muscle fibres to increase your ability to centre your body and improve your body structure.

Stand on the mat with your feet just wider than your hips. Bend your knees and lower your hips; imagine there was a chair behind you. As you are able, lower yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold the posture for a few seconds then return to a standing position. Although there is no weight on your shoulders like a conventional squat, the unstable nature of the balance mat acts as the tool to generate more stability in your legs, core, and back.

Practice these exercises at least 3 times per week and you will quickly notice a change in your posture, strength, balance, and overall stability in your entire body.