Why balance is important for everyone

You don’t need to buy expensive equipment to improve your balance. You can do several exercises without any equipment. This blog contains exercises you can do at home or the gym—without any special equipment. Try adding 5 or 10 minutes of balance exercises to your workouts three times a week. How can you tell if you are getting better? When you can maintain your balance during the various exercises (or the balance-training test above) for longer periods of time. If you want to do some serious balance training (a good idea after you've mastered some of the basic exercises), you can choose from a variety of balance-training toys to help you reach your goals. If you have a gym membership, your gym may carry some or all of these types of equipment. While some are pricier than others are, keep in mind that balance-training equipment isn't necessary for improving your balance—it just helps you take it to the next level. In fact, a study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that balance boards and balls engage more muscle fibers in other areas of the body: the lower back (42-70% more exertion), lower abs (22-34% more exertion), quads (61-84% more exertion), hamstrings (33-70% more exertion), and calves (17-51% more exertion) compared to exercises done without those balancing devices. Here are three of the most common pieces of equipment to consider trying: Stability ball Did you know that every time you sit, lie or lean on that ball to perform strengthening exercises you're also helping improve balance? It's like double-duty strength training! Simply swap your bench or chair for a stability ball during seated or lying exercises. Get creative and come up with more ways to balance on the ball, whether with planks, pushups, or Pilates! Exercises on body ball for balance: Single Leg Dumbbell Squats

Or Sitting on ball knee lift

Balance Boards Sports Med shop sells an inflatable balance disc (Sissel Sit Fit) in their store and offers exercise instructions and workouts for the balance board to help you get started. This is an inexpensive alternative to pricier wood balance boards, which can also be a lot more challenging for beginners to master. You can do many of the same exercises as you can on a BOSU with this more portable piece of equipment. Foam Rolls (half moon) can also be great for balance training. http://www.sportmedstore.com/products/balance_core.html

BOSU Ball Available in most gyms (or for purchase to use at home), BOSU balls are versatile. You can perform a wide variety of exercises on the BOSU to improve your balance. You can also find BOSU fitness classes, BOSU workout DVDs and more exercise ideas on the Internet. Watch an intro video at http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=1046 Happy Training everyone, Let's connect at gaiaadventures@shaw.ca Catherine D'Aoust, Kinesiologist, Personal Training, Adventures for Women, Better Aging http://www.gaiaadventures.com 604 329.1257

Balance Training: why it's important for everyone

What is with all the weird looking toys you see in the gyms, sporting goods stores, and fitness magazines today? We see funny looking things like a cut-in-half stability ball called a BOSU. There are the small circular "pillow discs" that are filled with air. Don’t forget about the other items like balance wedges, wobble boards, rocker boards, and indo boards. They look interesting enough, sometimes even fun, but what's the point of all these devices? These fitness tools are specially designed to help people improve their balance. You may think that the elderly are the only ones who should be concerned about balance, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Think back with me to when you were a kid. Remember: “how long can you hop on one foot?” or “who can walk on the edge of the sidewalk the longest without falling off?” We didn't call it exercise or balance training then, but that is exactly what we were doing. Activities like these helped us to develop our balance and stability and to survive our youthful clumsiness. Today, top athletes in the world recognize that balance training helps them to perform better in their sports and fitness experts know that good balance and a strong core go hand in hand. You don't have to be a world-class athlete to add a little balance training to your workouts. Plenty of simple exercises you can do at home (or at the gym) will improve your balance significantly. But if sticking a dismount or avoiding a tackle aren't on your list of daily priorities, why does balance training matter? Let’s look at the reasons why balance training is so important. Benefits of Balance Training Let me spring a big word on you here: proprioception. It's the body’s ability to interpret and use information about your position in space. Through a complex system of environmental feedback, cues from the bottom of your feet, the relation of your inner ear to gravity, and what you see, your body senses which muscles to activate or deactivate to maintain your desired position. It does this when you stand, get up from a chair, or walk on the sidewalk. It also uses all of these cues when you're riding a bike, skiing, strength training at the gym, and standing on your tiptoes to grab something from a high shelf. When the information received is too complex to translate, the system gets overwhelmed and you lose your balance. But with practice and experience (i.e. balance training) you can master what once seemed like impossible tasks—just like you did when you first removed the training wheels from your childhood bike or made it to the bottom of the bunny hill the first time without falling. By training to develop greater balance, you will recognize improvements in coordination, athletic skill, and posture. This in turn will result in fewer injuries and greater stability as you age, which can help prevent falls and keep you both strong and independent longer. These are the very benefits that have led many coaches, trainers, and athletes to incorporate balance training into their workouts. So how do you start? Quick Balance Test Here is a good test to evaluate your own balance. Stand up and imagine you're going to walk forward on a straight line, placing one foot directly in front of the other so that the heel of your front foot touches the toes of your back foot. Keep both feet flat on the floor. Hold that position and close your eyes. If you can maintain your balance for 30 seconds, you are doing pretty well. If you are wobbling just about as soon as you close your eyes—or before—your balance is poor. If you did not perform as well as you thought you should, it's OK. Let’s work on this together. (Adapted from Jason Anderson, Personal Trainer)

Let's connect at gaiaadventures@shaw.ca Catherine D'Aoust, Kinesiologist, Personal Trainer, Adventures for Women http://www.gaiaadventures.com 604 329.1257

Strengthen your Core

Whenever you walk or run, your core muscles are active, keeping you upright, balancing your body as your weight shifts and absorbing the impact as your feet hit the ground. Your body's core forms the foundation of all your movement. If your core is weak, you are susceptible to poor posture and injury. There are many great exercises we can do to strengthen the core. I would like to focus on the abdominal crunch - it is the one exercise that I often see people perform incorrectly. Abdominal Crunch: Lie on your back and place your feet on the floor hip-width apart. Hold your arms out (easiest) or cross your arms on your chest (moderate) or place your hands behind your head or hold a plyoball (advanced). Keep your gaze fixed forward. Using your abdominal muscles—not your neck—lift your chest as far as you can off the floor, even if it is only an inch or two. Hold for 2-3 seconds if you can, then release. Repeat 8 times. Remember to breathe deeply throughout this exercise.

Want to try an advanced core exercise - follow this link and do Medicine Ball Crunches: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/exercises.asp?exercise=456 Happy training everyone! Let's connect at gaiaadventures@shaw.ca Catherine D'Aoust, Kinesiologist, Personal Training, Adventures for Women, Better Aging http://www.gaiaadventures.com; 604 329.1257

Endings and Beginnings

Life is full of endings and beginnings. I have been teaching Osteofit classes at Kerrisdale community center for almost 13 years. I have come to know and appreciate everyone in my classes. They are like my "Moms" to me, who is 79 - years old now, and also suffers from Osteoporosis. There are three women aged 87 years of age in my Osteofit for life class; these women are full of life and vigor (and yes, there are a few men there too). It has been my pleasure to guide them through to better bones and stronger body. Every week we warmed up and strength trained with the help of 3 lbs, 5 lbs free weights and bands. We also performed special balance exercises to help prevent falls and keep them safe. I enjoyed their warmth and appreciation. I was given an opportunity to teach Healthy Heart classes on Monday at VGH. It was a difficult decision for me, especially after all this time, but I felt it was now time for me to move on to new challenges. My last day at teaching at Kerrisdale, my Osteofit classes were so wonderful to me. In my first class, they took my picture with the group and then with just me. They presented me with a card and a small gift and I hugged just about every one of them. And there were tears, mostly from me. My second class also gave me a card and gift (chocolate - which I love). A period of my life is ending (over 13 years teaching those classes) and a new one beginning (Healthy Heart on Monday classes started today). I wish you all new beginnings too. For more information about Healthy Heart visit: http://www.vch.ca/403/7676/?program_id=10455 Want to know more about the Osteofit program http://www.osteofit.org/ Happy training everyone! Let's connect at gaiaadventures@shaw.ca Catherine D'Aoust, Kinesiologist, Personal Training, Adventures for Women, Better Aging http://www.gaiaadventures.com; 604 329.1257 GAIA hikes Diez Vistas on July 21; join me and other cool women