Tuesday, March 4, 2014

5 Exercise Moves That Improve Your Balance

5 Exercise Moves That Improve Your Balance

Don't pull a Jennifer Lawrence at the Oscars—incorporate these moves into your regular workout routines to help boost your coordination

Gotta give it to Jennifer Lawrence—the girl knows how to take a high-profile tumble. Last night, the Hunger Games star tripped at the Oscars for the second year in a row. And hey, we're totally sympathetic; face-planting while wearing sky-high stilettos is practically a given (seriously though, read What Happens to Your Body When You Wear Heels to see what we mean).

But all jokes aside, if you find yourself losing your balance fairly regularly and it doesn't necessarily have to do with how tall your heels are (or how much Pinot you've sipped), there is something you can do about it. Start incorporating these general moves into your regular workouts. Each engages the sensory nerves and muscle groups that act together to keep you coordinated. "When any of these systems are off, it affects your balance, potentially leading to a tumble," says Susan Paul, exercise physiologist and program director for the Orlando Track Shack Foundation. Do two to three sets of six to eight reps per move daily, and you'll notice a boost in stability in six weeks. 

Core exercises
"These engage all of the systems that help you maintain balance," says Paul. Plus, you strengthen your midsection, which anchors you. Do resistance moves like sit-ups, or grab a balance board or a bosu ball and work out with them. Check out these 10 abs exercises better than crunches for some inspiration, or go all out and try this 15-minute standing workout for flat abs for a full core-focused routine.

One-legged moves
One-legged lunges, step-ups, and dead lifts improve balance by toning and strengthening leg muscles, says Paul, so they work in tandem. Check out how to do these moves and more with this 15-minute sexy legs workout routine.

Multi-stage or multi-positional exercises
"One example of this would be a series of one-legged lunges, followed by reaching back and forth across your body to touch the ground," says Paul. "The more complex the exercise, the better for working all the systems that play a role in coordination." 

Hip and butt strengthening moves
"These help stabilize the pelvis, which is the body's foundation," says Paul. May we recommend any of the booty boosting workouts on our butt workouts page?

Calf raises
Heel addicts, this one is for you: calf raises build better lower-leg muscle strength so you can walk in heels without pulling a J-Law. "Also try working the front of the lower leg, the tibialis anterior, by flexing the foot and walking around on your heels," says Paul.  

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