Training Your Balance For Improved Performance – Part 1
Balance is one of the most important aspects of fitness for any surf or snow sport athlete, and it is also one of the most fun to train!
By improving your balance you will not only improve your performance on the waves or snow, but also decrease your injury risk and increase your enjoyment (not to mention land tricks and maneuvers more easily.
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Trees can sometimes affect your balance
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Types of Balance
There are two types of balance that you need to be aware of to maximise your training…
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Static Balance – This refers to maintaining stability by keeping your centre of mass within your base of support (think maintaining your balance whilst surfing down the line on a wave).
Dynamic Balance – This refers to using your centre of mass outside your support base in order to perform a movement (think carving some fresh powder on your snowboard or skis).
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Both types of balance are important for surf and snow performance and should be included in your training plan.
Checkout the balance exercises in the following video and have a go at adding them to your workouts…
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There are 6 balance exercises shown in the video…
- Single Leg Toe Raise (eyes closed)
- Lateral Bound to Stabilize
- BOSU 90 Degree Jumps
- BOSU Lateral Bound to Stabilize
- Balance Board Quick Drops
- Balance Board Split Squat to Single Leg Balance
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You can add some of these exercises into your warmup or even at the end of your workout when you are in a fatigued state for extra balance improvements.
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Hope you enjoyed the video!
Leave a comment to let me know what you think and if you want more of these kinds of videos on the website.
Cheers,
Clayton
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3 comments
paul says:
September 9, 2011 at 10:51 am (UTC 0)
thanks mate good stuff a little bit more to challenge me. (hey claton thought you would have the bungs out on the balance board!)keep the good core exercises coming all the best and may the next filthy set wave be yours.
Clayton Beatty says:
September 9, 2011 at 11:20 am (UTC 0)
haha, yeah normally have them out, but have been using that balance board in my fitness classes and it’s too unstable for most people. Will make sure I have them out in the next video
Fabrizio says:
September 12, 2011 at 10:22 pm (UTC 0)
Thanks for the video. I practiced them today and they felt great on the bad right knee that I am trying to rehab. Keep posting videos please. Great stuff.