How to improve your balance (without pretending to be a scarecrow)
If you've ever tried to walk along a balance beam you've probably given it a go while holding your arms out to the side like stiff boards, and even if you haven't do it yourself, you've probably seen a gymnast do it.
In this blog we're going to tell you why this technique is not a good way to improve your balance.
Why are we going to tell you this?
Because we're passionate about helping people to improve their balance (and all other sorts of movement), and frankly, this method of improving your balance isn't particularly helpful.
Please don't get us wrong. Holding your arms out to the side like boards does help your balance in a couple of ways, it's just that they're pretty minor and this technique locks you in to bad habits that will ultimately hold you back. This is particularly true when balancing in the real world (e.g. on objects other than that perfect balance beam that the gymnastics use).
But let's start with how it does help.
Balancing while holding your arms out stiff to the side helps your balance in at least two ways:
It puts tension in your body and causes you to slow down. This is particularly helpful for kids who often flop around like wet noodles when asked to balance. Holding their arms out to the side causes them to stiffen up through the rest of their body and helps to stop them throwing themselves off balance.
It gives a helpful point of reference for when balance is being lost. Try this. Put your arms out to the side and then bend a little sideways. Look how much more your hands move than your shoulders. Putting your hands up gives you a more sensitive measure of when you are slightly off balance, allowing you to (subconsciously) notice your lack of balance and correct earlier.
Ok, those all seem like good reasons to balance with your arms out to the side, so why isn't it a good technique to learn?
Number 1
It puts tension in your body.
Wait what?
That was the first reason this technique is USEFUL! How can it also be the first reason it's a problem?
The thing is, real world balance isn't about being perfectly controlled. Real world balance is about reacting to unstable positions and not falling over. Put another way, real world balance is about regaining control in unpredictable environments.
It's all well and good for a gymnast to balance dead straight, but in the real world you will end up off balance and to correct you need to move fluidly!
Holding your arms out stiffly to the side reduces your ability to fluidly correct your movements. In this respect, while it might help improve your balance a bit right away, it will hold you back in the long term.
If you learn the bad habit of holding your arms out to the side to begin with, you'll need to relearn your enter skill from almost the start to become more fluid.
Number 2
It raises your centre of gravity.
As a general rule, the lower your centre of gravity, the more stable you will be. To get a feeling for this, grab something safe that weighs a couple of kilograms (e.g. a 2L bottle of milk). Try balancing one foot in front of the other holding it in front of you, resting against your stomach. Now try the same thing holding it straight arms above your head. Which is easier?
In front of you should feel easier because the milk is lower and so is your combined (you and milk) centre of gravity. Held overhead the milk is like a big heavy weight on top of a skinny pole. It's bound to fall.
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So what is the best technique for balancing?
Or more specifically, what are the best things to try while learning to balance?
The first thing that we (nearly always) start people off with is picking a single point to look at in front of them. It doesn't really matter if it's on the horizon or on the ground, but it just shouldn't be right at your feet. This immediately does everything that holding your hands out to the side does, without any of the negative side effects. It makes you more rigid, but not too rigid (it's hard to be floppy while looking at one point, but you don't need to be excessively rigid to hold the arms out tight). It also slows you down (if you can't look at your feet you won't move fast). In the process of slowing down you also become more aware of any movement away from ideal balance and can correct easily.
Let's just dwell on that. The one simple suggestion of looking at a single point does everything that holding your hands out rigid to the side does, without any of the negative consequences.
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Ok, so what is the right place for your arms? Is it by your sides where they are lowest (lower centre of gravity)?
No. Unfortunately it's not that simple. Good balance technique uses movements of the arms to counteract any loss of balance. This can involve moving the arms in all directions, including closer to you. If your arms are already by your side they can't move any closer to you and you have limited your balance options. Instead the ideal position for your arms is a balance of everything we have discussed.
We would recommend holding you arms a little bit away from your side and doing so with as little tension as possible (i.e. just enough to keep them there and steady but no more).
That's how we start teaching balance. Give it a crack and see how it goes for you.
P.S. and like we always say, real movement skills come from the practise of movement in an broad range of situaitons, contexts etc. So definitely feel free to practise balancing with your hands out to the side like rigid planks, just make sure its a small part of a broader balance practise. There is value in practising this method a little bit. It's just the emphasis should be on 'little bit'.
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