Balance Improvement Techniques

[Rehab1]

Even when you're not thinking about it, your body is balancing—in everyday life, when you exercise, and during your active pastimes. Riding an Electric Unicycle (EUC) is no different. I just requires additional proprioception (body awareness in space) and semotosensory fine tuning.
 

Good balance and a strong core go hand in hand when riding an EUC. Plus, the better you balance the less likely you are to fall or injure yourself. If you haven't thought much about maintaining—or enhancing—your balance, now is as good a time as any to start, especially if you are beginning to ride a EUC. I practice these techniques when I began riding my Ninebot One E+ and continue today. 

   1. Change Your Base of Support. Balance is your ability to maintain your center of gravity over your base of support. When you're standing up, your legs are your base of support. The wider your legs are, the wider your base is and the easier it is to balance. The closer your legs are together, the narrower your base of support is and the harder it is to remain balanced. One of the easiest ways you can challenge (and therefore help improve) your balance during any standing exercise is to gradually narrow your base of support until your feet and legs are together while you perform your exercise.

Bring your legs closer together while you do standing bicep curls, shoulder raises, or any other upper body movements. Be sure to keep your abs pulled in tight and make sure you're not leaning backward as you perform your exercises. 

2.Try It on One Leg. Once you've mastered doing an exercise with a narrow base of support, you're ready for the next challenge: balancing on a single leg. Instead of standing on both legs during some of the same moves above, try it on a single leg. Start by just lifting one heel (keeping your toes on the floor) while doing your upper body moves or working up to a single leg squat. As you get better, lift that foot off the ground completely. From there, you can play around with the position of your lifted leg—holding it behind you, in front of you, to the side or, for a greater challenge, moving that leg while you balance on the other leg and perform upper body movements. Just be sure to alternate legs to keep your strength and muscle tone balanced (no pun intended) between both sides of your body.

Tip: You can also experiment with momentary one-leg balances. For example, on a forward lunge, lift your front or back leg for a moment each time your push up out of your lunge. 

3. Close your eyes. Your sense of vision is a big part of the balance equation. It works hand in hand with the vestibular (inner ear) and proproceptive systems to maintain balance and prevent falls. By staring at a single focal point (minimizing your head and eye movement), you'll balance more easily. If you move your gaze or take vision out of the equation altogether, it's harder to balance. This option is definitely a challenge—not something for beginners and not something you can do in any given situation. You'll want to make sure you're in a controlled environment and that your body is planted (don't attempt this while walking or hiking or moving through space). You can start by just standing up tall and closing your eyes without moving.

Over time, combine the narrow base of support with some one-leg balances while closing your eyes. You might be surprised how challenging it is to simply stand with your eyes closed, let alone stand on one foot or while doing a biceps curl. Just be sure to use your best judgment and listen to your body when trying this technique. 

By using these techniques and really paying attention to your body as you exercise, you should notice improvements in your balance, coordination, posture, core strength and agility when riding your ECU. This should help you to avoid spills during the learning curve and hopefully build your confidence when trying new and exciting riding techniques. Ride Safe! Daniel Cole –Rehab Specialist

 

[Jdestef]

This reminds me of when I was learning to ride. I definitely became more unstable when I wasn't looking farther into the distance. If I was scanning 3-6 feet ahead of me, I would wobble and become uncertain of my balance. Over time (like hundreds of km of riding even) your brain rewires to be more dynamic and not need a distant focal point for stability. 

[steve454]

On 6/9/2016 at 4:12 PM, Jdestef said:

This reminds me of when I was learning to ride. I definitely became more unstable when I wasn't looking farther into the distance. If I was scanning 3-6 feet ahead of me, I would wobble and become uncertain of my balance. Over time (like hundreds of km of riding even) your brain rewires to be more dynamic and not need a distant focal point for stability. 

Does this work for walking too? My gait is unsteady and I don't know why.

[Jurgen]

21 hours ago, steve454 said:

Does this work for walking too? My gait is unsteady and I don't know why.

In your case I would advise to go and see a neurologist first, to find out why.