Balancing Act…

Good single leg balance leads to efficient cross-country ski technique.

I’ve been trying to incorporate more balance work into my own training recently. I’m not talking about the balance of life and training, I’ll save those thoughts for another day. Rather, I’m talking about physical balance, though there is a mental component in it too.

It’s one of those pieces of an exercise program that can feel small on the surface but can make a big difference. When I talk about balance, I’m talking primarily about single leg balance and connected to that, core stability. Balance is key in many of the activities I enjoy.

In cross-country skiing, the benefits can be pretty obvious. With improved balance, you can have a longer glide phase, a shorter power phase, and more efficient technique on the whole. In trail running, and running in general, there are similar benefits to movement economy. Strong balance tends to lead to a better foot strike and better float phase (or stance and swing phase, if you prefer those terms)

In addition, the exercises we use for improving balance also develop many small muscles and opposing muscles (the muscles not used for our primary exercise) which helps with injury prevention. The connection between strength training and injury prevention is worth its own blog and that will come at some point!

Now, onto a few exercises:

1)    Single Leg Stand with Leg Lift. Standing in place on one leg, raise your unweighted leg up until your thigh is parallel with the ground. Hands can rest on hips, be extended to the sides, or extended overhead. Typical repetitions would be 2-3 sets of 10-15 per leg.

2)    Single Leg Bend and Reach. Grab a dumbbell (on end), kettlebell, cone, paper towel roll, or anything that gives that height. Place it about 1.5-2 feet in front of you on the ground. Standing on one leg, bend at the ankle and knee, getting as low as you can, and then reach out with one hand and touch the top of the object. You can alternate hands. Typical repetitions would be 2-3 sets of 10-15 per leg.

3)    Single Leg Romanian Deadlift (RDL). The single leg RDL is a great exercise for both balance and flexibility. To start, stand tall on one leg. Thinking of your hips as a pivot point (you can imagine a pin going through your hips like a foosball player), rotate your free/unweighted leg back and your torso forward. Keep yourself as a solid unit, thinking about the top of your head to your heel forming a straight line. Go as far as you can without breaking that line, or until your chest is parallel with the ground. Whichever comes first. Typical repetitions would be 2-3 sets of 10-15 per leg.

There are plenty more exercises that can help improve your balance. The key is getting some consistency! Try getting 5-10 minutes of balance work in every other day. You can do these exercises before your run or bike ride as an active warm up, or just incorporate a few while you’re watching TV. Feel free to reach out for some more ideas of how to improve your balance!