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Tips and Techniques - Develope Your Balance |
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Develop Your Balance People frequently ask me, "What can I do in the off-season to keep my skills up?" I always recommend exercises to develop and improve your balance-and they're quite easy to do with an Exercise Ball. But first, let's look at why balance is so important. The key to developing good balance is to use the correct muscle groups combined with proper posture. If you keep your nose over your navel (in all directions, not only side to side, but also front and back) it will enhance your balance and also free up the major abdominal muscle groups. By not "pre-loading" these muscles, they will be available to deliver maximum power for your paddling.
You can feel the same thing happen when you are standing. If you stand erect and centered, it's effortless. When you lean forward or back, you can feel all the muscles in your legs and back tighten to hold you in this position. It is an important concept to keep as many muscle groups free as possible and not tied up because of poor posture. When a muscle group is free, it can respond quickly and fully-often the difference between making a move or not.
After you have mastered balancing in a still position, start moving around and try bouncing up and down. While doing this, visualize yourself side-surfing a hole or riding some waves. Your balance and posture will greatly improve-and so will your paddling. It's also a great way to watch TV without turning into a couch potato!
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Now that you understand the important of balance and posture, here's some simple exercises using an Exercise Ball. Get on top of the ball in a kneeling position, with your back straight. Be sure to do this on a padded floor and have someone spot you when you first try it. It won't take long to figure out that if you bend forward, it is harder to keep your balance. It's much easier to keep your nose over your navel and just use your lower body to stay balanced. Picture your upper body staying erect, relatively still, while from the navel down, your body is working to keep the ball under your center of gravity. Don't forget to relax and breathe. In a short time you will be sitting on the ball with little effort.
