Strength and Balance Conditioning
When it comes to exercise, people often find one type of workout they like and focus on it almost exclusively. For some people this means jogging until they can run a marathon. Others engage in weight training in order to build muscles, bulk up, or bench press their own body weight. Still others rely on yoga and Pilates to help them increase flexibility and muscle tone while restoring a mind-body connection or adding a spiritual element to their workout routine.
The point is that it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with one type of exercise. Sometimes we’re seeking specific results, but more often than not we simply end up doing what we like. But this may not be the best way to increase your overall fitness since the practice tends to focus on only one benefit of exercise at the expense of others.
So if you’re looking to improve both your strength and balance, here are a few tips that can help you to reach your fitness goals.
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Create a tiered exercise plan.
Whenever you’re working towards specific goals, it pays to develop a step-by-step plan for success. In terms of exercise, this generally requires a tiered approach. For example, suppose you objective when it comes to strength is to bench press your body weight. You’ll probably start with significantly less weight, but through targeted increases you can eventually achieve your goal.
If you want to be able to do yoga on a surfboard, you’ll likely start with practice on dry land and work your way up to balancing on water. This way you’ll have a much better chance of sticking with the program and succeeding in the long term.
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Target your core.
Your core muscles play a role in nearly every type of bodily movement. So if you want to increase strength and balance, this is a good place to start. In truth, strengthening your abs and lats can help to improve your balance right off the bat. But balance-related exercises can further strengthen your core, as well. And this can help to increase your overall strength and balance, improving your performance in every other activity.
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Cross-train.
If you seem to have reached a plateau with your regular workout routine, where you seem to be unable to realize significant improvements, a cross-training regimen can help to get you back on track. Over time, our muscles become accustomed to certain types of movement and our bodies adapt.
By switching it up with a different slate of exercises you can not only increase strength and balance in other areas of the body, but you can start to see gains again.
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Eat right.
You probably know that your diet can have a marked effect on increasing muscle mass or decreasing fat. But you might not understand how calories can increase strength and balance, and the truth is that they don’t necessarily do so in a direct manner. However, consuming a balanced diet that includes vital nutrients and plenty of water can help you to feel and perform better on every level, so a healthy diet is important for every type of physical training.
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Get tested.
While you should certainly make good use of your California or Florida health insurance by getting annual physicals and other fitness exams, you also need to test yourself through activity to see if you’re improving when it comes to increasing strength and balance. This could be as simple as hitting goals for lifting weights or holding a particular balancing pose in yoga for a set amount of time.
You might also challenge yourself by signing up for a triathlon or joining Crossfit games, just for example. These types of tests could act as benchmarks in your quest to improve strength, balance, and overall fitness.
Tags: balance, Conditioning, exercise, fitness, Fitness Tips, strength, tips, workout
