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Why should people train their balance? How exactly does one do a balance exercise? Who should train their balance? What muscles are used during the balance exercises? Are balance exercises strenuous? I think my balance is pretty good for my age, and I’d like to keep it that way. Will the exercises in the manual be too easy? I have terrible balance. Will the exercises be too hard for me? I am 88 years old. Am I too old to increase leg strength? Does your book have any tips about what to do if you fall? What is an ebook? Why should people train their balance? First and foremost, people should train their balance to help reduce their risk of falling. Each year, 1 in 3 people over the age of 60 experience a fall, and these falls can result in broken bones, hospital bills, and even a loss of independence. Secondly, having better balance improves your overall quality of life because it allows you to be more confident on your feet during your daily activities. How exactly does one do a balance exercise? For safety, you always stand next to something sturdy to hold on to. Then you place your feet in various positions that will challenge your sense of balance (demonstrated in the manual). Once positioned, you leave go of your support if possible and start balancing. Your hand is always close to your support in case you need it. Then, if you feel that it is too easy, there are simple progressions that we use to make the exercises harder. Your goal is to find a degree of difficulty that challenges your balance while still feeling safe. This is covered in depth in the manual, and is actually quite simple once you know what you’re doing. Who should train their balance? Most people don’t even think about training their balance until after they’ve had a fall. Anyone over 60 should be doing balance exercises on a regular basis to counteract the effects that aging has on their sense of balance and help prevent falls before they happen. It’s easy to do, and it can make a huge impact on a person’s quality of life. What muscles are used during the balance exercises? There are no muscles in particular that are just used for balancing. The brain will activate whatever muscles it needs to help keep you stable. It is often many muscles at the same time. The exercises are teaching the brain to coordinate all those muscles better and faster. Are balance exercises strenuous? No. Unlike strength and cardiovascular training which tax your muscles, balance exercises are designed to train your brain to coordinate the muscles more quickly and efficiently to keep you upright and balanced. Since we’re exercising the brain more than anything else, we can have a good “balance workout” without sweating or feeling fatigue. I think my balance is pretty good for my age, and I’d like to keep it that way. Will the exercises in the manual be too easy? No. Possibly the biggest breakthrough with The Balance Manual is the ability to easily adjust the exercises for higher difficulty to adequately challenge each person’s unique balance capabilities. I have terrible balance. Will the exercises be too hard for me? Some will probably be too hard, but there are plenty others that can be done by those with very poor balance. As your balance improves, you can add in some harder exercises as desired. I am 88 years old. Am I too old to increase leg strength? The amazing thing about the human body is that strength can be improved at any age. The key is finding exercises that will strengthen your muscles without causing pain in the joints or elsewhere. The leg strengthening exercises in The Balance Manual have been chosen because they do a great job of strengthening important leg muscles without causing pain. Does your book have any tips about what to do if you fall? Yes. The Balance Manual covers how to decrease the severity of a fall as it happens, how to develop a plan ahead of time so you know what to do if you fall, and how to get back up on your feet. What is an ebook? An ebook is a PDF file that you can download instantly to your computer. Then you can read it on your computer screen or print the whole thing or just selected pages. PDF technology allows us to transfer an entire book quickly over the internet. The vast majority of computers are capable of reading PDF files. See if it works for you by trying a test download. Click here to do an ebook test download. If your computer doesn’t read PDF files, you can download the software you need for free from Adobe at http://get.adobe.com/reader/ Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Go to the contact page to ask us your question. |
