When thinking of improving stability and balance, most people immediately think you need to be doing some sort of awkward training exercise on a BOSU ball. This is far from the truth. Sport and life are completed with your feet on the ground interacting with a solid surface. Thus, training exercises should be the same.
The reality when training stability is you’re trying to come up with a program that varies the plane of motion, load, stance, etc. The meat and potatoes of your program probably includes squats, lunges, hip thrusts, and numerous motions all in the sagittal plane. Accessory work that challenges the body in ways that may not be hit in primary exercises becomes key. The following are exercises that can be a great addition to your routine if you are looking to improve stability and balance, and provide a greater upside than BOSU training:
Barbell Slides:
Holding a bar as if you're going to do a back squat, stand on one leg and raise the other up to 90 degrees. Shift the bar back and forth while maintaining good posture and not tapping the second foot to the ground.
Rear Leg Lift:
In a split position, dip the inside knee over the foot. The outside leg has the band wrapped around the ankle. The moment you pick up the outside foot, the resistance is going to want to rotate you. You're aiming to fight that by keeping the knee from buckling and hips square to the wall in front of you. Increase difficulty by stepping further away from the anchor point or getting in to a longer split stance.
SL KB Handoffs
Just like the rear leg lift, dip the stance leg knee over the foot. Try to keep the other foot off the ground the entire time. Simply pass the kettlebell back and forth between hands. Taking the kettlebell out wider can increase the difficulty.
SL MB Side to Side Toss
Most of the medball exercises in my database are designed for power development. This one focuses on stability and uses a hard cover ball. Maintain balance on one leg and toss the ball side to side off the wall. You're aiming to catch it on either side of the body (not directly in front of you) so that you have to decelerate then reaccelerate the ball.
Offset Trap Bar Carry
Offset loading in the carry is going to increase trunk stability and core work throughout the motion. In order to maintain good posture and walk without a waddle, your body is going to have to brace itself in a way traditional exercises wouldn't challenge it.
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