Balance, Stability & Core Strength is a low intensity, technique based class, designed to supplement the training of any athlete. Balance is a key component in all forms of movement and is often overlooked. Whether you want to run faster or for longer, if you want to be stronger and lift heavier, just one hour per week of balance, stability & core strength training will help you make gains in every area of fitness. We also emphasise the importance of injury prevention, with many of our members using balance class purely to prevent common ankle and knee injuries, common whether you're running a Spartan Race through uneven terrain or running for a bus on an uneven pavement.
The class teaches the three key skills used to balance: eye contact, points of contact and centre of gravity. The first 15 minutes is dedicated to explaining these principles, with athletes practising each skill, using common gym equipment like bosus & gym balls plus more unconventional apparatus such as the slackline or unicycle.
We then focus on the conditioning elements of balance training: reaction & strength, with drills that help improve your ability to react to unpredictable stimulus, followed by a set of exercises designed to strengthen the parts of the body required to correct instability and maintain balance.
By increasing joint stability and core strength and through improving spacial awareness and proprioception, this class will help you squat heavier and jump higher. It will help you run an OCR quicker and more safely. It will improve your agility and power in sports such as football, rugby, tennis, basketball and martial arts but most importantly, it provides a foundation that will prevent common injuries to feet, knees, ankles, hips and lower back.
First 15 minutes.
Eye contact, explained by getting the class to focus on a stationary object in front of them, whilst standing on bosu. We then close our eyes and try and maintain balance, designed to show the importance of the sensory information we receive from sight.
Points of Contact, explained by illustrating a strong, stable, shoulder width stance. By trying to balance on all fours, on a gym ball, we show how increasing/decreasing points of contact can affect balance.
Centre of Gravity, explained by standing on bosus and completing the maze game in the middles. Demonstrates how we can move our body in order to stay aligned and shows how best to use our arms in order to achieve this.
Next 25 minutes.
A series of exercises designed to test reaction speed and reflexes including standing on a balance tube and passing a medicine ball, back and fourth, standing on a bosu and catching a ball, thrown from behind and two people walking the slackline towards each other etc.
Final 15 minutes
5 exercises designed to strengthen the parts of the body required for balance & stability including pistol squats, single leg deadlifts, banded lunges and plank variations.
The class teaches the three key skills used to balance: eye contact, points of contact and centre of gravity. The first 15 minutes is dedicated to explaining these principles, with athletes practising each skill, using common gym equipment like bosus & gym balls plus more unconventional apparatus such as the slackline or unicycle.
We then focus on the conditioning elements of balance training: reaction & strength, with drills that help improve your ability to react to unpredictable stimulus, followed by a set of exercises designed to strengthen the parts of the body required to correct instability and maintain balance.
By increasing joint stability and core strength and through improving spacial awareness and proprioception, this class will help you squat heavier and jump higher. It will help you run an OCR quicker and more safely. It will improve your agility and power in sports such as football, rugby, tennis, basketball and martial arts but most importantly, it provides a foundation that will prevent common injuries to feet, knees, ankles, hips and lower back.
First 15 minutes.
Eye contact, explained by getting the class to focus on a stationary object in front of them, whilst standing on bosu. We then close our eyes and try and maintain balance, designed to show the importance of the sensory information we receive from sight.
Points of Contact, explained by illustrating a strong, stable, shoulder width stance. By trying to balance on all fours, on a gym ball, we show how increasing/decreasing points of contact can affect balance.
Centre of Gravity, explained by standing on bosus and completing the maze game in the middles. Demonstrates how we can move our body in order to stay aligned and shows how best to use our arms in order to achieve this.
Next 25 minutes.
A series of exercises designed to test reaction speed and reflexes including standing on a balance tube and passing a medicine ball, back and fourth, standing on a bosu and catching a ball, thrown from behind and two people walking the slackline towards each other etc.
Final 15 minutes
5 exercises designed to strengthen the parts of the body required for balance & stability including pistol squats, single leg deadlifts, banded lunges and plank variations.