Who doesn’t love a good challenge?

I don’t know about you, but I always love a good challenge. When I come across a fitness article that states the average person should be able to do this or that, I am intrigued, and I immediately set out to see if I am average or not. But, more importantly, these kinds of tests are not so much about what is average. Rather, they are about what is healthy for overall quality of life. If you desire to be strong and independent and enjoy your favorite activities, these tests help you to identify what you might need to work on. So, this Kansas City Personal Trainer is going to do a series of “Can you do this?” challenges that will offer you the opportunity to test your balance, mobility and strength. Who’s with me?

The Sharpened Romberg Test

Today, let’s start off with a basic static balance challenge. This is called the Sharpened Romberg Test. You can watch a video of this test here, if you are a visual learner. BEFORE attempting this, be smart and try this next to a bare wall for emergency support and away from any furniture or items that could hurt you if you fell onto them.

STEP 1

In your stocking or bare feet on a flat non-slip surface, cross your arms in front of your chest with each hand on the opposite shoulder.

STEP 2

Place the heel of your right foot directly in front of and slightly touching your left foot (like you are heel-to-toe on a tightrope).

STEP 3

Allow yourself to practice standing in this position for a minute or two before you begin the official test.

STEP 4

Once you feel stable, set a timer for 60 seconds and CLOSE YOUR EYES!

STEP 5

The test ends anytime you lose balance, move your feet, move your arms, open your eyes, or successfully reach 60 seconds without moving. The inability to reach 30 seconds is indicative of inadequate static balance and postural control.

So, how did you do?

If you aced this test, congratulations! But, you might be wondering, “What’s the big deal? Why do I need to be able to balance with my eyes closed? How does that benefit me?” It is true that no one has a need to balance with their eyes closed. Although your daily activities may not require you to balance with your eyes closed, using this test as an exercise would improve your function by helping your body learn how to react to a sudden loss of balance in a safe environment. Closing your eyes just increases the challenge of balancing.

It is always my goal to choose functional exercises that will help my clients function better in their daily activities. Usually, functional exercises mimic the movements of your daily activities, so they can actually help you perform those activities more easily and efficiently. While practicing your balance, anytime your body begins to sway and lose control, your muscles learn to quickly contract to catch you and correct the loss of good posture. All the practice balancing creates a neuromuscular connection that would be available anytime you are in a situation that needs immediate balance, such as slipping on ice or tripping over a curb. Before you even realize you were falling, your muscles would quickly contract to stabilize your body.

The Sharpened Romberg is a test of basic static balance, which assesses your ability to maintain control of your body in a still position. However, dynamic balance, which is controlling the body while in motion, is more relevant to the activities of life. So, it is wise to seek out opportunities to challenge yourself with more difficult, dynamic balance exercises that place a higher demand on all of your control systems.

If you found this test difficult, don’t despair! While your goal should be to have good balance as you are moving throughout your daily activities, it is essential to master balance training in a static position first, in order to ensure that movement will begin from a place of control. Like any other fitness characteristic, such as strength, power or endurance, balance can be developed and enhanced. The more you practice the better you will get. Mastering this test is a step toward a healthy sense of balance, which is important if you want to be able to walk on the shifting sand by the ocean, hop on and off an escalator, move through a tight crowd of people, or navigate around your puppy prancing at your feet, all without falling.

Don’t be shy… comment below. Tell me how you fared. Did you find this test hard? Did you discover something that made it easier? Or, share this with your friends and see how they do.

Did you know that strength is a necessary prerequisite for balance?

Your muscles need to be strong in order to balance your body against gravity or other external stimuli. The muscles in your feet, ankles, legs, hips and core must have the strength and endurance to hold your skeleton’s center of mass over its base of support. So, before beginning to practice balancing, it would be wise to begin a program of basic strength training, focusing on the primal movements of squatting, lunging, bending, pushing, pulling, and twisting.

Fortunately, anyone at any age can improve their strength and balance. You can find more information on physical activity and function in older age here. It just takes commitment and steady, progressive increases in the difficulty of the exercises. The American College of Sports Medicine says muscle and strength can be built in a minimum of two non-consecutive days each week, with one set of 8 to 12 repetitions for healthy adults (or 10 to 15 repetitions for older and frail individuals), with 8 to 10 exercises targeting the major muscle groups. If you move quickly from one exercise to the next, you could accomplish that in about 30 minutes!

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I like to help people have good functional movement so they can enjoy doing the things they love, by providing them with appropriate exercises covering all aspects of their physical fitness (cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, balance, and agility). If you have a desire to improve your balance and would like to have my help, complete the inquiry form here and tell me about your goals. Then we can schedule you for your complimentary postural, mobility and balance assessment and get to work improving your physical fitness. And if you want more inspiration or if you are not quite ready to begin working with me, you can join my free e-newsletter just below the inquiry form to get inspired by a multitude of health, fitness and nutrition articles.