The cover story in U.S. News and World Report this week dealt with keeping your brain fit as you age. The gist of the story is that even in old age, the brain is still capable of improving its function if given the correct stimulus. Doing exercises that stimulate your brain can cause your neurons to form new dendrites. These new connections can lead to improvements in mental sharpness.
This supports the general idea that led to the idea for my book, The Balance Manual, which is that you can improve your brain and body by giving it the right stimulus. Exercise can make your heart and muscles stronger. Mental exercise can improve your brain. And balance exercises can improve your balance. When we do balancing exercises, we are trying to harness the process described in the previous paragraph. We hope that the brain will form new connections in the area that regulates balance and equilibrium.
Click here to read the whole brain fitness article.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
Balance Training - The Missing Link
These days, more and more seniors are joining health clubs. Great! The typical exercise program involves using treadmills, stationary bikes, and weight machines. The only problem is that these machines don't do a very good job of training your sense of balance.
Most people hold on to the handles when on the treadmill, which means their brain doesn't have to worry about balance. Using an actual bike does train your balance because you have to make sure it doesn't tip over,but when was the last time you saw a stationary bike tip over? Not a chance. No balance necessary. Then there's the weight machines. Almost all of them put you in the seated position. Some even have seatbelts!
You get the idea. If your exercise program resembles the above, you need to be doing balance exercises as well. Otherwise, you will have strong muscles and a strong heart, but poor balance. That would be like having a truck that has 400 horse-power and gets 60 miles per gallon but also tips over everytime you try to turn.
Visit www.balance-exercises.com today to see how you can easily add balance training to your exercise program.
Most people hold on to the handles when on the treadmill, which means their brain doesn't have to worry about balance. Using an actual bike does train your balance because you have to make sure it doesn't tip over,but when was the last time you saw a stationary bike tip over? Not a chance. No balance necessary. Then there's the weight machines. Almost all of them put you in the seated position. Some even have seatbelts!
You get the idea. If your exercise program resembles the above, you need to be doing balance exercises as well. Otherwise, you will have strong muscles and a strong heart, but poor balance. That would be like having a truck that has 400 horse-power and gets 60 miles per gallon but also tips over everytime you try to turn.
Visit www.balance-exercises.com today to see how you can easily add balance training to your exercise program.
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