Balance Cushions: Board Sports Balance Training
If you’re a surfer, snowboarder, or wakeboarder, here’s an ideal way to hone your skills during your down time.
Balance cushions are designed to fit underneath any type of board (surfboard, snowboard, etc.) to simulate actual performance movements.
The cushion is inflatable with a mouth pump and your board will not slide or roll on the cushion.
We recommend the IndoFlo Balance Cushion, (pictured below) which is 24 inches in diameter with sturdy construction and durable finish.
Here’s what a balance cushion looks like:
Balance Boards: Improve Your Balance Skills
Balance boards are the most effective and efficient way to improve your balance skills.
They are ideal to help you in any sort of board sport, whether it’s snowboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, or extreme sports.
The principle behind balance boards is to help train your mind for balance as well as your body.
Best of all, it takes less than 5 minutes to become acclimated to a balance board, but your results will be significant.
No other exercise will give you the results you’ll get from this portable piece of fitness equipment. Not only will a Balance board improve your balance skills, it will also improve your athletic confidence level. It’s no wonder that these unique fitness devices are now standard training for just about every college and professional sports programs.
How To Improve Balance
Improving physical balance is one of the most important fitness related steps to take in your life.
Without physical balance, we are prone to lack of stability, falling, decreased mobility, and loss of confidence.
Fortunately, no matter your fitness level, you can learn how to improve balance. Stretching is very important, because if your muscles are limber, they will be more effective in any activity you perform, including balance.
One specific and very effective way to improve physical balance is to use a fitball balance disc.
These economical pieces of workout equipment are an excellent way to perform a variety of balance exercises that will drastically improve your balance skills. You can even use it while sitting down!
Here’s a link to a video showing how to use a fitball balance disc.
How To Improve Flexibility
Anyone, at any age, can improve their flexibility.
We lose quite a bit of flexibility as we grow older. And yet, it’s not difficult to regain some measure of flexibility.
The key is stretching, but the problem is most people don’t devote near enough time to stretch their entire body. Simply put, most people don’t have the time or motivation to thoroughly stretch their body.
It takes 15 to 20 minutes to thoroughly stretch all your muscles. We recommend elastic bands to help you stretch and a series of concentrated, deliberate stretching exercises before and after a workout, or as a stand alone routine solely for the benefit of added flexibility.
A great way to stretch is by using a foam roller. They come in a variety of sizes and are great for important body stretches, like the lower back and hamstrings, both of which are critical to flexibility and balance.
You can use any size roller for a fantastic lower back stretch by simply placing the roller on the small of your back while in a prone position. Then, rock back and forth or step your feet forward and back. We prefer a larger size, but the smaller size rollers work just fine too.
Here’s a sample video page of a lower back stretch using a foam roller.
