Improving your balance for racquet sports
Balance is a key asset to an athlete, but it can often be overlooked as we become too pre-occupied worrying about strength and speed, and neglect our balance and core training.
Let's look at balance in more detail. An object is at rest, or in a state of "equilibrium" when all forces acting on it are zero like a ball resting on the ground. An imbalance of forces will cause either a linear or rotary motion, according to where the force is applied. For an athlete, this can be a good or bad thing.
As an example, a hurdler is at the start line, as the starting shot is fired, she's really quick out of the blocks, but her balance is imperfect. Her body position tilts in one direction and an imbalance of forces occurs so that she stumbles, and her race is over.
How do we correct this?
Stand upright but relaxed. Place one hand just below your navel. Walk forwards slowly. You should feel your abdominal muscles contract and relax gently. This is your core musculature and it should come into play every time you move. A strong core is very important for athletic balance and movements and overdevelopment or reliance on the spine means that these muscles are not doing their job in balancing us.
A strong core will stabilise the spine, hence acting like a strength belt creating greater power throughout your movements, and giving you much better balance.
This is of great advantage to the athlete. Let's take a look at that hurdler setting off again. Her spine acts as a powerful support base for her legs so with a strong core she will be able to put more power behind each step. She is off balance at the start, but her core muscles act immediately to correct the problem as she sets off. Despite her speed, her centre of gravity stays more constant. Although as the body is not stable because she swings right and left to cross the hurdles, her core muscles constantly balance each other out. This is known as dynamic equilibrium, and the hurdler continues successfully.
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