Improving Balance

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flag Russ-69
Posted: Dec 8, 2012 at 7:08 Quote
Just wondering what kind of training is about and what kinds of training people do to improve their balance?

After all balance is a big part of riding a bike
flag johan90
Posted: Dec 9, 2012 at 11:42 Quote
Generally I just try to once a week do one good work out on a pilates ball, to really get the small muscles in the core working. A stable and strong core is central for good balance. Practicing handstands is also good, squats on pilates balls also good, incorporating single leg squats in leg workouts. Single leg squats on even ground really builds strength in your legs, show any imblance between left and right and it really trains your balance. After a while you can move to medicine balls or half pilates ball or something else to do them on, it will do wonders for stability in your ankles to.

So that is kind of what i do improve my balance and after a year now i can say that it has really helped my riding on the trail. Riding ruts has never been these easy. Riding on snow is also good, if you get any of it that is.
flag Russ-69
Posted: Dec 9, 2012 at 12:55 Quote
Thanks for that bud!

Those are some great exercises, I like how virtually all of them require little or no equipment and you can do them at home, always a bonus!
flag johan90
Posted: Dec 9, 2012 at 13:46 Quote
Yeah that is what you get for skiracing for your entire life, you have to be creative when you are a way and have to get in some excercise.

I guess all the way down single leg squats can be fairly hard if you arent quite strong already but try to go as low as can while still being able to go up.

A good excercise that you can use as active rest between other routines is just sitting on a pilates ball, keep your feet up. Then try to pass a weight around your back while sitting perfectly still with your body. Going from left, around your back, pass it to your right and bring it around to your front, then reverse back.

Another good excercise in full body strength is doing lounges and hold weights above your head on straight arms. Try to really keep the elbows locked so you kind of make the entire upperbody a single "tower", this is really good for general strength, balance and stability. Personally i would say go as heavy as you can while still being able to lock the elbows, the really key part is the elbow lock since if you dont lock them you compensate improper balance and stability in your core by using arm strength.

Otherwise just be creative, have fun and dont care that it looks uncool to be on a pilates ball it will look cool when your doing controlled squats on it in a few months Batman
flag Russ-69
Posted: Dec 10, 2012 at 13:47 Quote
Cheers man! I think all of those should keep me busy for a while!

I will have to post back in a few weeks, see if I notice a difference out on the trails.

Great help, thanks Smile
flag slidways
Posted: Dec 17, 2012 at 19:56 Quote
The above suggestions are great but to me they lean towards stability, while more stability will improve your ability to remain balanced Im not sure how effective it is at obtaining balance. They may offer balance improvement I have not done them to say yes or no but they will still offer lots of advantages anyway so get on them.

I like to do a lot on the bike as its more practical.
Get on the bike on a flat or very very slight uphill so you can roll to a stop. now without brakes stand there. Ie a track stand. you want the smallest hill or area you can comfortably stop the bike you dont want the bike to be able to roll backwards or forwards upon standing on the pedals without brakes.
Do it with different pedal positions, your front tire will also tend to lean to a certain side depending which pedal you have forward so try balance with the tire turned both ways or straight.

playing with pedal position and front tire position and no brakes it will really help your slow riding as your no longer relying on momentum to balance you on the bike. A part from that just think about balance tools riding skinny's, standing on small blocks, balance balls can be good but also dangerous if you try standing on them.

balance comes down to body awareness so anything that can improve that will help.
flag johan90
Posted: Dec 18, 2012 at 0:16 Quote
Well i didnt mentioned track stands as i think that is something every biker should learn in the beginning and already be practicing but it is always good to keep pointing it out as something to practice often. It really improves your bike handling.

However for most types of riding remaining balanced is more usefull than obtaining balance. For example a dh run is continous whereas trial is more interval based. So i guess i depends alot on what type of riding you do in regards to what off season training you will benefit most from. I ride mainly dh so i want stability that i can maintain regardless of what i encounter on the trail, like riding a long rut or wet roots.
flag slidways
Posted: Dec 18, 2012 at 4:29 Quote
johan90 wrote:
Well i didnt mentioned track stands as i think that is something every biker should learn in the beginning and already be practicing but it is always good to keep pointing it out as something to practice often. It really improves your bike handling.

However for most types of riding remaining balanced is more usefull than obtaining balance. For example a dh run is continous whereas trial is more interval based. So i guess i depends alot on what type of riding you do in regards to what off season training you will benefit most from. I ride mainly dh so i want stability that i can maintain regardless of what i encounter on the trail, like riding a long rut or wet roots.

i agree but if you get thrown off balance on a run its good to know how to get back to center and balance the bike in those awkward situations. I agree with what youa re saying however there is evidence that suggest core stability has little effect on some athletics. I wont start the debate as I am on the side of pro core stability but there are studies that suggest core stability is overrated.
flag HorNyOne
Posted: Dec 18, 2012 at 5:35 Quote
Look for ken block training with ryno power on youtube, it has a lot of balance training.

Aaron Gwin also practices with Ryno Power. Swiss Ball Squats, and single leg squats on bosu are great.

There's not much DH workout stuff on internet, but there's a lot of motocross workout stuff.. I would say they are really connected... so just make motocross workouts!!!

I found leg stability and power way more important than core stability... Just pay attention on your posture the whole ride, and put 99% of your weight on your legs! Arms free... Thats a good workout.
flag nathf2010
Posted: Feb 7, 2013 at 11:57 Quote
Try doing squats on a woble board (half moon shape typre of thing) with some kind of low weight i.e. 1 - 5kg bells. If you kee your back strait you should feel some kind of benefit, also try doing squats on a woble board and do a low weight bicep curl at same time. this should work your core for balance
flag Russ-69
Posted: Feb 7, 2013 at 12:31 Quote
nathf2010 wrote:
Try doing squats on a woble board (half moon shape typre of thing) with some kind of low weight i.e. 1 - 5kg bells. If you kee your back strait you should feel some kind of benefit, also try doing squats on a woble board and do a low weight bicep curl at same time. this should work your core for balance

I've been doing these lately funnily enough and they are awesome! So many variations you can do while doing a squat. I've played around with alternate bicep curling, alternate shoulder press, front raise all with low weight. Doing alternate arms really helps work you to keep your balance as it throws your centre of gravity off

Ive also subscribed to RynoPowerGym as I race Moto. Really, really great website for anyone who is serious about training and nutrition
flag nathf2010
Posted: Feb 7, 2013 at 13:06 Quote
Il have a look at that site, I havnt done any for a while but I did them for about 1.5 years when I was at gym and it worked for me
flag slidways
Posted: Feb 8, 2013 at 1:17 Quote
There is some great discussion on the topic of core stability, there are studies that suggest it doesn't matter at all, it also make sense why you see skinny guys with almost no core stability smashing it down a hill. I am on the fence on the topic so I will leave it at that, but I would suggest those who are curious do some google searching for the scientific papers published on the topic.
flag Russ-69
Posted: Feb 8, 2013 at 7:50 Quote
I'm no physical expert... but I don't see a good reason why core training should be ignored. Your core connects your upper and lower body after all so surely a weakness at the centre should result in poor riding ability. I've always read that a weak core can lead to other body parts having to work harder, which is a large factor when it comes to arm pump and motocross. If your core is un-able to stabilise the body under high stresses, you will work harder with your arms and legs in order to keep your stability.

I would like to see these articles/studies that say core training is not required, as I haven't seen any person/training site say this and I've done my fair share of training research over the years
flag johan90
Posted: Feb 8, 2013 at 12:20 Quote
Mr giant slalom Ted Ligety seems quite sure that core strength and stability is useful for gs skiing and if it is required there, i think the same goes for dh riding (to a degree at least). And my peronal experience says the same.
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