10-Minute Balance Workout

Hey, hey, Get Healthy U TV squad. How are you today? I'm Chris Freytag. And, I'm here today with a 10 minute balance workout. This is a highly requested topic, balance, as it should be, because it's use it or lose it in principle. And, as we age, balance comes into play in order for you to do almost everything in life. As a matter of fact, to walk requires core strength and balance. And, if you see someone older shuffling, they probably need to work on their balance. So, let's start from the beginning. I'm gonna help all of you beginners. If you're somebody who says I can't even balance on one foot, Chris, I'm here for you. If you're somebody who wants to take it up a notch, I'm gonna keep progressing and give you things that are harder so that you can work on it. Now, I am barefoot. So, take off your shoes if you don't have 'em on, or if you still have 'em on. Your feet do a lot. You have a quarter of the bones in your body, and by the way, rock back and forth, like I am, in your feet. A quarter of the bones are in your feet and you've got all these little joints and ligaments and your feet have a lot to do with balance. So, we're gonna really feel the floor beneath us. Shoes give you a lot of stability and that's a good thing, but when we're doing this type of therapeutic work, make sure you are barefoot. Okay, so shoulders up, back, and down. Good posture matters. Core strength comes into balance as well as eyesight. We're even gonna close our eyes for a split second and see how that goes for you. Alright, so we're gonna stand on our right foot. For you guys, that's here. That's my left foot. So, not my best foot. So, I gotta really think. Whoops, yeah, I got that right, okay. And, we're gonna stand on that right foot, I had to think, and we're just lifting that foot up. Now, this is the first thing you're doing is just standing here. I have this chair here, because if you need something just to give you confidence as a sidebar right here, hold onto it. Just grab it. Maybe you let go, back and forth. Now, if you can just balance, and, notice, by the way, I've softened my knee. Don't lock out your joints. Now, I'm gonna take that foot forward, push with my heel like I'm pushing something forward, and then I'm gonna push it back, and then I'm gonna push it forward, and then I'm gonna push it back. And, if you're feeling like you can take it up a notch, you're gonna take it a little higher, and then you're gonna take it back, and you can kind of work those arms into it. Now, balance is really core and lower body. So, that's why we're really working on this. Now, kick it forward, kick it back. And, I'm gonna move just a tiny bit faster, but I want you to move as slowly as needed. I feel the foot on the floor. I'm really pushing my big toe down to kind of flatten that foot out, get a wider surface for my balance. You can even pick what they call a drishti, which is a focal point in front of you, right there, and I'm gonna hold it here. I'm gonna extend my leg out. Can you do it? Can you do it? Hold it here. Hold it here. Breathe for three, two, and one. Beautiful. Okay, now we're gonna take it up a notch. Stay with that or come with me into a dead lift. So, I'm gonna come all the way down, and all the way up, and reach that opposite arm up, and all the way down, I'm extending that leg behind me and, oh, oh, gotta hold that balance all the way up, and do it a couple more times. Soften that supporting knee, press your big toe into the ground, find a focal point, strengthen, and tighten, engage your core, a lot going on. And, release. Let's go to the other leg. We gotta do both sides. Alright, so you're just balancing on that other leg. Now, for you, you're standing on your left leg now. For me, I'm standing on the right which tends to be my stronger side, but not always. It's interesting. It's really interesting to work side to side. Okay, push forward with your heel. Push back. Push forward. Always use your chair if you need a little... A little help, right there. Go a little higher if it feels okay. Going for range of motion now. Wow, okay, my right foot tends to turn out naturally. So, I have to kinda work to get that big toe down. Everybody is different. So, you have to focus on what your body is doing. Keep it coming, baby. Come on, come on, one more, and you're gonna hold it here. You're gonna extend that leg out. Oh, hello. I see how I had to just reach down to my chair. Tighten those abs, three, two, one, dead lift. Here we go. All the way over. I'm reaching for the floor, all the way up. Opposite hand comes up, all the way down. We're gonna do two more of these. Come on, on this side, right here. Balance, breathe. Awesome. Ah, man, and release. Okay, hip openers. Here we go. Take that foot open to the side, so your foot is just on the inside of the shin, right here, in and out. Now, I have a mat on the floor next to me, because if you wanna make any of this harder, the second time you do this workout, the second time you try this 10 minutes, I want you to stand on the mat. So, I'm just gonna stand on the mat at this point. This is just an option. I've rolled the mat up and created an in stable surface. The floor was nice and stable. Now, I can really feel my foot adjusting below me. One more here, right here. And, we're gonna hold it in tree pose. This is a yoga pose. I'm gonna take my arms above my heart. Now, it's even harder to bounce. I gotta really pull in my abs. And, I'm gonna ask you to close your eyes for just a couple of seconds, because vision really helps with balance. So, let's see what happens when you close your eyes for three, two, and one. Woo, baby. Alright, other side, here we go. So, adjust, use your chair if you need to. Foot goes to the inside of the shin. You're opening and closing those hips, connect through your core. Oh, and you might find when you start to lose your balance, you naturally take your hands out to the side for counterbalance, that's totally fine. Open and close. If you're on the mat with me, if you've got an unstable surface, yay you. Whoops, had to touch my toe. That's just real life. Hands are up. If you can close your eyes for that split second, I'm gonna go for it. Here we go. Three, two, and one. Woo, alright. Nice job. Staying on... You know, I wanna stay on the mat, but, remember, the first time you do this work out, maybe you do the whole thing without a mat, and then you put something mushy underneath, but let's give it a try. So, this time, we're gonna start standing on our right leg. Take your left leg behind you into a lunge and drive your knee up. Take your left leg into a lunge and drive your knee up. Hold it at the top, I wanna see that balance right there. Lunges require more balance than squats, because you're on that back toe. So, you're really thinking about it. Give me one more. Come on, right there. Hold it, balance, abs tight, and release. Switch feet. For those of you standing on something or maybe even on the cement, notice that your foot is adjusting. That is so normal. Everything is all your ligaments, tendons, all stabilizing, trying to help you balance. Alright, here we go. We're going into that lunge, knee comes down, drive the knee forward, balance, knee comes down, drive it forward. Whoa, baby, balance. Right here. Come on, connect your core. By just slowing things down and focusing on this connection, it really helps. Can you feel your abs pulling in right here? Two more. Let's go two more on this side. Doesn't have to be perfect. Doesn't have to be the same amount on each side and right there. Excellent, woo. Okay, we're moving down to the mat. Bird dog, one of my favorite exercises. So, we're coming down to the floor. I'm just gonna come to the side here so you can see me. I'm gonna move out of the way of my chair and we're on all fours. Now, pull your abs in tight, okay? You can tuck your toes under for a little extra balance. You can flatten your feet out, which, in my opinion, is a little harder. This acts like a kickstand for you. This makes it a little harder. We're gonna take the opposite arm, opposite leg, and reach and hold. Now, belly is tight. Do not arch that low back. Think like you are balancing something on top of your back. Hold tight. Yes, you can. Hold on this side. Now, drive the knee of the elbow and shoot it back. Drive the knee to the elbow. You're pressing the top of that other foot into the floor for balance, core is connected. Come on, right here, breathe, keep it coming. Let's do two more on this side. This is hard, I know, right here, and release. Other side, regroup, abs nice and tight, spine long, top of the foot to the ground, opposite hand, opposite leg, balance. Hold it, hold it right here. Pull your belly in. Nice, strong, capable. Here we go. Knee to elbow, shoot it back out. Here we go. Are you breathing? Breathe into it. We just wanna stay balanced, right here. Two more, one, beautiful, and two, awesome, and release. Excellent. I'm gonna come on my toes for a full plank. Now, this is an advanced balance exercise. So, if you're not gonna come on your toes you're just gonna stay here with bird dog and go side to side. We're just gonna do a couple of them. Come onto a full plank. Feet are wide, the wider the base, the more stable, the more narrow, the more tippy you are. So, open up that base. We're gonna reach one arm out and then the other arm, here we go. You can stay on your knees, reach one arm out and then the other arm, hold and balance. Reach, keep that spine long, hold and balance. And, there we go. Now, I'm bringing my feet in a little bit. I'm gonna try one arm, one leg. Get that leg up first. Reach your arm. Hold, hold, breathe, and release. Other side, that's hard. Here we go, get the leg up first. Hold, hold, hold, release. Beautiful, side plank, also balancing. I want you to stay nice and long in your shoulder. Don't do this. You wanna stay nice and supported so you can either be down on the floor. You can be on one knee or I'm gonna lengthen both legs. So, don't do this. You gotta stay strong. We're right here. Now, without shoes on, it's a little harder right here. Yeah, lift that leg. This is your advanced star, balance, balance, balance, and three, two, and one. Now, since we're only doing 10 minutes, if you'd like to try this workout again, and pause it, stop it, and hold some of these exercises, that would be a good idea too. Okay, here we go. I like to have a mat under my foot, It feels better. Drop the bottom knee to the mat if you'd like, lift that leg, here's your star pose. Hold tight, breathe. Yes, you can. Oh, pull your belly in. Hold tight, three, two, and one. Alright, and one last exercise. I have an advanced little finisher for you. This is an advanced exercise, so if it's too much, this is something you work up into. We're gonna sit on a chair, nice sturdy chair. You don't want something that's mushy and low or it's gonna be very hard to stand up. So, I'm going to put one leg out. I'm going to stand up and sit back down. Now, this is a lot of strength through the knee and the quad, also, core stability and balance. So, we're gonna stand up, hold your balance at the top, sit down, stand up, hold that balance, sit down. Yeah, this is not only a balance exercise, it is definitely a strength exercise. Like I said, it's advanced. Gimme one more on this side. And, I want you to just try this as you improve, other side. Now, truth be told, for me, this is my right side, but this is my knee that's a little... Got a few more problems. So, this gets harder for me on this side. I'm gonna really concentrate. Ready? Pull up, balance, and back down. Control it on the way back down. You don't wanna fall into the chair, right there. Yeah, it feels good. Once I'm warmed up, it actually feels good too, which also goes to tell you juice in the joints. It makes you feel better. Here's our last one, right here. Oh, baby. And, there you go. So, that was just a quick 10 minutes of balance. If that was interesting to you and you wanna work on your balance, do that workout again. Step on a mat that's instable, make your body work a little harder, push pause, and hold some of those poses for longer, and you will improve your balance. Thanks for checking out this workout with me today. Have a great day.