Try our new step and sculpt class at the Destin Community Center Fridays at 9 am. Classes are $5 and start January 6th!
Bring weights or bands if you have them.
Balance Training and Why it’s Important
What makes for a well rounded workout? We all know that weight bearing exercise is a vital part of a well rounded exercise regiment as is maintaining cardiovascular fitness through aerobic exercise. But there are two elements that are often ignored or brushed over at best. Those two are balance training and stretching.
Today we’ll talk about balance training and why it’s important. While the majority of us will never need the precision of an Olympic gymnast on the balance beam, balance training is necessary, especially as we age and our stability starts to decline. The ability to control our balance during daily activities is often impaired in older adults as a result of deterioration in the sensory systems, the cognitive system (central nervous system), and the musculoskeletal system. Consequently, many older adults face a risk of falling during their normal daily activities. In most cases falls and related injuries impair the quality of life and result in physical limitations. Often anxiety, loss of confidence, and fear of falling follows.
Physical activity and balance training programs have been suggested for improving balance control. These programs challenge the sensory, cognitive, and musculoskeletal systems in a controlled environment while addressing balance challenges. Directional changes, the speed and height of the center of mass during static and dynamic situations resembling movements we perform in daily life can all be practiced. Eventually as our bodies adapt we see improved balance result.
Adaptations are achieved as we practice standing on unstable surfaces with a reduced base of support, change direction, and make vertical and horizontal changes to the center of mass. The combination of dual-task, function-oriented challenges while controlling balance stimulates the sensory and neuromuscular control mechanisms. Among older adults, these programs have been found to improve static and dynamic stability, as well as a number of aspects in the quality of life. Another benefit may be improved cognitive functions such as memory and spatial cognition.
Beatrice Frank
The benefits of Group Exercise
We all know that exercise has tremendous health benefits and exercising consistently helps us maintain strength, agility, cardiovascular fitness, balance, and flexibility. Much of this is of course dependent on the types of exercises we choose to do, but those are topics we’ll delve into in another blog. Today, we will talk about group exercise and how we can benefit from it. Now that summer is behind us, we may find that we’re not as motivated to hit the gym as we were a few months ago when we had a fitness or weight goal we wanted to reach for summer vacation or a high school reunion. So what do we do now that summer is behind us and New Year’s resolutions are months away? How can we stay motivated and on track? How about considering group fitness? There are many benefits to working out in groups and we’ll be discussing those benefits here.
Maybe try a format that you really enjoy and are familiar with, or maybe something new that you haven’t tried before. In addition to the physical health benefits, there are mental health benefits you can gain by joining group fitness classes. Let’s go over a few.
BENEFIT 1. BE PART OF A TEAM
Studies show that just feeling like you’re part of a team can increase your motivation. Research shows that individuals who believe they’re on a team work harder. After all, team members depend on you, and you depend on them. The feeling of not wanting to let the team down could be used as positive motivation to join and stick with the group or class.
BENEFIT 2. HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE
We’ve all done it. We say we’re going to wake up at dawn for an early morning run. We set our alarms with the best of intentions but we end up sleeping through them. If our body needs the extra sleep, of course, that’s ok, but if we’re finding we’re just lacking the motivation to get up for that run, we need to consider making some changes that will help us stay on track with our exercise routine. A regular group fitness schedule can help you hold yourself accountable. If you know that the class starts at a certain time each day you’ll feel motivated to show up. Make sure you block out that time for yourself and before you know it, it will become a “set in stone” part of your day.
BENEFIT 3. WORK WITH A PROFESSIONAL
Another significant benefit of group fitness classes is that you work with a professional.
A professional group exercise instructor can help you maintain proper exercise form. This can help prevent strain or injury especially if you’re a beginner or have never done the types of workouts the classes are offering.
Working in a group setting is also more affordable than working with a personal trainer. You get the benefits of working with and learning from a group fitness instructor. Also, since you paid for the class, you’re not going to want to skip and let your money go to waste.
BENEFIT 4. MAKE FRIENDS
A group fitness class is a great way to meet new people and make new friends. You all already share something in common: you want to improve your level of fitness. As you start to make new class friends you can motivate each other to go to each class.
BENEFIT 5. PUSH YOURSELF
One final health benefit of joining a group fitness class is that you get to push yourself. Maybe you’re already working out alone, but you’re feeling unmotivated. You’re doing the bare minimum. It happens, especially
A group setting can help you push yourself and work out with more intensity. What’s more, a group class can help you push yourself mentally by trying something new. You can try an exercise that you’ve always wanted to try such as a HIIT workout.
You will also learn more about yourself and your likes and dislikes by trying something new. Maybe you thought you would love yoga, but instead, you fall in love with kickboxing classes.
Personally, of all the group exercise formats I’ve tried and taught, my personal favorite is Mossa Group Blast. In addition to simply loving the class format, I got to know my participants well, and they got to know me. So many great friendships were formed from that class, a group of like-minded people who came together every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8 am to exercise and get fitter. So even if your workouts are exactly where you want them to be, consider giving group fitness a try. You may be pleasantly surprised with what you find!!
Beatrice Frank , CPT