Adding Effective Balance Skills to Your Physical Fitness Training and Fighting Capabilities – Part 2: Balance PT Without Specialized Equipment

Welcome back to the Balance PT mini-series! In the previous post, the first of this series, we covered the reasons for adding balance physical training to a Partisan physical fitness program, the short of which is that it improves fighting and dynamic movement capabilities. We also defined the concept of balance training as something that happens in multiple directions, and which is based on deliberately imposing destabilizing methods on the training environment; the purpose of the balance PT methods is to stimulate those numerous stabilizing muscles most used in balancing the body, and which are located in the core, the hips, and the ankles (the so-called “Core-Hips-Ankles Balance Complex“, or CHABC). Finally, we concluded with the critical concept that stability is the key to strength, and that balance training enhances stability and hence, enhances strength, while moving dynamically. Therefore, balance training enhances fighting capabilities.

With that brief recap of the theory and concepts behind balance PT, let’s now look at the practical execution side of it. Today’s post will focus on doing balance PT without specialized or dedicated balance training equipment; we’ll look at using no equipment at all, as well as using common off-the-shelf materials that handily work as balance training gear.

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Adding Balance Training Into the Exercise Program I: Balance PT Without Any Equipment at All

All of this balance PT stuff sounds pretty straightforward and useful, right? So why not start adding dedicated balance work immediately? The beautiful thing about balance PT is that it can be done productively and effectively with no equipment at all. I just wrote a short post on the Brushbeater Forum addressing the vital importance of minimalism in physical training (Productively Adapting Workouts to a Minimal or Restrictive Environment: Key Concepts and Suggestions), and fortunately, quality balance work can also easily be done in minimalist fashion without specialized or really any equipment.

The way to approach balance PT with no equipment is to purposefully introduce controlled instability to the exercise environment by any or all of the four destabilizing methods that I defined in the previous post, and which I will list below:

1. Use of an unstable surface/platform for exercise execution
2. Creation/use of a reduced base of support for exercise execution
3. Asymmetrical loading (single-side work with dumbbells, kettlebells, or awkward loads is an excellent method of training balance that also helps equalize disparities in limb strength; I just love asymmetrical loading for single-side work!)
4. Asymmetrical body positioning (particularly of the feet, but also of the hands, where applicable)

To illustrate these balance PT concepts once again, but this time in the minimalist context of using no equipment at all, imagine doing the ol’ Barbell Curl, but while standing on just one leg on the flat floor (reduced base of support + asymmetrical body positioning). Too hard? No problem! Do the Barbell Curls with both feet on the floor and ankles joined together (reduced base of support, but with symmetrical positioning). Too easy? No sweat! Then do the Barbell Curls with one foot placed directly behind the other, heel-to-toe (reduced base of support + asymmetrical positioning). As you can see, there are MANY possibilities created merely by positioning the feet, whether asymmetrically, reducing the base of support, or both. And you can substitute any standing exercise for Barbell Curls… it truly doesn’t matter, since the concept remains the same, as far as modifying foot placement to create an imposed balance demand.

An example of reduced base of support + asymmetrical positioning + asymmetrical loading (combining three of the four methods) would be Single-Side Standing Dumbbell (not Barbell) Curls on one leg, particularly with the dumbbell-holding hand and posted foot on opposite sides; this example combines asymmetrical loading (with just one hand holding a dumbbell and the other hand free) + asymmetrical positioning (only one foot posted on the floor) + reduced base of support (achieved by posting only the opposing foot, ex., only the left arm is curling the dumbbell while the right hand is free and only the right foot is posted on the floor). Pairing the working/loaded side with the opposite side’s single posted foot is called “contralateral” positioning, and is a very useful destabilizing position for high-quality balance PT.

Generally speaking, doing any standing exercise on only one leg (a combination of reduced base of support + asymmetrical positioning) will dramatically increase the difficulty of the balance demands, as you might already imagine; be prepared to hop around a lot and/or significantly reduce the load you’re using to perform that exercise… or start off with just a partial range of motion until you’re capable of additional range of movement.

For openers, pretty much any standing leg exercise of quality can be performed on just one foot, such as Squats, Toe Touches, Deadlifts, and Romanian Deadlifts.

Some standing exercises I like to do on one foot are:

• Overhead Presses – Barbell / Dumbbell (Do contralateral Single-Side Press + single leg posted for maximum difficulty)
• “Pistol” (Single-Leg) Squats (with or without load) and variations
• Single-Leg Toe Touches / Romanian Deadlifts (with or without load)
• Single-Leg Rows – Barbell / Dumbbell
• Single-Leg Hopping for time – an excellent conditioner with both cardiovascular and balance demands; try doing this side-to-side over an obstacle, or with a load of some kind for even more challenge!

Even upper body exercises can performed with an imposed balance demand, via the abovementioned four methods of adding instability. When doing bench-based upper body exercises, whether face down or face up, dumbbells work particularly well. For example, imagine doing a set of Flat Dumbbell Bench Press on a typical flat bench, but with only one side loaded at a time, while the other hand is completely unloaded – this is a good example of demanding asymmetrical loading, using just one dumbbell while the other side is unloaded and free, and which makes the same exercise much tougher! The single-side work in the said exercise creates an acute need for the muscles of the non-working, non-loaded side (particularly in the core and hips – part of the CHABC) to contract asymmetrically, in this case to prevent you from pitching/rolling to the loaded/working side.

Or, you could do the Flat Barbell Bench Press on typical flat bench, but with just one foot on the ground and the other foot either airborne (reduced base of support) or resting on the bench (reduced base of support + asymmetrical positioning); this would really destabilize the barbell benching action and force the intense use of CHABC musculature to keep the bar moving in the right path, without pitching/rolling to the side. Just watch how much less weight you could use under these imposed balance demands! I’ve also often seen people lift both their legs off the ground with crossed ankles as they bench (reduced base of support with symmetrical positioning), which is yet another way to add balance demands to the plain old Flat Barbell Bench Press that we all know and love. For a serious challenge that combines reduced base of support + asymmetrical loading, try doing Flat Dumbbell Bench Presses contralaterally, with only one side holding a dumbbell and the opposing side foot posted, leaving one arm totally unloaded and free and one foot airborne; the CHABC has to go into overdrive to steady the body while the exercise occurs in this fashion.

As Vagabond pointed out in a comment on the last post, the multi-demand nature of balance PT rigorously works the nervous system due to its intense simultaneous demands of stabilization from multiple body parts. The nervous system is a rather neglected component of most exercise programs, usually because trainees don’t achieve sufficient intensity in their exercise. They may experience the burn, pain, and fatigue side of routine exercise with their typical 8-12 rep sets (although many don’t even achieve that much), but not the all-out, total engagement required by maximum load lifting, ballistic movement/speed training (like many athletes train), or balance training; yet, nervous system training is EXACTLY the kind of thing Partisans should be getting into routinely for maximum performance, and balance PT fits that bill very well.

As far as upright sitting exercises (please note: this is not referring to push/pull exercises that need to be done lying down on a bench, and for which a bench is critical) – well, I mostly don’t approve of performing any exercises merely sitting upright. Fights and dynamic situations don’t occur in chairs most of the time, so skip the upright seated exercises.

For calisthenics upper body exercises like Push-Ups, you could impose a balance demand by using either just one arm (very difficult to do, from both a strength and balance/core control perspective), one leg (a bit easier, but no crossing ankles – the non-posted leg must remain airborne!), or just one arm and one leg (superhuman contralateral action). Even Chin-ups/Pull-ups can be done with one arm, although this is a tremendous feat of brute strength and core control that is beyond most trainees, including me. Burpees can also be done with one foot, or even one arm only, for very advanced athletes. Calisthenics lower body and core movements like Planks, Hip Bridges, and Neck Bridges can also be turned into a balance training event by narrowing the width of the arms, legs, or both, or by removing the support of one arm, one leg, or both – just to name a few possibilities without equipment.

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Adding Balance Training Into the Exercise Program II: Balance PT Using Equipment Made With Common Off-the-Shelf Materials

So again, the serious Partisan can do plenty of excellent minimalist balance PT using absolutely nothing but our four established destabilizing methods. However, for a few extra dollars, common off-the-shelf and easy-to-find items — especially building materials — can cheaply and effectively be turned into some really excellent “Redneck balance gear”, and be used to vastly enhance the balance demands of exercise, to go along with balance PT using no equipment.

For starters, typical lumber makes superb balance training gear; lumber pieces like 2×4’s are very versatile, and can be used in several formats to impose balance demands on an exercise (as appropriately mentioned by Patrick in the comments section of my previous post). For example, a 2×4 can be used as a very narrow platform to stand on while performing the desired exercise; standing only on just the balls or heels of your feet (very reduced base of support from both narrowness of the lumber + deliberate use of only part of the foot) while doing any exercise will clearly increase the balance demands by a lot. Or you could stand with heel-to-toe foot placement on the 2×4 (reduced base of support from the narrow 2×4 + asymmetrical positioning of feet), effectively turning the 2×4 into a balance beam. You can even go ultra and take it a step further by also standing on the balls of your feet on the 2×4 (extremely reduced base of support from the 2×4 + ball of foot only) with one foot immediately behind the other (asymmetrical positioning) for maximum challenge. Can you imagine?

Another building material that imposes a heavy balance demand is a 3″ or 4″ PVC pipe (unstable surface + reduced base of support) – a very sturdy item that can be a destabilizing roller or even a balance beam as well, in the same fashion as described above for the 2×4; this is a superb workout for any standing leg movement (Squats, etc.) Push-Ups can also be done by either placing your hands or feet at different widths on the PVC while executing the movement. Curls (either Barbell or Dumbbell) can be performed on the PVC, and layered with added destabilization via the four methods we’ve covered (ex., using just one dumbbell, etc.). Or, just imagine the incredible challenge of attempting any type of single-leg work on an unstable PVC pipe? Damn.

There are many other off-the-shelf balance PT equipment possibilities, as well. Unstable surfaces for training can be readily created using common everyday items. For example, performing an exercise while standing on a pile of pillows or cushions, or standing on a mattress (any mattress will do, although a softer mattress will clearly be more unstable) is yet another way of increasing the balance demands of an exercise; cushions and mattresses can also be used to impose balance demands on many floor-based calisthenics exercises, like Push-Ups, Planks, and Bridges of all kinds (Neck; Hips). In addition to being soft, unstable surfaces, cushions can also be arranged as desired to present asymmetrical positioning challenges, particularly if one side is lumpier than the other. Finally, a cheap soccer or other sports ball (unstable surface + reduced base of support) can be used for Push-Ups and pretty much any floor-based exercises (Planks, Bridges); try placing one hand or one foot on the ball, and then executing the Push-Ups/Planks/Bridges in this fashion to add a very rugged balance-training experience.

So you see, if you combine one or more of the four destabilizing methods to an unstable surface like a 2×4, 3 – 4″ PVC, mattress/cushions, or soccer ball, you have PLENTY of legit minimalist options and variations to practice balance PT, but on a budget. Once you understand balance PT conceptually, you’re only limited by your imagination on how to execute it!

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And there’s Part 2 of the Balance PT series. Stay tuned for the next post in the series, which will focus on high-quality and worthwhile dedicated balance training gear, as well as what to do with it! Thanks for reading.

Balance PT Series

Adding Effective Balance Skills to Your Physical Fitness Training and Fighting Capabilities – Part 1: Introduction

Adding Effective Balance Skills to Your Physical Fitness Training and Fighting Capabilities – Part 2: Balance PT Without Specialized Equipment

Adding Effective Balance Skills to Your Physical Fitness Training and Fighting Capabilities – Part 3: With Specialized Equipment