Balance Exercises

[JR]

Work physiotherapist said to me that Pilates is effectively Yoga. I think she meant that the exercises you have in both of them work the same parts of the body so you'll get the same benefits. She prescribed only one Pilates move on top of regular rehab training for me and that Pilates exercise requires no equipment. Both of those disciplines could be described regular gym work anyhow except Yoga makes you train in more advanced ways that targets also smaller muscles that really help balance wise with proper poses. Palm tree is very good pose for disc golf balance improvements. If that is too easy and you wanna fall down and tear something try the king of dance pose

 

[Beetard]

From my experience balance is trainable. I've been working on balance by taking up skiing, ice skating, and walking on railroad tracks, and I've gotten better at all of these with time. I developed a better sense of where my center of gravity was and how to manipulate it. You really have to try at first, but if you practice doing it right (moving smoothly and not falling) it gradually becomes more instictive and automatic.

 

[JR]

Yes and the more automated the throw is regarding perfect balance the more repeatably accurate you will be. With some distance increase that may not be more than a few feet. Anyhow field practice can create a routine but it is limited by the muscle power of the balance maintaining muscles.

 

[Three Puttz]

Two things that have greatly increased my balance is a balance board workout routine and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

The balance board I picked because I have a gimped up ankle. I had broken it a couple times and required 5 surgeries on it in total. That was years ago and it's healed, for the most part. The problem I was having was that I was injuring it very easily. Usually it was just minor things like twisting during pickup basketball games or sprains when caught in toe holds or ankle cranks. I finally got sick of it happening so I asked both a doctor and physical therapist what they would recommend. They both said that if I build up the strength in it, the injuries should subside, and both suggested getting a balance board. If you haven't seen one of these things, it's just a round board with a half sphere centered on the bottom of the board. You stand on it and then go through a series of movements such as touching the front of the board to the floor and rocking back so the back is touching the floor without letting the sides touch. Then you just try to keep all of the edges off of the floor for as long as possible. Things like that.

When you first start using it, it's hard to do. It's impossible to keep yourself balanced for more than 30 seconds or so and the fronts of your shins, calfs and ankles fatigue really quickly, but after a couple weeks, you see noticeable improvements.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is just fun as hell, but it also requires a lot of body control and a good grasp of leverage. You have to be able to contort your body in different directions while also fighting against forces being exerted on you from different angles in order to maintain a steady base so you can attack, defend or move to more advantageous positions. I don't know how much that kind of balance would translate to disc golf, but I imagine some of it does. It also works your core like no other workout I've ever done before and having a stronger core is beneficial for any kind of physical activity. The only downside is that it can put some strain on your joints. There have been times when my elbows were too sore to play disc golf the following weekend, but it's only happened a couple times over the course of several years.

 

[JR]

I had an ankle surgery after a sprain last month and my orthopedic surgeon/traumatologist said that since this was my first sprain my tendons weren't stretched to too long. The longer the tendon the looser it is and the less it will support the ligaments and what have you and the more easy it is to overextend the ankle and reinjure yourself. The more spains you get the looser you'll get and the more you'll get injured. That is how many athletes in many sports end their career. Volleyball and basketball are especially susceptible but i think motorcycling cross country or jumping is also bad for the ankles considering how often those people get hurt and how bad. The doctor said that it is possible to surgically shorten the tendon to make it tighter in case it gets too long but of course there will be some scarring and it still won't be as good as new. So if you get into a vicious circle of ankle injuries it may be possible to end that with surgery. In some cases at least.

I was also told to use a balance board but i'd rather not pick up yet more stuff and do yoga (good for the core and balance) and gym stuff for the ankle rehab. On top of running like mad then doing the x step and ripping hard. Surprisingly that feels way less stressful to the ankle than lifting myself to be on the toes or squatting down fully and going back up repeatedly or back to the wall ankle, knees and hip to thigh joint in 90 degree angles and holding for 40 seconds 20 times being the target and i'm not there yet. That last exercise hurt and is a killer so i've not dared to try the harder version of getting the heels to only 8" from the wall now they are way forward and i'm flat footed so it relieves the stress from the ankle a lot vs having the heels in the air.