The Sobriety Test and How to Improve Your Balance
We are all aware of what we need to do to achieve our health and fitness goals: eat well and exercise regularly, but there is one aspect that is nearly always overlooked. Co-ordination is our topic today and more specifically, proprioception. Proprioception is a scientific term that refers to our awareness of the space around us. We use this skill everyday and it help us from everything from running to sitting.
An Example
A good example of proprioception is the sobriety tests carried out by the long arm of the law. As you watch the inebriated individual walk the line, trying to keep their balance, their proprioception will be working overtime as it fights against the effects of the alcohol. It is also a good example of alcohol and its effects on our ability to balance. What if you could improve your balance? Could you pass the sobriety test?
How to Train Your Proprioception
Training our ability to balance is something that we are doing everyday. Simple movements require our proprioception to engage and help us. However, it is important to take it up a notch and practice in the safety of your own home or, if you are feeling brave, at your gym. There are many ways you can introduce more instability to make your balance work overtime. When you perform a standing exercise like the lateral shoulder raise, try standing on one leg. This makes balance a lot harder and you should notice your standing leg working to keep the balance. This can be applied to any standing exercise so give it a go.
Too easy?
If you find that standing on one leg is no problem then try taking it up a level by holding a weight in one hand. Only do the exercise with one arm and preferably the opposite arm to the leg you are standing on. The weight will want to pull you one way and the leg will have to work hard to maintain a balance. You can make it harder still: our eyes are used to helping our proprioception by sending information to our brains on where the horizon is. Take this sense away by closing your eyes and you will find yourself wanting to lean all over the place. Make sure you have someone with you who can catch you if you start to fall. If you find this easy then you truly are a master of your proprioception.
What About Other Exercises?
There are quite a few standing exercise but it doesn’t cover all the exercises. So to help train your balance in other ways. Try using the swiss ball (fit ball)(those big inflatable balls you see in the gym – Beeble) instead of the bench. As the bench is nice and solid it doesn’t test your balance as well as a ball that does like to move around. Exercises like the chest press and chest fly will become a lot harder on the ball than the bench. You can play the same rules with the ball as you do with the standing exercises: one leg, one arm and closing your eyes all help to make the balance harder.
Time to Test Your Proprioception
It is a good idea to test your proprioception (That word is starting to make me unbalanced – Beeble) before you try and work on it so that you know where to start with your journey to improve it. So here follows the tests to carry out yourself to see how good you are.
Poor Level
Stand upright and place your feet together looking straight ahead. For most people this should be relatively easy, however if you start swaying around then it goes without saying that your proprioception is poor and you need to urgently start training your balance skills.
Below Average
Standing with your feet together slowly raise one leg off the ground. Everyone should feel some movement to maintain their balance and you should be able to stay on one leg for 2 minutes with no problem. If you can’t do that or whilst on one leg you start flapping your arms about like a bird in distress then you have not passed this test and your proprioception is considered below average.
Average
If you can stand on one leg for 2 minutes without too much movement and that is the same for both of your legs then your proprioception would be considered average and more than suitable for day to day living.
Good
Time to close your eyes (please make sure someone is around so you don’t fall and injure yourself – Beeble). Stand on one leg and close your eyes, if you can maintain this for 2 minutes without too much movement and you can perform this equally on both legs then you have good proprioception skills and you should be very pleased with yourself.
Excellent
Now this is where it gets tricky so please don’t try this on your own, make sure someone is with you. Stand on one leg with your eyes closed, now go up onto your tip toes and hold that position. Again if you can hold it on both legs separately for 2 minutes or longer then be very proud as you have excellent proprioception.
There are of course other tests that can go into far more detail than these tests. The reason I have used these tests is that you don’t need any equipment to find out how good you are. You can bring into the equation equipment like the Swiss Ball and the Wobble Board and the tests will become a lot harder. The tests I have chosen are for Mr. And Mrs Average and not ideal for athletes or people with disabilities that may make these tests seem too easy or too hard.
How to Improve
After you have taken the test to see how good you are or not, you can simply start practicing the one that you failed on, and when you can do it move onto the next one. To make it more interesting and take your skills further you can start using the swiss ball and the wobble board. These are great devices that can be added to your workout and really help improve your strength, co-ordination and of course your proprioception.
Will you pass your sobriety test?
Of course practice makes perfect and it is entirely possible that by improving your balance you could pass a non breathalyser sobriety test. However (and this is where I turn into a parent) drink driving (DUI – Beeble) is wrong and whilst you may feel in control and you may think you will get home quicker, you could end up injuring yourself or someone else who doesn’t deserve to be hurt or to die. I won’t go on about this any more but please be sensible.
I would love to know how people do on their proprioception test and if anyone is surprised by how hard standing on one leg is, please do leave a comment below and I will try and answer any questions.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:54 pm
You are so right in the ball park ,I have my clients use the swiss ball and wobble board when ever possible, it improves balance and strength greatly.