Improve your balance with these exercises
What's the story
Slacklining is a balance sport where you walk on a narrow, flexible piece of webbing that's low to the ground and anchored between two points.
Not only is it a blast, but it also boosts your core strength, posture, and focus.
By adding slackline exercises to your routine, you can seriously improve your balance and coordination.
Here are five exercises to help you start.
Basics
Walking the line
The most basic slackline exercise is walking across the line.
Start with one foot on the line and extend your arms for balance. Then, step forward with the other foot.
Keep your gaze focused on a fixed point ahead of you to help maintain balance.
Walking works your core and helps you develop the fundamental balancing skills you need for more advanced slackline techniques.
Hold
Standing still
Once you're comfortable walking on the line, take the challenge up a notch by attempting to stand still on it with both feet together or one foot lifted slightly off the line.
This exercise demands intense concentration and recruits multiple muscle groups to maintain stability, enhancing your overall balance over time.
Squats
Knee bends
Doing knee bends or squats on a slackline significantly amps up this familiar exercise.
Start by standing with feet shoulder-width apart on the line, then slowly bend your knees and lower your body while keeping your back straight, as if sitting back into a chair.
Stand back up and repeat. This not only challenges your balance but also builds leg strength.
Reverse
Walking backwards
Walking backward on a slackline requires you to depend more on your sense of balance and less on sight, since you can't see where you are stepping next.
Simply start by carefully turning around on the line, and then continue walking as you would usually, but backwards.
This increases proprioception, or the awareness of body position in space, which is essential for balance in many activities.
Focus
One-legged pose
If you want to further test your balancing skills, try adopting a one-legged stance on the slackline.
Simply raise one foot from the line, maintain your gaze ahead, and hold the position for as long as you can before switching to the other leg.
This exercise significantly enhances focus, core strength, and stability by necessitating constant micro-adjustments of your muscles to stay balanced.