Improving Balance
The need to improve it, what happens if we don’t and an exercise to implement
When we think of fitness, most people jump straight to strength, endurance, or flexibility. But balance? It’s often overlooked—until it becomes a problem. Whether you're an athlete, a busy professional or just someone who wants to stay active and injury-free, your balance plays a key role in how well your body moves and performs.
Why It Matters?
Balance is your body’s ability to control its position, whether you're moving or standing still. Good balance isn't just for gymnasts or yoga practitioners—it’s essential for everyday tasks like walking, climbing stairs, or picking something up off the floor. It supports coordination, posture, and injury prevention across the board.
When your balance is strong, you move more efficiently, generate more power, and reduce the risk of falling or straining your body.
If your goal is to be able to reach down to tie your shoes, balance is a must here. How often have you reached down and felt like you were going to topple over? The topple over feeling is gravity working against your body. Balance helps you feel more stable throughout every plane of motion.
What Happens When Balance Is Off?
Poor balance doesn’t just increase your risk of falling—it can lead to compensations throughout the body, causing:
Knee or ankle injuries
Lower back pain from instability
Muscle imbalances and joint stress
Delayed recovery post-injury
Limited athletic performance or plateaus
Over time, these issues can reduce your quality of life and hold you back in training or daily activities. Here is a statistic for you that could blow your mind.
“Falls are a major cause of non-fatal injuries, with over 3 million emergency room visits annually due to falls in older adults”
One Simple Fix to help you:
One of the most effective, low-equipment exercises for improving balance is the single-leg squat to a bench.
Here’s why it works:
Engages stabilizing muscles: When you're on one leg, your glutes, quads, core, and ankle stabilizers have to work harder to control the movement.
Reduces side-to-side imbalances: Training each leg independently helps you address and correct strength discrepancies.
Improves proprioception: This is your body’s sense of where it is in space. Single-leg exercises sharpen that awareness.
Safe and scalable: Using a bench helps limit the range of motion to something manageable and encourages proper form.
How to Perform a Single-Leg Squat to a Bench
Stand in front of a bench or sturdy box.
Lift one foot off the ground slightly.
With your chest tall and core braced, slowly lower yourself to sit on the bench using the standing leg.
Tap the bench and rise back up without using your hands or letting the other leg touch down.
Keep the movement slow and controlled.
Start with 2–3 sets of 6–10 reps per leg. If you need help, you can lightly hold onto something for balance or start with a higher surface.
Final Thoughts
Balance isn’t something you notice—until you lose it. By incorporating balance-focused exercises like the single-leg squat to a bench, you're not just building strength; you’re building a foundation for better movement, fewer injuries, and more confidence in your body’s ability to support you.
Take action today. Add this to your next lower-body workout and start reaping the benefits of better balance—one leg at a time.
Fear Of Modification
“I Had to Modify an exercise” – Let’s Talk About That Fear in the Gym
If you've ever found yourself in the middle of a workout and felt the feeling of "I can't do this exercise the way it's written"—you're not alone. For many people, especially in group settings or guided training sessions, modifying an exercise can feel like failure. But here’s the truth: modifying isn’t quitting. It’s one of the smartest, most self-aware decisions you can make during a workout. It helps you to properly build your foundation and give you the opportunity to see growth in your training.
Where the Fear Comes From
The fear of modifying often stems from a few common places, fear of feeling isolated, fear of looking like a klutz, fear of looking stupid.
You see someone else doing the "full version" and immediately feel like you're falling behind. You, could also worry the coach or others will think you’re not strong or capable. And finally, you want to follow the program exactly because anything less feels like cheating.
But here’s the thing: movement isn’t one-size-fits-all, and strength isn’t only measured by how “advanced” your exercise looks.
What Modification Actually Means
Modifying is a way to avoid pain or injury, work within your current mobility, strength, or energy levels, make the movement more effective for your body, and stay in the game instead of sitting it out
Think of it as customizing your training—just like you would tailor clothes to fit your body better.
How to Get Over the Fear of Modifying
Shift Your Mindset
Start seeing modifications as strategic adjustments—not downgrades. Every elite athlete modifies. Every coach has modified. It doesn’t make you weak—it makes you smart.Own Your Choices
Instead of saying, “I just did a modified version,” try, “I made a smart adjustment for where I’m at today.” Language matters. Own your work.Talk to Your Coach
A good coach will never shame you for modifying. In fact, they should celebrate it. Let them know how you’re feeling or what’s holding you back—that’s their job, and it’s how they help you grow.Zoom Out
Remember why you’re training: to feel strong, move better, build confidence, and support your health long-term. If modifying helps you stay consistent and injury-free, it’s a win.
technique matters
Elevating Toes in Goblet Squat
The squat is a primary, fundamental movement pattern that everyone should be regularly training. But lets talk about one movement specifically, the goblet squat. Which is already a powerhouse movement for building lower body strength, improving posture, and reinforcing solid squat mechanics. But if you want to take it one step further, elevating your toes (yes—your toes, not your heels) is a simple but powerful tweak that changes the game.
Here’s what happens when you elevate your toes and why you might want to experiment with it.
1. It Shifts the Load Back Where It Belongs
Many people squat with a forward weight shift, putting pressure on the knees and the balls of the feet. Elevating the toes helps reinforce a “hips back” pattern by shifting your weight toward your heels. This allows for better hip loading and more balanced squat mechanics.
The result?
Less knee stress
Better glute activation
A more stable base of support
2. It Increases Posterior Chain Engagement
By pulling your toes off the ground (or placing them on a small wedge/plate), you're asking your body to fire up the muscles on the backside of your body: the glutes, hamstrings, and spinal erectors.
That’s huge—especially if:
You sit most of the day and have sleepy glutes
You tend to be quad-dominant in your training
You want to develop more power from the hips
This variation encourages better recruitment of the posterior chain, which is essential for strength, balance, and injury prevention.
3. It Creates Awareness and Re-patterns Movement
Elevating your toes is more than a strength hack—it’s a neuromuscular reset. It teaches your brain and body to coordinate movement in a more aligned, effective way. This is especially helpful if:
You collapse forward in your squat
Your heels come up off the ground
You’re unsure how to “sit back” or engage your hips
By putting the toes on a plate or slightly lifting them off the floor, you're cueing your nervous system to prioritize heel and midfoot pressure—a foundational squat principle.
4. It Can Improve Ankle and Hip Mobility (Indirectly)
While elevating your heels directly helps with ankle mobility, elevating your toes improves your awareness of how limited ankle and hip mobility may be affecting your squat. It encourages better pelvic control and spinal position, helping you stay more upright and reducing lumbar compensation.
Over time, consistent practice can help reinforce better depth and alignment, even when you return to flat-footed squatting.
How to Do It:
Step 1: Grab a pair of small weight plates or wedges
Step 2: Place the balls of your feet (under your toes) on the elevated surface, with your heels on the floor.
Step 3: Hold a dumbbell in goblet position and begin your squat, focusing on sitting back and staying tall through your torso.
Who Benefits From This?
Desk-bound professionals
New lifters learning proper mechanics
Lifters rehabbing knee or back issues
Athletes looking to build hip power
Anyone wanting more mind-muscle connection with their glutes
Final Takeaway
Elevating your toes during a goblet squat is a simple yet highly effective way to shift your weight back, engage your posterior chain, and improve your squat mechanics. It may feel awkward at first—but give it a few sets, and you’ll likely feel the glutes firing in a whole new way.