Image: Jimmy Lewis Off-Road Riding School
Image: Jimmy Lewis
Jimmy Lewis starts his classes off with balance training because he feels that all skills are built on that. It’s a foundation skill. You need to master balance before you start building other motorcycle riding skills. And once you have, all other skills become much easier and better balanced.
The Jimmy Lewis Off-Road Riding School teaches safe motorcycle riding skills to riders of all abilities on all types of bikes. Based out of Nevada, classes run Fall through Spring.
Website: https://jimmylewisoffroad.com
How Do You Keep Your Balance?
Image: Jimmy Lewis
Maintaining balance means that you are able to stay steady and upright, which is of course important when on your bike. And to have the ability to stay balanced depends greatly on your eyes, ears and joint receptors.
Every time you move your body, the brain communicates with your muscles. It’s what’s called the neuromuscular system, which includes the nerves and the muscles that they serve. The messages sent by the nervous system to the muscles, as a result of a thought or an action happen very quickly, so fast in fact that you don’t even realize it’s happening. And your body responds to those messages to the muscles, making you move, and do other things including breathing. This is also what makes you stay upright.
Your inner ear has three semicircular canals and two otolith organs, which are filled with fluid. The canals each have a job, one responds when you tilt your head up or down, one responds when you tilt your head to the left or the right and one canal responds when you turn your head sideways. Each of the canals ends in a space which has small hair cells. The two organs are under the canals and also have hair cells with small crystals on them. These organs identify when you have moved quickly, such as when you fall or brake heavily. When you move your head, your inner ear moves at the same time with your head, and the fluid in the inner ear follows, bending the hair cells which then through the nerves, send a message to the brain which then sends a message to your eyes, muscles and joints all which help keep you balanced. As many know, these messages sometimes get mixed up and can cause sea or air sickness, etc. So, healthy ears are important for good balance. This is called the vestibular system.
Your visual system also plays an important role in maintaining balance, when it received messages from the inner ear system (vestibular) to stop objects from blurring when your head is moving. The sensors in your muscles, joints and skin also send information to your brain, telling it how your body is positioned in relation to the environment, which allows the brain to send messages to the muscles to help it adjust to a position that will keep you coordinated and balanced. Remember spinning around and around as a kid? Until you were so dizzy you were wobbling on your feet and falling over? All those systems played a roll in getting you balanced again.
Balance Exercises:
You can help improve your balance by doing exercises including:
- balancing on one leg or walking as though on a balance beam putting one foot directly in front of the other. Look up and down, turn your head side to side. Try closing your eyes when you do this to add a challenge (obviously in a safe zone or with a spotter).
- hiking or walking on a sandy or rocky beach, best are on terrains that are not flat but offer a challenge.
- and here’s a fun one, stand on one leg, then position your arms out to either side in a ’T’. First make circular motions in the same direction for a half minute, then switch and go in the opposite directions. Practice for a little while and then start turning your head from side to side at the same time.
- of course there’s always yoga, pilates or tai chi as well.
- waiting in line or talking on the phone? Try standing on one leg for 45 seconds, and then switch to the other leg. Want to make it more challenging? Then close your eyes.
Links/Sources:
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/neuromuscular-system
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/balance-training-to-boost-health/art-20270119
https://www.eyeandear.org.au/page/Patients/Patient_information/Balance_Disorders/How_does_the_balance_system_work/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279394/
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