WPH Press, 1/20/19
Each Wednesday the WPH features the WPH Wednesday Workout, designed to help you become a stronger, fitter, faster, and better handball player. From leg and shoulder strengthening exercises to HIT Training, biking, and rest, the WPH Wednesday Workouts focus on the areas that every handball player needs to reach their peak form.
On this WPH Wednesday Workout, we’ll discuss how to improve your balance to become a better handball player. On the WPH Wednesday Footwork HERE, we recognized that the best handball players have the best footwork. Balance is no different. Have you ever seen Paul Brady or Catriona Casey off-balance? If you do, it’s so rare that when it happens it’s startling. Brady and Casey can play an entire tournament without ever being off-balance. Brady and Casey’s superior balance enable them to dictate play and leverage their body into each swing, resulting in domination. How can you improve your balance and dominate?
In Improve Your Balance – 7 Simple Exercises by TappBrothers HERE, TappBrothers suggest “ninja balancing drills” to develop better balance and making you a better all-around athlete, while making you less susceptible to rolling your ankles and tweaking your knees. To start the balance-improvement program, you have to focus on the alignment of your body – keep the head neutral, avoid allowing the shoulders to curve forward, do not arch the upper back, round the butt and so there is a nice straight line all the way through the body to avoid the hips sticking out – this allows you to stack your joints
7 Ninja Balancing Exercises (1-3 beginner level/4-7 advanced level)
- Balancing on one foot: focus on alignment, head neutral, hips square and centered – hold for 30 seconds on both feet – to add to the challenge, close your eyes for the 30-second repetition – to create an even more difficult challenge, stand on your toes with your eyes closed
- Balanced start: balance on one leg and draw a star with the opposite foot (going as far forward and to the side when creating the star) – to ramp it up, close your eyes and draw the star with your eyes closed – this will develop strength in the joints
- Tree pose: balance on one leg, bring the other leg up and focus on keeping the hips square and lightly touching the opposite leg to the standing leg – close your eyes and lift up on the toe for a greater challenge
- Balancing on one foot standing on an elevated surface (like a rail): focus on alignment and use the other leg to counterbalance- hold for 15-30 seconds
- Balancing on both feet standing perpendicular to the rail: requires a lot of strength in the calves and requires a lot of mental strength – hold for 15-30 seconds and focusing on alignment – a slight bend in the legs makes this exercise easier
- Walking on the rail: slowly walking forward and backward, and making perpendicular turn to go the opposite way – include spin squats on the rail
- Pistol squat on rail: go down to a full squat on one leg and back up – if you can perform the pistol squat on the rail you have your balance down to a ninja level
Reach ninja level balance and you’ll see your handball game reach new heights.
David Fink
WPH Fitness Director