Why Balance Is Essential for Runners and How to Improve It
How often do we actually think about our balance as runners? We think about being faster, stronger, and gaining stamina, but what about balance?
In my experience, it’s an aspect that often gets overlooked. I’ve worked with runners who can run marathons, but when asked to stand on one leg, they can barely hold the position for more than 10 seconds. Shocking right?
Balance is one of those foundational skills that can really improve your running performance and prevent injuries. Plus, it can improve your overall quality of life if you consider the bigger picture.
In this article, we’ll break down what balance is and how you can begin to assess your balance with some easy at-home tests. Plus, I’ll give you some exercise options that you can begin implementing in your workouts. Let’s dive in!
What is Balance?
Balance is the process of maintaining the body’s center of gravity (CoG) vertically over the base of the support, and it relies on rapid and continuous feedback from visual, vestibular, and somatosensory structures for the subsequent execution of smooth and coordinated neuromuscular actions
Balance is the ability to maintain control of your body’s center of gravity over your base of support. It’s influenced by information from the visual system (eyes), vestibular system (inner ear), and proprioceptive system (receptors in our skin, tendons, muscles, and joints) (Brachman et al., 2017).
There are two types of balance. When we are stationary, that is called static balance. On the other hand, when we’re in motion, it’s called dynamic balance.
That being said, we can work on balance by challenging any of those three systems to make it more or less challenging. We’ll soon dive into how to assess static and dynamic balance and how to work on it with some simple exercises.
Why Balance Matters for Runners
For runners, having good balance can be beneficial to improve our running, but also our strength training.
For running, better balance can mean having a better foot strike, being able to adapt to a change in terrain (think running on a trail or in sand, for example), and maintaining a good overall body posture while running.
Think about it: running is essentially a series of single-leg jumps. Every time your foot hits the ground, your body relies on balance to maintain stability and proper alignment. Without strong balance, you’re more likely to feel unstable on uneven surfaces, overcompensate with certain muscles, and potentially strain your body unnecessarily. Over time, these small imbalances can compound into bigger problems like IT band syndrome, ankle sprains, and even hip or knee pain.
When strength training, some key movement patterns require a certain level of balance. Think about lunges, single-leg deadlifts, single-leg squats, etc. If your balance is impaired this might prevent you from performing some of these key movements efficiently. Before attempting to load these movements, you may need to work on improving your balance first to limit your risk of injury.
Benefits of improving your balance as a runner:
Enhanced postural control (your body's ability to maintain its position when standing still or moving)
Improve coordination and reaction time
Increased ability to perform key movement patterns necessary to strengthen your core and lower body
Reduce the risk of falls or injuries, especially on trails or uneven surfaces
How to Test Your Balance at Home:
Before diving into balance training, it’s helpful to establish what level you’re at with your balance. You can find this out with some simple at-home tests for your static and dynamic balance.
Single-Leg Stance Test (Static Balance)
Watch the video here.
How to do it:
Stand barefoot on a firm surface.
Cross your arms over your chest and lift one leg off the ground at bout 30 degrees of hip flexion, balancing on the other leg.
Time how long you can maintain this position.
Repeat with the other leg to compare.
The test ends when:
Your foot drops to the floor or you have to grab onto something to avoid falling over.
I recommend filming yourself so you can see if you have any compensations that might indicate a lack of balance. Here are some examples:
Gripping the toes.
Leaning the trunk over the side of the balancing leg.
Twisting the pelvis.
Dropping the hip on the opposite side of the balancing leg.
On average, the normative data for healthy adults shows that 30 seconds or more is the average for being able to hold a single-leg stance (Springer et al., 2007).
Below are the more specific numbers per age group for single-leg balance with eyes open:
18-39: 43 seconds
40-49: 40 seconds
50-59: 47 seconds
60-69: 27 seconds
70-79: 15 seconds
80-99: 6 seconds
These numbers are for men and women combined as research shows static balance doesn’t vary much between the two.
Small Knee Bend or Single Knee Dip (Dynamic Balance)
Watch the video here.
How to do it:
Stand barefoot on a firm surface.
Place your hands on your hips and lift one leg off the ground at bout 30 degrees of hip flexion, balancing on the other leg.
Slowly bend the knee of the standing leg at about 30 degrees.
Come back up to a straight knee with control.
Repeat with the other leg to compare.
What to look for:
As I recommended for the static balance test, I recommend filming yourself so you can see if you have any compensations that might indicate a lack of balance. We want to know if you are able to control the movement. Here are some key elements to look for:
Is your knee caving in? It should ideally be tracking over the 2nd or 3rd toe.
Is your trunk leaning over the side of the balancing leg?
Is the hip of the stance leg internally rotating?
Is the hip dropping on the opposite side of the balancing leg?
This will be different for everyone. Once you’ve identified what your pattern is, you’ll have a baseline to refer back to after you’ve done some work to improve your dynamic balance.
How to Incorporate Balance Training into Your Routine
The good news is that balance training doesn’t require fancy equipment or hours of extra work. You can sprinkle in some balance exercises to your weekly strength training workouts for runners.
Below, I’ll list a few simple exercises you can add to your routine to build static and dynamic balance. I’ll also add a link to the Instagram reels I created for each so you can have visual feedback on how to perform these exercises.
Static Balance Exercises
Watch the video here.
1) Single Leg Stance
How to do it:
Stand barefoot on a firm surface.
Place your hands on your hips and lift one leg off the ground at bout 30 degrees of hip flexion, balancing on the other leg.
Try to hold the position for 30 seconds.
Repeat 3 times on each side.
To increase the challenge:
Try closing your eyes.
Try stepping on an uneven surface (cushion, pillow, stability disc, etc.)
Try swinging the arms back and forth to mimic a running arm motion.
Try adding a rotation component. Reach your arms straight out with palms touching and begin rotating through your trunk while maintaining your balance.
2) Tandem Stance
How to do it:
Stand barefoot on a firm surface.
Place your hands on your hips and arrange your feet as if they were on a train track (heel to toe).
Try to hold the position for 30 seconds.
Repeat 3 times on each side.
To increase the challenge:
Try closing your eyes.
Try stepping on an uneven surface (cushion, pillow, stability disc, etc.)
Try swinging the arms back and forth to mimic a running arm motion.
Try adding a rotation component. Reach your arms straight out with palms touching and begin rotating through your trunk while maintaining your balance.
Dynamic Balance Exercises
Watch the video here.
These exercises are good if you already have good static balance and want to improve your dynamic balance.
Pick 3 to 5 of these exercise variations and aim to perform 3 sets of 10-15 reps (on each side for the one-leg exercises). You can sprinkle them into your strength training sessions or perform them as standalone exercises!
1) Lunge to High Knee
How to Do:
Stand on a stable surface.
Step one foot back into a lunge, lowering your back knee toward the ground.
Push through your front foot to return to standing, lifting your back knee to a high knee position.
Repeat on the same side, then switch.
2) Airplane to Single-Leg Deadlift
How to Do:
Stand on one leg with a slight bend in the knee.
Hinge at your hips, extending your other leg straight behind you while lowering your torso parallel to the ground.
Keep your arms out to the side like airplane wings for balance.
Slowly return to standing with control and repeat before switching sides.
3) Squat on Tip Toes
How to Do:
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
Rise onto your tiptoes and hold your balance.
Slowly lower into a squat while staying on your tiptoes.
Both arms can reach out straight in front of your body as you squat for improved balance.
Return to standing, keeping your heels off the ground throughout.
4) 4-Point Taps on One Leg
How to Do:
Stand on one leg with a slight bend in the knee.
Place your hands on your hips.
Imagine you are standing at the center of a 4-point arrow.
Tap the ground lightly in front, behind, to the left, and to the right of your standing foot, maintaining balance.
Repeat, then switch legs.
5) Kettlebell Pass on One Leg
How to Do:
Stand on one leg, holding a kettlebell in one hand.
Pass the kettlebell to your other hand in front of your body, switching hands with each pass.
Maintain a steady core and avoid leaning or wobbling.
Switch legs and repeat.
Balance and Injury Prevention
There is still a lack of quality research on balance and injury prevention specifically relating to endurance runners. However, a recent study on soccer players showed that incorporating balance training exercises alone or as part of an injury prevention program could decrease the risk of ankle injuries. This was a decreased risk of 37%-42% which is quite significant (Al Attar et al., 2022).
While this research focuses on soccer players, its findings are still highly relevant to runners. Here are a few reasons why:
Ankle Stability: Both soccer players and runners place significant stress on their ankles. Improved balance enhances ankle stability, reducing the risk of sprains and other injuries.
Proprioception Enhancement: Balance training improves proprioception which is the body's ability to sense its position in space. This is crucial for runners to adapt to varying terrains and maintain proper form.
Injury Prevention: Incorporating balance exercises into a runner's training regimen can lead to a significant decrease in lower body injuries, similar to the reductions observed in soccer players.
Think of balance as the foundation of your running form. Just like a house needs a stable foundation, your body needs balance to perform at its best. By dedicating just a few minutes a day to improving your balance, you’ll set yourself up for longer, more efficient, and injury-free runs.
Final Thoughts on Balance for Runners
Whether you're training for a race or just looking to stay active, balance training is a key component to keeping your running body in top shape. Even if we put running aside, improving your balance is a good investment for your future self to prevent falls and fall-related injuries as you age.
Start by adding some balance exercises to your current workouts, it doesn’t have to be long or complicated. If you stick to it consistently, you’ll likely begin to notice some improvements to your running form. Plus, you’ll also be able to perform some more advanced strength training exercises that can further support your running performance.
Happy Running,
April
References:
Al Attar, W. S. A., Khaledi, E. H., Bakhsh, J. M., Faude, O., Ghulam, H., & Sanders, R. H. (2022). Injury prevention programs that include balance training exercises reduce ankle injury rates among soccer players: a systematic review. Journal of physiotherapy, 68(3), 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2022.05.019
Brachman, A., Kamieniarz, A., Michalska, J., Pawłowski, M., Słomka, K. J., & Juras, G. (2017). Balance Training Programs in Athletes - a Systematic Review. Journal of human kinetics, 58, 45–64. https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2017-0088
Springer, B. A., Marin, R., Cyhan, T., Roberts, H., & Gill, N. W. (2007). Normative values for the unipedal stance test with eyes open and closed. Journal of geriatric physical therapy (2001), 30(1), 8–15. https://doi.org/10.1519/00139143-200704000-00003
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