hi, I made a post a ways back. thanks for the info. I'm still waiting to go dancing. Tonight should be the night. I said that a few weeks ago and the power whent out in the whole city.

anyway, my question is. Balance. I would like to do some exercises to improve my balance. I have stood on one foot, raising the other slightly. eyes closed. The chart I have says 4 second average is that for a 70 year old. I was at 3 seconds, there is no scale that low. I'm 68, so need massive improvement.

I do a lot of free style dancing in the apt. I hope that is doing no harm. I have tried several things that I have picked up here. I remembered the importance of balance. My daughter was a superb horse rider from the day she first got into the saddle. She had perfect balance. A beautiful sight to see. I have begun thinking about trying better balance. stomach in head up and shoulders back. I'm going dancing tonight, hopefully I can get a few pointers on that. I also have been letting my knees be the first to move and it seems as though my feet are better able to do more. Just a feeling but does seem that way. btw, I am 68, male, 179 pounds, dang just gained 3 pounds this week. and in reasonbly good shape but obviously, to me, I need more specialized exercises. Any help will be appreciated. thanks. Ridge Runner


PS: oh yes. One of my widder friends on another site, told me to watch Dancing with the Stars. I did so last monday. I recognized Clide "the glide" Drexler but I have no idea who the other stars are. Didn't really care cause the wimmin sure did look nice. Anyway, the dance being done was the Jive. I really liked what I saw. My question, am I too old to be messing with such a dance. I don't want to kid myself, although I'm doing pretty good at that so far. thanks

Ridgerunner. I don' t like standing on one leg with my eyes closed. I can stand as long as you like looking at the horizon with my eyes open.. But there is a bit of technique here. Tighten the muscles in your bottom as tight as you can.
When you dance even more so in Latin . Tighten up. Does that make a difference. Jive is the most energetic of all the dances to do correctly. So make sure you are fit enough for it and that you are warmed up or stretched.
Once you have learnt a few dances and over a couple of hours are moving contiuously, and can do this several times a week you might see a difference in your weight. But here' s the rub. Stop and you will be worse off than before. Unless you substitute it for pounding the pavement. Best of luck.

"Ridgerunner. I don' t like standing on one leg with my eyes closed. I can stand as long as you like looking at the horizon with my eyes open.."

I'd actually agree with Quickstep on this.

Balance with your eyes closed tests your inner ears far more than dancing would. In dancing, you have both visual feeback about your body position and movement from your eyes, and likely tactile feeback from your partner as well (even though you shouldn't be physically using your partner for balance, they can provide information to tell you if your body is moves, much as a finger lightly touching the wall might).

When you have better information about what your body is doing (from sight and/or touch) then it's a more reasonably task for the muscles of your feet to maintain your balance in a stationary position, or to send you on a well aimed path in a movement. But if you have poor information, such as from your inner ears alone, then you are likely to often get so far off balance before you realize there is a problem, that your foot will not be strong enough to put you back on.

RR
I too do balance exercises. My physio has suggested a few to me.
One of them is standing on one leg with eyes closed. (don't put the free leg against the standing leg- this makes it easier)It's difficult, and don't be ashamed of 3 seconds. If you could do 8 seconds, you wouldn't need to practise balance at all.
Try standing on one leg with eyes open, and then close eyes for 2 or 3 seconds, then open and keep balance etc.
Also, when standing on one leg with eyes open, move your head quite quickly to left, and then right.
The brain can be trained to improve balance but it takes time.
also, work on going up on toes and maintaining perfect balance (eyes opened). This will improve balance and strengthen your feet.
BUT - take it gently. Toes will complain about it!
Don't be too worried about perfect balance when you go out dancing, unless you're a serious competitor. Just enjoy it

phil, thanks and all of you thanks.

I do stand on both feet and rise up on my toes. 30 times 2/3 times a day. I usually can stand on one leg, eyes open, for 15 to 20 seconds, more on a good day and a lot of times much less. I do a lot of different things. I will lay on my bed and extend feet out and draw half circles aroung the other foot. I also to quick movements, sissor moves and quick criss cross, Probably balet moves.

I need to get serious about my exercises. I went to a dance on Sat and for two days my legs ached in odd spots.

I have a knee that will need replacing in a few years, but just got back from foot doctor, He recommended that I get a thing that looks like a sweat suit material that covers the knee. He told me I could wear it as much as I want and it would provide extra support for me. Gonna do it. thanks for all the advice. RR

Ridgerunner. I wore one of those knee things for years everytime I went dancing. They are great and for me did the job. Then through some advice from a co sufferer I found that the trouble was the muscle running from the knee up the inside of the thigh I still regulaly dig in deep about 3 inches above the knee to the side untill I find this one place which is tender. I was told the knot in the muscle shortened it and the pain was felt in the knee , Like a knot in a peice of rope, it shortens the rope. I get stuck into that area regulaly and for me it works.

A word of caution here
Knee problems are many and various. Knee supports (i assume this is what is being talked about here)which cover the knee cap aren't always a good idea. With age, the back of the knee cap gets rough and can irritate the joint lining causing pain. I've been diagnosed with this. It doesn't really affect my dancing because it can be 'managed'. but wearing a knee brace (even with an opening for the knee cap) worsens the problem because it forces the knee cap against the joint.
It's absolutely essential to keep leg muscles strong and flexible. There are excellent knee exercises to do this without risking the knee joint itself. And stretching is very important too.

I worked in a house where the daughter a Ballerina, in a Belguim company, was home on a two week holiday. They had a bar and a mirror and every day she did stretching and the bar work. She told me that even on holidays it is necessary to go through this routine and never miss a day. Ever since that day whenever possible I have done my Forward and Backward Walks on my own or with anybody else who would join in. It is suprising in a studio how many will join in when they see somebody who is game enough to do it. The idea is to do them correctly and analyse what is happening. Movement Footwork Balance and the music if there is any playing.