Balance training enhances muscle tone and strengthens joint stability using specific instability exercises. Improved balance has many benefits from increased athletic agility and power to falls prevention.

Balance affects all people of all ages and fitness levels. Poor balance can affect everything from carrying heavy objects to getting in and out of the shower. It can cause back pain, or put you at risk for taking a dangerous spill. Especially as you age, balance can come to the forefront of health concerns.

A person can improve his or her balance with increasing his or her core strength. Physical therapists and athletic trainers have been working on balance and core training for years. In balance training, a therapist or trainer specifically uses exercises that are based around instability to work the complex system of muscles that stabilize the body during movement. Balance training strengthens more than just the core. It specifically strengthens stabilization joints—like the hips, knees, and ankles.

Balance comes from the vestibular (i.e., auditory) system, the nervous system, and the visual system. The vestibular system lives in the inner ear and ensures the body stays level. Sensory nerves are in the muscles, tendons, and joints that provide spatial awareness for body posture. Your brain receives signals for body position from your visual system. The core, joints, and body systems all work together to form balance.