Balance Training for Female Athletes

Developing strong balance is an asset for all athletes as it creates smart muscles and an efficient mind to muscle link. With a lower center of gravity, women have an advantage in balance drills. Single leg exercises are a great way to decrease this stable base of support, create a greater balance challenge and strengthen the entire lower body. A simple, yet very important balance exercise for females is a single leg squat. The challenge is to perform the exercise correctly with proper knee tracking. As a coach, focus most of your athlete cues on knee alignment.

TRX Single Leg Squats:

Set up:

- Begin in a balanced athletic position on a single leg
- The TRX provides a second balance point and should be used to help spot the athlete through the squat

Execution:

- The athlete triple flexes through the ankle, knee and hip while lowering down into a tuck position
- Pause and hold the low position maintaining balance (without pulling on the TRX) and return sequentially through triple extension to the starting position.

Note: Before attempting this exercise on a more unstable surface - such as the BOSU® make sure the athlete can complete the full range of motion with proper knee tracking.

Extreme Balance Board Squats with Fit Ball Self Passes:

Set up:

- both feet are planted parallel and equal distance from the center of the balance board
- engage the core muscles and then lower into a tuck position with hips low and chest up

Execution:

- in the tuck position the athlete tosses a weighted fit ball back and forth between hands
- have the athlete progress to wider passes

Note: Coach’s cues should focus on alignment as it is not uncommon for the knees to start to fall into a knocked kneed position during this drill.

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