Balance and Co-ordination
Fitness is not just about muscle mass and endurance; there is also an important mental aspect to keeping your body healthy. Being able to balance well and having good co-ordination is vital for utilising your body effectively. This means training your brain as well as your body.
The main benefit to having better balance and co-ordination is the increase in reaction time and reflexes. These abilities contribute to how quickly a person can react when they stumble or trip. Having good balance and co-ordination can be the difference between having a life altering fall or reaching out to steady yourself just in time. Good co-ordination also makes you more accurate with your foot placement, which can improve the time it takes to get up and down stairs or walk on uneven terrain like a sandy beach. The common opinion is that as you get older, you naturally become more unsteady on your feet. While it is true that ageing does often make people less ‘resilient’ - less able to cope with challenging or unfamiliar situations, this does not have to be inevitable.
At a young age, the brain is a lot more ‘plastic’ - it’s easier to learn new things because brain cells can be formed more easily - however, everyone has the ability to form new links between brain cells regardless of their age. Most people loose skills like good balance and co-ordination because they stop utilising these parts of their brain, allowing the links between neurons to degrade - there is truth in the saying ‘use it or lose it’. But with training and challenging the brain, you are able to ‘relearn’ abilities like balance and co-ordination by creating new links between neurons. Like most things, these new links come with repeated practice.
One of the benefits of the ROVR treadmill is it’s supporting frame that users can hang on to if they feel unsteady on their feet. An individual with poor balance may be able to use the ROVR to train themselves to walk unassisted. They can attempt walking exercises in Virtual Reality with the reassurance of having a frame to grab on to if they feel themselves toppling over. This is great for rebuilding confidence.
Co-ordination can be greatly improved by interactive virtual experiences. Games like Beat Saber have the user slashing at objects with a sword. It’s great for both co-ordination and reflexes, and the harder levels can be quite a workout! There are also hair-raising scenarios where the user has to walk along a narrow plank of wood hundreds of feet in the air - even though you’re still in your living room the whole thing can feel very real! This is great for both balance and confidence, as well as being a novel and entertaining way to get your daily exercise.