Balanced Rider

Balance is one of those those things most people don't think about.

Jim Lauter, inventor of the Balance Rider, earned his degree in Exercise Science at the
University of Colorado. Jim was a high school football coach for 15 years. And, he
holds the distinction of having been the first, ever, in home personal trainer in the busy
resort town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Always involving himself in cutting edge
technology, Jim has become an expert in the fields of proprioceptor exercise and core
training. Married to a lifetime horsewoman, Jim conceived the idea for The Balance
Rider to address the significant difference between seated and standing balance, and to
specifically target––from a unique seated position––the core muscles and proprioceptors
that are so vital to physical fitness.

“Balance,” Jim says, “is one of those things people don’t always recognize as an essential
component of fitness. But the simple fact is that every form of physical activity––
even just walking, sitting upright or getting in and out of a chair––is enhanced by good
balance.”

An understanding of this fitness aspect initiated the advent of proprioceptor exercise,
often inaccurately referred to as core training. It’s interesting to note that, although the
same conditioning methods can strengthen core muscles AND enhance the efficacy of
proprioceptor response, the terms are not synonyms. Both are important components of
balance. But they are different, one from the other.

Core muscles––broadly defined––are all those muscles that align, stabilize and move
the trunk of the body. When the core is strong and flexible, bodily stresses are well
-distributed, the spine is well-supported, and we’re able to move more efficiently.

Proprioceptors are sensory units (receptors) within our muscles, tendons and joints.
According to: “Examination of Musculoskeletal Injuries” By Sandra J. Shultz, Peggy
A. Houglum, David H. Perrin, Proprioception is the body’s ability to transmit a sense
of position, analyze that information and react (consciously or unconsciously) . . . Less
technically expressed, Proprioception gives us the capacity to know where our body is–
–without having to look. Proprioception is one of those funny things we never question,
like . . . how is it that we can sit or stand without constantly thinking about keeping
ourselves upright––an involuntary function . . . like breathing.

So, what does all of this have to do with The Balance Rider? The explanation is simple, if
not especially brief.

As to the Core . . . There are any number of exercises that target the superficial core musculature, but not so many effective variations or aids for maximizing strength and efficiency of the deeper muscles that live beneath such larger, more readily accessed
cousins as the abdominals, gluteus muscles, hip adductors and abductors.

The Balance Rider gets to the true core of the core, so to speak, by challenging the
muscles that lie closer to the center of the body . . . muscles that are more about the business of stabilizing than they are about weight bearing. Included among these are: the
psoas, a long muscle that runs down the front of the spine and attaches at the top of the
femur; the multifidus and erector spinae, both deep spine muscles; and the transversus
abdominis, the deepest of the abdominal muscles.

In exercise, challenge––especially when diversified––equals gain. The Balance Rider
offers natural diversity by virtue of the fact that it is response oriented with no predictable pattern of motion. Certainly the superficial muscles are also engaged and ultimately strengthened, but because of what the Balance Rider asks of the body, the “focus” is on the inner core. As it happens, the pelvic floor and the diaphragm are also beneficiaries of this unique conditioning.

As to proprioception . . . The Balance Rider develops the “organic memory” of the proprioceptors that reside within the deep core muscles. The result . . . “command-free” stabilization of the spine, and automatic balance.