Get beyond balance basics with these expert-endorsed strategies. Of course, check with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine if you’ve fallen, are worried about falling due to balance problems or dizziness, or have chronic health conditions.
Add balance moves to your workouts. “If I’m walking on a treadmill to increase aerobic fitness and holding onto handrails, or using an elliptical trainer or recumbent bike, it won’t improve balance,” Rose says. You have to challenge your sense of balance to get improvements, she says. Get started with exercises to restore agility, including exercises that take 10 minutes or less.
Increase the challenge at your own pace. If you’re new to balance exercises, position yourself in the corner of a room where there’s empty floor space to move across and you’re close enough to touch the walls for support, Rose suggests. Put a sturdy chair in front of you so you can hold on if you have to. Use supports less and less as you’re able. “If I’m holding onto a chair, it’s not doing much for balance,” Rose says. “If I put two fingers on the chair, I’m putting more emphasis on the balance system. If you’ve got white knuckles, lower the challenge!”
Build strength. Work on your calf, thigh and hip muscles as well as your core, which keeps your body stable when standing still and in motion. In a 2019 Canadian study of 344 older adults, those who did an at-home strength and balance routine for one year went on to have 74 percent fewer falls the following year compared to those who didn’t get the training.
Get some active fun. Dance, do yoga, learn tai chi, play tennis or Ping-Pong. Activities that challenge your brain and body have big balance benefits, Glatt says. In a 2015 Harvard study of more than 340,000 people age 45 and older, those who did things like gardening or playing golf had a lower risk of nasty falls compared to those who didn’t.
Take a walk with a friend or two. Researchers are finding that exercises where you do two things at once are even better for balance. They mimic real-life balance challenges, like getting distracted by a loud noise as you turn a corner in the supermarket. An easy way to mimic “dual-task” exercise is by taking a walk with another person, Rose says. “You’ll have to turn your head to look at them, without veering into them,” she says.