Think balance exercises are designed for physical therapy alone? Think again. While exercises which improve balance do play an important role in rehabilitation for someone who experiences a stroke, for example, they are also significant in everyday functioning and for preventing mobility impairment.
The truth is, balance problems can become commonplace with age. Medicine side effects, inner ear issues, weight gain, muscle weakness . . . this list goes on for possible risk factors which can negatively impact your sense of balance. Balance is a must, however, for maintaining independence and preventing debilitating falls as you get older.
Don’t miss these 8 easy exercise ideas you can do at home to boost your balance:
Walk the Line
As you sweep up the tile floor in the kitchen or even take a walk around your neighborhood, make a point to ‘walk the line.’ What does this mean? Simply put, take a little extra time to practice walking in a designated straight line one foot in front of the other, whether it’s along your kitchen floor or balancing on the 6-inch curb down your street.
Sit on a Stability Ball
Replace the seat you most commonly sit in (i.e. computer chair or couch) with a large stability or exercise ball. In addition to requiring you to sit up with better posture (it’s much harder to slouch on an inflated ball!), stability balls require you to constantly make small body adjustments for better balance. Even bounce up and down to further challenge your leg and core muscles and burn a few extra calories while you work or watch TV.
Squat More
Balancing while standing or sitting upright might seem easy enough, but what about when you squat? An effective squat starts with your feet shoulder-width apart, turned out just slightly, and your hands at your side. As you bend your knees, raise your hands up in front of you, maintaining a neutral spine and keeping your knees in line with your feet. Don’t jut your rear end out too far or hunch your back. Once your hip joint dips below your knee, stand back up and repeat.
Use a Balance Disk
Similar to a stability ball, balance disks offer you a wobbly, inflated rubber surface on which to stand or sit and practice your balance. In your home gym, you can incorporate balance disk exercises into your workout circuit for building core strength, or simply stand or sit on them as you skim the news on your phone or watch TV.
Try it on One Leg
Brushing your teeth? Picking something up off the floor? Talking on the phone? Try doing your normal day to day activities on one leg instead of two. By holding one leg up you’re completing perhaps the easiest weight-bearing exercise, training your body to correct itself for better balance as well as testing the strength of one leg at a time. It can be much harder than you may think, especially if you try standing on one leg for a prolonged period of time!
Practice Yoga or Tai Chi
Naturally woven into the practice of yoga and tai chi are balance exercises in the form of poses that require you to bear weight on your feet and hands. Combined with deep breathing techniques and meditation, these mindfulness-cultivating activities challenge your center of gravity and facilitate targeted exercises that improve postural stability and balance. You don’t have to go to a boutique studio to try them out either – simply stream free, online tutorial videos from your computer or smartphone on Youtube.com.
Try Push-ups on the Wall
If getting down onto the floor for a series of traditional push-ups simply isn’t in the cards, use a wall clear of decorations and windows instead. Stand an arm’s length away and place your palms flat on the wall so they line up with your shoulders, forming a 90° angle with your neck. Gently lean into the push-up, bending your elbows, maintain a neutral spine and bringing your face closer to the wall, then push back out. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Lift Your Heels
Just as you might stand on one leg when doing tasks around the house, so should you try standing with both feet together propped on your toes. Less surface area to stabilize yourself means more need for you to balance. Simply stand with your feet together and lift your heels up a couple of inches, remaining balance on the balls of your feet. Challenge your coordination further by using your arms (lift small dumbbells or cans of food) or bending your knees into a deeper squat.
Fine-tuning your balance skills at home must go hand in hand with regular exercise and a healthy diet. When you avoid carrying excess weight around your midsection, it moves your center of gravity back, making it easier to balance and coordinate weight-bearing movements. Regular physical fitness also helps you maintain muscle, bone, and joint strength as well as flexibility which all fuel strong balance.