Balance is a fundamental aspect of mobility that most seniors tend to ignore, but the truth is that they can benefit from improving it. Balance training exercises increase strength and coordination, thus helping seniors to move steadily and freely. Everyone can benefit from simple balance training workouts, regardless of their age or fitness level. For instance, senior citizens use it to prevent injuries from slips and falls. This post will discuss simple workouts that seniors can improve their balance and feel more confident when walking.
3 Simple Balance Exercises for Seniors You Must Try Once
One of the challenges that many seniors face is falling without getting back on their feet alone. Falls are caused by poor balance, which can lead to complete loss of mobility or severe injury. However, here are some balances workouts which seniors can perform to retain or regain mobility they had lost.
1. Standing On One Foot
This is a simple balance workout for seniors but can be daunting, especially to those who have already lost their stability. Seniors should start with this exercise because it helps them rediscover their center of gravity and regain balance. Here is how you do it:
- First, you need to position yourself behind something stable like a chair.
- Hold on to the chair back with your two hands.
- Lift your right leg slowly off the ground.
- Maintain your balance while standing on the right leg for more than five seconds.
- Return to the initial position and repeat the process five times.
- Repeat this balance exercise using the left leg.
The aim should be to stand on one leg without holding on to the chair and maintain the pose for one minute.
2. Back Leg Raises
This is one of the best balancing exercises for seniors because it strengthens the muscles in the lower back, thighs, hips, and buttocks. Here is how you can do this balance improvement exercise right now:
- Stand behind a chair.
- Lift your left leg slowly without bending your knees.
- Maintain that pose for one second, then bring your leg gently down.
- Repeat this balance training exercise up to 15 times per leg.
3. Rock the Boat Exercise for Stability in Elderly
Rock the boat is a simple yet powerful exercises to improve balance for seniors, particularly those that are daily walkers. This exercise for balance for seniors does not require equipment, but it would be advisable to wear your walking shoes to cushion your feet and have an accountability partner for supervision. Here is how you can do this exercise right now:
- Stand upright with your feet hip width apart.
- Press your weight evenly between the feet.
- Yield your body weight on one foot while lifting the one leg.
- Maintain that pose for 30 seconds.
- Lower your leg and repeat this exercise using the other leg.
- Repeat up to ten times on every leg.
Best Balance Workout for Stability For Every Senior To Achieve Great Performance
Stability and balance are crucial drivers of athletic performance. They boost your center of gravity, thus allowing you to make precise movements. Without them, seniors cannot perform at an optimal level or make most of their exercises. Here is one of the best workouts to improve balance that seniors should try:
Lateral Lunge
- Stand with your feet hip width apart.
- Step directly to the side using your left foot and lower into a squat. Keep your right foot straight.
- Raise the knee and push off your left foot to stand, while balancing the right foot.
- Do like 12 reps and then switch sides.
What Exercises Help Improve Balance?
There is a series of balancing workouts for seniors that can be performed at home to improve your mobility and health. Here is a list of seven exercises for balance in elderly that will help you achieve a better balance:
- Tree Pose: Tree pose is done on a folded mat, or the floor, or Bosu. It engages your core, strengthens the ankles, and improves your stability.
- Single-Leg Dead-lift: It strengthens your gluts and hamstrings, activates your abdominal wall, and enhances your balance.
- Wall pushups: Work your standard muscle groups like your triceps, pecs and the anterior deltoid that help you with the shoulder movement.
- Clock reach: Good balance is important for falls in the elderly and seniors. You’ll need a chair for this exercise.
- Sidestepping: Slight bend in the knees while you keep your chest up. Slowly step to the side with the right foot. Your stance should be well outside of shoulder-width.
- Calf stretches: Bend your right knee as you push your left heel into the ground, feeling the left calf stretch.
- Balancing wand: Balance exercises for elderly and seniors can greatly reduce the risk of falling at home.
Why Should Senior Citizens Perform Balance Exercises?
Apart from chronic diseases, various reasons make the elderly prone to injuries and falls. These include adverse effects of certain medications, a decline in physical fitness, and impaired eyesight. Understandably, people tend to become less active as they grow older because their bodies take longer to repair. Nonetheless, performing simple exercise for balance in elderly daily is critical in improving your flexibility and coordination. That said, senior citizens should perform exercises for balance and coordination to reduce their risk of falling. Besides minimizing the risk of falling, balance exercises can help senior citizens to:
- Make Daily Tasks Easier: Whether it’s making the bed or brushing the shoes, improved balance helps the elderly complete their activities successfully.
- Encourages Increased Workouts: Once seniors achieve a better flexibility, they develop the confidence required to enjoy other types of workouts, little doing some gardening or enjoying some brisk walk in the evening.
- Lose weight: Most stability exercises need some effort to maintain stability, thus working on all the crucial muscle groups. As a result, such exercises help seniors to burn a lot of calories and, in turn, lose weight.
- Prevent disease: Several studies have shown that maintaining regular exercise for balance and coordination can prevent common ailments like cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes.
- Improves Mental Health: Exercises produce endorphins that relieve stress and leaves you satisfied. Besides, balance exercises help improve sleep, which is crucial for seniors suffering from disrupted sleep patterns and insomnia.
Practical Tips on How to Improve Balance and Coordination
Several studies have shown that falls kill more women in America than breast cancer. Mobility, core strength, and flexibility are three significant things seniors require to perform efficiently, but most citizens don’t improve them. Fortunately, here are some easy ways that seniors can use to improve their balance;
- Include unilateral workouts (one arm or leg at a time); this will increase your coordination and stability during strength training workouts.
- When exercising using weights, sit away from the pad to strengthen your stabilizer muscles.
- Get an exercise ball that will help you to burn calories and improve balance while watching your television.
- Incorporate smooth, simple balance moves in your fitness regimen.
- Include yoga in your fitness routine and enhance your coordination and stability.
Your age should not determine your level of fitness since you are never too old to regain your stability. Whether you are 60, 70, or even 80, there is a space for exercise and activity. Stability exercises become essential with age. The good news is that you can get help with your balance workouts from a professional trainer. Such a trainer will offer various fitness classes that will enhance your coordination and stability. There will be other senior citizens who want to regain their fitness, so take advantage! The personal trainer will design a program to help you regain balance while paying attention to your mobility.
Get Help from an Experienced Personal Trainer and Regain your Balance Today!
Don’t let age stop you from enjoying the benefits of stability exercises. Regular workouts are right for you; it is just a matter of making them a habit and priority in your daily life. In the elderly population, such exercises have proved to prevent disease, enhance cognitive function, strengthen social ties, and improve mental health. Schedule an appointment with a professional personal trainer to get started with balance improvement exercises today.
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