Balance is something you don’t think about in your young days. Your focus is only on walking or moving forward. But as you get older, sometimes it becomes difficult to balance yourself. They tend to lose their balance and fall. A fall in old age usually means a hospital stay. Sometimes it also means expensive surgery for broken bones after a fall! So it’s better to work on your balance by doing exercises. Check out these balance exercises for seniors to help you stay fit and less prone to falls.
HealthShots connected with fitness expert Varun Rattan, who says maintaining balance is an essential skill for everyday life. It uses vision, balance, proprioception, muscle strength and reaction speed. Unfortunately, as we age, these systems begin to deteriorate and can lead to balance issues.
Also Read: It’s Never Too Late to Start! That’s why exercise is a must for older adults
To get stronger, strength training is something that many women strive to do. But if you have balance problems, you should choose the right exercises.
Here are 5 balance exercises older women can do at home
1. Seated leg raises
• Sit in a secure chair with your hands on the armrests and your feet on the floor.
• Raise one leg and hold it there for 5 seconds. Do this movement 10 times on each side.
You can make the exercise more challenging by not using the armrests, sitting in an office chair with wheels, sitting on an exercise ball, and even closing your eyes, the expert suggests.
2. Lunges
• To lunge, stand in a staggered position with your right foot a few feet in front of your left.
• Make sure you keep your torso upright, your shoulders back and down, your core engaged, and your hand touching a wall.
• Bend your knees and lower your body until your left knee is a few inches off the floor.
• At the end of the movement, your front thigh should be parallel to the floor.
• Then push your body back up to the original position.
To make the exercise more difficult, you can put your hands on your hips.
3. One-legged static balance
• Place your feet hip-width apart, distribute your weight evenly on both legs, and place your hands on your hips.
• Lift your left foot off the floor and hold the position for as long as possible while maintaining proper form.
• Return to the starting position and repeat on the other side. As you become more stable, increase the duration until you can do it for a minute on each side.
You can push yourself further by trying to do it with your eyes closed, says Rattan, co-founder of Body Science Academy, Noida.
4. One-legged taps
• Visualize a clock on the floor in front of you. Think 12 o’clock right in the middle.
• Stand on your left leg and tap your right foot at the 2 o’clock position and stand back up.
• Then tap the 4 o’clock position and so on.
• Now switch legs and do the same with the left leg, starting at 10 o’clock, then at 8 o’clock and so on.
While this can help you address balance issues, you can also try exercises for women over 60 to stay fit.
5.Chop wood
• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and parallel to each other.
• Grab a water bottle or dumbbell with both hands at the side of your right hip.
• Rotate your back foot to the left while swinging your arms up in a controlled manner.
