Those Over 45: If You Can Pass These 5 Balance Challenges, You're Aging Exceptionally Politely
As we age, maintaining balance becomes increasingly important to ensure our independence and reduce the risk of falls. Experts recommend a combination of specific exercises and regular balance tests to monitor progress and mitigate the risk of falls.
Recommended Exercises for Balance Improvement
Balance Training Exercises play a crucial role in preventing falls. These include standing on one leg, tightrope-style heel-to-toe walks, sit-to-stand exercises, and the use of balance equipment like wobble boards, fitness balls, resistance bands, foam rollers, and suspension trainers.
Standing on one leg tests and improves your ability to maintain stability using proprioception and vestibular input. Tightrope-style heel-to-toe walks mimic narrow base support and challenge balance effectively. Sit-to-stand exercises and progressions like pistol squats strengthen lower body muscles critical for balance and mobility. Using balance equipment can challenge and improve core stability and posture.
Aerobic exercises and exergames, flexibility exercises, dance, and programs like the Otago Exercise Program have also been proven effective in improving balance and gait stability. Bone-strengthening moves such as the “heel slam” support aging bones alongside balance.
Balance and Functional Fitness Tests to Self-Assess
To monitor your progress, several balance and functional fitness tests can be performed at home. The Standing on one leg test measures how long you can balance on one foot without support. The Five-move fitness test assesses overall fitness and predicts biological age vs. chronological age. The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test times you getting up from a chair, walking 3 meters, turning, and sitting back down. The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) is a clinical set of tasks to assess static and dynamic balance.
The Tandem Stand Test involves standing tall near a counter or stable surface, planting one foot directly in front of the other, and timing how long one can balance in this position. To make the Single-Limb Stance test into an exercise, regularly attempt to increase the amount of time one can maintain the position.
Practical Tips
Perform small "exercise snacks" integrated into daily routines to build habits without needing a gym. Use supportive equipment as needed, especially when starting balance training, and seek professional guidance to prevent injury. Aim to include balance, strength, aerobic, and flexibility exercises regularly for comprehensive benefits.
Falls are the leading cause of injury after age 65, making it wise to bolster one's balance as early as possible to support functional aging. Melissa Jean Jarzynski, a physical therapist and the director of physical therapy at Stable Friendships Foundation, and Christy Swaid, the founder and health coach of Checkered Flag Living & HEAL Inc., a world champion woman athlete, and a nutrition and fitness expert, emphasise the importance of these exercises and tests for adults over 45. By integrating these exercise types and regularly testing balance and functional fitness, adults over 45 can significantly enhance stability, maintain independence, and reduce fall risk as they age.
- Balance Training Exercises, such as standing on one leg, tightrope-style heel-to-toe walks, sit-to-stand exercises, and the use of balance equipment, play a crucial role in preventing falls, enhancing stability, and maintaining independence as we age.
- To monitor progress in balance and functional fitness, consider performing self-assessment tests at home, like the Standing on one leg test, the Tandem Stand Test, the Five-move fitness test, the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and the Berg Balance Scale (BBS).
- Incorporating balance exercises into daily routines through small “exercise snacks” can help build habits, and using supportive equipment may prevent injury when starting balance training.
- Experts, like Melissa Jean Jarzynski and Christy Swaid, emphasize the importance of regular balance, strength, aerobic, and flexibility exercises for adults over 45 to reduce the risk of falls and support functional aging.
- By focusing on fitness, nutrition, wellness, and exercise through activities like yoga, and by following the advice of experts in health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, science, and aging, we can work towards increased longevity and improved quality of life as we age.
