Balance training Archives - Fran's Fitness Over 50

Practice your balance

Your balance is not going to fix itself.

Yes, I harp on balance a lot. Because it’s necessary. Yes, it’s the summer. No, you’re not going to slip on the ice tomorrow and fall and break your hip. I know there are still months of warmer weather before the first snowflake falls.

Use those weeks wisely.

As I learned, balance is something we lose as we age unless we do something about it. My article in “Scary Symptoms” describes my introduction to this sad fact.

As we age, we lose our balance. It may not be noticeable when you go about your daily lives. But, that first patch of ice in the fall is a rude awakening.

I see so many stories in the winter of people my age, and even younger, who fall on the ice and break bones that are already brittle – another result of aging. Kathleen Cameron, a Senior Director at the National Council on Aging, told me just how big a problem falls and loss of balance is for older Americans: https://fitness-over-50.com/2017/07/prevent-falls-my-interview-with-kathleen-cameron/

Of course I’d rather age than die, but it certainly becomes almost a full-time job to counteract the effects of aging. As they say, though, “Use it or lose it!” That applies to muscles, bones, eyes, ears and balance. We exercise and eat right to maintain our muscles and bones. We try to take in the right nutrients to help our vision and hearing. And we have to practice our balance to keep from losing that too.

Practicing balance is easy. It just takes a couple of minutes a day. Go grab my “Week of Balance” download – just click the link on the right side of this page. It’s got a week’s worth of balance exercises plus a bonus or two. If you do one of these every day, your balance will improve. You won’t need to grab the counter when you try to stand on one foot. You’ll climb that step stool without even thinking about it. I’ve said it before – I multi-task and stand on one foot while I brush my teeth in the evening.

So – Read the article. Grab the download. Practice your balance. No fancy equipment needed.

A Cautionary Tale

I went to the dentist the other day – nothing earth-shattering there. I do it every 6 months. (All those pearly whites are my own!) I really like my dentist. She’s a cool lady and she talks about stuff I’m usually interested in – books, dogs, music, card games (well, not that interested, but OK) and roller coasters (definitely not interested in going on them myself, but I have a horrified fascination in others who enjoy coasters).

But this time I learned that she doesn’t have any dogs at the moment and probably will not be getting one in the foreseeable future. The good doctor rescued senior Labrador Retrievers and cared for them for their remaining lives. What a good thing! But she told me that at about the same time that her last one passed away, her husband had a bad fall and broke his hip and his wrist. He’s out of rehab now, but will probably need a walker for the rest of his life, sadly.

Too close to home

This is getting too close to home! I recently wrote about my conversation with Kathleen Cameron, Senior Director of the National Council on Aging regarding the seriousness of falls and how they can be prevented. https://fitness-over-50.com/2017/07/prevent-falls-my-interview-with-kathleen-cameron/

I asked my dentist what she does to maintain or strengthen her balance, and she said, “Well, just keep up my strength, I guess…” Not good enough. You can prevent falls by improving your balance!

Our bodies change as we age

As we age, our bodies change and lose the ability to balance. Even if you work out regularly, even if you eat right, your balance will diminish unless you specifically do something about it!

Can you commit?

Practicing Yoga is good. Tai Chi is also good. But these practices must be continual. You have to really commit to them in order for your balance to show improvement.

Maybe not, but you’ve got 2 minutes a day!

But you can improve your balance in as little as two minutes a day. Exercise your balance. Do specific balance exercises. Join the “Balance for Fitness, Balance for Life” community on Facebook which gives you an exercise a day to perform. Like standing on one leg while brushing your teeth. This is an older picture – Booker is bored with my routine now and doesn’t feel the need to supervise.

I know it’s helped me! I recently fell – stepped on a rock the wrong way at night in a parking lot. It was extremely painful, and I thought my knee would be injured badly. But the only damage was a scrape on my shin that was gone in a couple of weeks. (I do have a scar as a memento now because I never keep scrapes covered for as long as you’re supposed to…)

So, the moral of this tale is, don’t fall and need a cane or walker forever! Practice your balance!

How’s your balance?

How is your balance? No, really – how is it? Can you stand on one foot for 30 seconds? How about 15? No? Time to work on it.

As we get older, our balance can diminish. But as with most other things, we can improve our balance with practice. The more you test your balance, the better it gets! Just a couple of minutes practice a day will show remarkable improvement in just a week’s time.

Gradual changes linked to growing older—such as weak or inflexible muscles, slower reflexes, and worsening eyesight—affect the sense of balance. (Better Balance, Harvard Health Publications, Harvard Medical School) You’ve experienced this. When you’re young, you can run along a curb and not have to take a step in the street. Now, even walking slowly it’s difficult to keep to that curb and not step in the street or on the grass next to the curb. And in the winter, we’re all scared of losing our balance and slipping on the ice.

But, it’s been shown that balance training programs reduced falls that caused injuries by 37%, falls leading to serious injuries by 43%, and broken bones by 61% (published online in the BMJ). So, while it’s important to exercise vigorously to improve our cardiovascular system, it’s also important to work on our balance!

My favorite multi-tasking balance exercise is to stand on one foot while brushing my teeth – switching every 30 seconds. Or 15 seconds, or 10 seconds. Be safe, though – make sure the sink is handy for holding onto if you need it! (Canine supervision is optional!) Or just stand next to a chair on one foot for a couple of seconds and then switch. Just do something to improve your balance!