Maintaining balance is important for all aspects of life. Whether you’re trying to complete workouts, prevent injury, or just carry groceries in from your car, it’s important that you work on improving your balance to maximize your quality of life. Today this article will look at simple exercises to help increase stability and improve balance in your everyday life! Here are the best exercises to do that will help you stay more stable on your feet and prevent falls.
Contents
Outer Thigh Pulse (Sumo Squat)
The first step to improving your balance is to strengthen the iliopsoas muscle. This muscle supports your body weight, so it’s important for overall stability. Perform this exercise by standing with the feet spaced hip-width apart and squatting down until you feel a stretch in the thighs. Hold the position for five seconds before returning back into starting position. Repeat 10 times or as many as you can do at one time. If that’s too easy, try holding weights! That will activate more muscles than just performing them without any extra weight!
Oblique Crunch (Curtsy Lunge)
The next step is to stretch the glutes, hips, and inner thighs. This exercise will target the muscles that support your balance and stability — especially important for athletes who need to maintain their form while running or jumping! Start by standing with feet hip-width apart, then take a large step behind you with one leg. Keep both legs straight as you lower down into a curtsy lunge position. Hold this pose for 10 seconds before returning back into starting position. Repeat 15 times on each side.
Under-The-Leg Clap With Standing Crunch
The third step is to improve your flexibility. Stretching will help you avoid muscle cramps and spasms, which can lead to serious injuries! This exercise will stretch the inner thighs, glutes, hips, and lower back. Start by standing with feet shoulder-width apart. Lift one leg off of the ground behind you, then cross that ankle over the other knee (but don’t rest it on your knee). With hands interlaced together in front of you, lean forward at the waist while keeping both shoulders lifted — hold this pose for 10 seconds before releasing and repeating three more times on each side.
Flying Plane Arms And Plank
Another step is to improve your overall balance. This exercise focuses on the core muscles which control your balance and stability. Perform this by starting in a push-up position, then lift one arm off the ground and hold it straight out in front of you for two seconds before returning to the starting position. Repeat three times with each arm before turning over into a plank position. Hold the pose for 60 seconds — if that’s too easy, try doing it on one leg! Just remember not to arch your back when performing any exercises, even during these basic ones!
Side Planks With Rolling Forearms
Side planks are another way to improve your balance for when you need to be standing up! Perform this exercise by laying one hand on the ground under your shoulder, then stack feet together and raise your hips in the air. Hold this pose for 30 seconds before rolling onto the side of that arm to perform a forearm roll. This is an important step because it helps alleviate tension in the muscles around the head, shoulders, chest, glutes, hips, and thighs. Repeat three more times on each side.
Straight-Line Exercises For Older Adults
Straight-line exercises are a fun, easy way to improve your balance for when you’re walking around the house or need to be standing up at work! You can do these while brushing your teeth or waiting in line at the grocery store. Start by shifting all of your weight onto one leg and raising the other slightly off of the ground — hold this pose for five seconds before switching legs. Repeat 10 more times on each leg.
Sideways Walking
Sideways walking is another way to improve your balance when you’re doing simple, day-to-day tasks like walking around town or getting groceries out of the car. To perform this exercise, start by placing one foot slightly in front of you with toes facing forward. Lean your weight onto that leg as you lift up the other leg, so it’s parallel to the ground — hold this pose for 5 seconds before stepping back into starting position and switching legs. Repeat 10 more times on each side.
Heel To Toe Walk
The final exercise you can do to improve your balance is the heel-to-toe walk. This exercise will help when you’re walking up and down steps or stairs — especially when wearing heels! Start by standing with feet hip-width apart and lift one foot slightly off of the ground while shifting all of your weight onto that same leg. Now, lift the other foot and step forward so that the toes on both feet touch before taking another step toward the original leg. Alternate 10 more times on each side, then try it again in reverse order (so instead of stepping forward for every step, you’ll be stepping back).
Conclusion
The exercises we’ve listed today are a great way to improve your balance and stability when doing everyday tasks. Whether you’re at home, out running errands, or working at your desk, these exercises will help keep you more stable on your feet. Remember to focus on stretching, strengthening, and improving flexibility — this will help maximize the benefits of each exercise!
