The Single Best Exercise to Improve Balance for Seniors

improve balance for seniors

Do you shuffle your feet when you walk? Ever lose your balance? If you’re tired of feeling unsteady on your feet, this post is for you. Below I’ll show you the #1 exercise I use to improve balance for seniors and get the fastest results. 

The Key to Improving Balance for Seniors 

Your stride changes when you’re feeling unstable. Instead of picking up your foot with each step, you may find that you’re shuffling your feet. This happens—even subconsciously—as a protective measure to catch a fall, and it’s a telltale sign of poor balance. There’s a better way to walk with confidence, and it starts with exercise. 

I don’t mean lifting weights, though stronger muscles may help you retain good balance. But it’s a common misconception that if someone is strong, they’ll have good balance. Balance isn’t dependent solely on strength. Other factors can contribute to stability, including the mind-body connection called proprioception. Knowing your body’s position in space, as you move, is critical to improving stability and preventing falls. 

Luckily, you don’t need to lift weights in a gym to sharpen your proprioception and improve your balance. No matter how wobbly you feel, the single-leg stance will help you get grounded. And when you’re ready to challenge your balance, you can advance the single-leg stance with dynamic balance training. 

I’ll cover it all in this post, from Phase 1 to Phase 4, so you can go from shuffling feet to steady steps, safely and confidently. Let’s jump right in!

A Guide to Better Balance for Seniors: the Single-leg Stance Progression

Phase 1: Weight Shift to Single-Leg Stance

The first goal of the Single-leg Stance Progression is to learn to shift your weight onto a single leg. Pull up a chair or stand near a countertop so you can steady yourself as you practice. It’s important that you feel confident putting your full weight onto one leg! 

weight-shifting exercise

Let’s start on your right side: raise your left foot and shift your body weight over your right leg. If you’ve been holding on to the counter or chair, now carefully release your hands and try to stand without any support at all. Most people reach right back to the support immediately. But keep trying until you can hold a single-leg stance for 5–10 seconds. 

single-leg stance form

Once you can do this, you’re ready for Phase 2. 

Something to note: make sure your hip doesn’t sink every time you shift your weight. If you can’t keep it level while lifting your foot, then simply raise the heel so that your toe still touches the ground. Hold that position for 5 seconds then return to start. Repeat another 5 times on one leg before you try the same weight-shifting on the other leg. This is also a good technique if you’re having difficulty shifting your weight in general.

Phase 2: Static Single-leg Stance

Phase 2 is the static version of the single-leg stance. By “static,” I mean stationary or not moving at all. So once you’ve mastered weight-shifting in Phase 1, you should be able to perform a single-leg stance for at least 10 seconds. Your goal in Phase 2 is to increase your time to at least 20 seconds on each leg.  

single-leg stance

Don’t get frustrated if you can’t get it right away. That’s because it can take dozens, even hundreds of practice attempts for your brain to assimilate to this new challenge. But that’s exactly the type of balance challenge the body needs to adapt and improve in stability. So keep at it until you can stand for 20–30 seconds on each leg without any upper body support.

Once you’ve mastered the Single-leg Stance, you can advance to Phases 3 and 4, which incorporate dynamic movements.

Phase 3: Three-Way Kick

Before you begin Phase 3, make sure you can stand on a single leg for at least 20 seconds. You can stand near a countertop for support if needed. 

Next, gently kick your leg in three directions: forward, out to the side, and behind you. Return to the start position in between each kick but without placing your foot on the ground. After you’ve kicked in the three directions, you’ll have completed one repetition. Aim to perform 5 repetitions on each leg, totaling 15 movements on each side. 

single-leg 3-way kick

If you’re having difficulty with this movement, try to brace your abdominal muscles as you perform the kicks. Just be sure to keep breathing and avoid holding your breath. When you’re feeling wobbly, it’s ok to hold onto a counter for support or tap the ground instead of the air.

For an added challenge, you can place targets around you in the three directions of your kicks to give you something to tap. This helps you work on dynamic balance training as well as foot-eye coordination.  

Once you have this movement down, you can move on to Phase 4 of the dynamic Single-leg Stance Progression: reaches and head turns. 

Phase 4: Reaches and Head Turns

For Phase 4, start in your single-leg stance with a counter or chair nearby to steady yourself if needed. Without holding on to anything, reach one arm forward, retract it back, then do the same with the other arm to complete one repetition. Try to perform 10 reaches on each side to complete one set.

single-leg reach balance exercise

To vary this challenge, reach out to the side instead of forward. Eventually, you can try reaching forward and out to the side with both hands. 

balance exercise for seniors

You can make this dynamic balance training even more challenging by reaching forward with one hand while turning your head to the side. You’d alternate the movement by reaching forward with the other hand while turning your head to the other side. This provides a very dynamic balance exercise, all based on the Single-leg Stance you’ve now mastered.

improving balance for seniors exercise

Getting into a Routine of Better Balance for Seniors

I love both the static exercises and the dynamic balance exercises because they provide a variety of challenges, which is exactly what research says we need to improve balance. Best of all, the single-leg stance does it all, starting from a very simple movement to a very advanced balance exercise. No wonder it’s my go-to exercise for improving balance!

Of course, consistency is the key to results. You’ll need to perform the exercises every day for a few weeks in order to start seeing changes.

As a physical therapist, I know it can be tough getting into a routine of new exercises. You may not be sure if you’re doing enough—or too much. That’s why I put together a guide called 21 Days to Better Balance. It includes a workout calendar, day-by-day exercises, and all the information you need to improve your balance and strength.  

Tim Fraticelli DPT, MBA, CFP®

Tim Fraticelli is a Physical Therapist, Certified Financial Planner™ and founder of PTProgress.com. He loves to teach PTs and OTs ways to save time and money in and out of the clinic, especially when it comes to documentation or continuing education. Follow him on YouTube for weekly videos on ways to improve your financial health.