In this video, I'm going to show easy balance exercises for
seniors and beginners. Stay tuned!
Hey, everyone. Doctor Rowe coming to you from SpineCare in St.
Joseph, Michigan. In this video, we're going to go over
easy exercises that will help improve coordination and
overall body balance. All of these exercises, they hit the
body. They hit the muscles just a little bit differently. So,
make sure to go through them all and use what offers you the
best results. As a bonus, all of the exercises can be done at
home and they don't require any special equipment. In one
video, I'm going to be using a tennis ball but other than
that, no special equipment. So, let's get so here's a balance
exercise inspired by one of the most important movies of the
1980s, The Karate Kid and don't get me started on how Johnny
Lawrence was robbed so this one you're going to want to do next
to a wall a chair anything that you can grab on to for balance
the first movement what I'm going to do is just get used to
balancing on one leg drive the knee up as much as you can the
more it goes up the more challenging this will be you
want to hold this one for 10 to 15 seconds and if you do have a
lot of weakness or just a balances across the hip or the
pelvis, you're probably going to notice that your body will
sway or start to tilt towards one side. Try to keep it in
balance as much as you can. Also, focus on tightening the
core muscles too. It'll help build more support making this
a little bit easier but from there, what I'm going to do is
just go towards the other side and repeat. You want to do this
one for about three to five repetitions on both sides and
really focus on trying to drive that knee up as much as you can
but no high kicks like this. We're not trying to build into
that at all. To make this more challenging, what you can do is
close your eyes and do this and you'll notice that your body
actually, wow, I'm really having a lot of trouble with
this one is it's going to be more challenge to keep this
imbalance with your eyes closed. So, give that a try on
both sides and if you do notice that one side like let's say my
left right here is just a lot more challenging. It feels a
lot more weak. Build into it. Always focus on that weakness
because over time, it will help bring you more in balance. If
you want to this one to the next level, what we can then do
is get back into that position but take our arms off to our
sides and do circular motions. So, you can go clockwise,
counterclockwise. It will just target more muscles and force
your body to really keep this imbalance while you do it. So,
you can also write your name. You can do any movement you
like. From there, what I like to do is just do awkward
movements. Go off to the side, go diagonally, go in front, go
overhead, anything that you feel is just a little bit more
challenging because over time, it will definitely help just
improve your balance and if you are a brave soul, you can do
this with your eyes closed. Wow, that one's really, really,
really hard. So, go through all of those motions. If you think
that any of those positions work out a little bit more at
that point, spend some more time, throw some more
repetitions in. So, this balance exercise is what I call
the tennis ball method. We just need something like a tennis
ball but you can also use a handball, a bouncy ball,
anything that is and bounces. What I'm going to do is start
with very good upright posture. Put all of your weight on one
side, lift the other leg up. I'm going to slightly bend my
knee until I feel my leg muscles and my glutes start to
engage. From there, I'm going to take my tennis ball and do
what is known as an around-the-body pass. So, I'm
just passing the ball around just like this. Doesn't matter
what direction you start with because you're going to do it
on both. I like to do this for about 10 times and you're
really going to feel your body challenge to be kept upright
and all to balance on this leg. So, once we do 10 times, we're
going to switch to the other side and repeat to hit the
muscles just a little bit differently. From there, I'm
going to take this one to the next level by then bouncing the
ball on the floor and trying to catch it. This one is great
because it's going to build coordination and activate the
muscles in the upper body and the lower body. So, just get
used to balancing on your leg and then bouncing that ball
right in front of you and catching it and you might
want to do this one next to a wall too or a chair So, you can
use it if you have a lot of balance issues but I try to do
that for a couple times. From there, what I'm going to do is
then switch the placement. So, if I went straight ahead of me,
I'm going to go off to my side and then repeat this. So, I'm
going to go in different directions each time to
challenge myself to balance that movement. If you want to
make this one really challenging, let's see if I can
do this. What you're going to do is bounce it with one hand
and catch it in the other just like that. So, give that one a
try. Go through any positions and throw more repetitions in
on any that you think is more challenging and when you're
done on one side, always switch to the other to keep them both
in balance. One of my favorite balance exercises is the bird
dog. This one is great for building core, back, and leg
strength and it will also help quickly identify weakness in a
particular limb or off to one side. This one can be done
daily in bed or on a floor. Start on all fours like this.
I'm going to start with the easiest very of the bird dog
and then progress into more challenging ones. So, with the
first one, I'm going to tighten my core for a little bit more
support and then lift one arm up straight ahead just like
this. For most people, this one is going to be very, very easy
but if you do have balance issues or weakness off to one
side, your body may really be challenged to keep yourself in
balance so you might start to feel yourself sway a little
bit. Do the best you can to keep your shoulders and across
the hips level. Hold this position for 5 seconds, you're going to
relax and then repeat it on the other side. You want to hold
this one for five seconds on each side and then repeat 10 to
15 times. If you feel like you have a little bit more energy,
you can throw in another set or two. So, if this one is too
easy, let's progress into doing the same thing with our legs.
So, I'm going to keep the top of my foot flat and then slide
it away from me as much as I can. Kinda like pointing my
toes away from me. You're going to feel the cab muscles fire
into the back of the leg, the hamstrings, into the glutes.
So, really focus on feeling that. Once you do, you're going
to then raise your leg up until it's pointing straight away
from you. You're going to feel a ton fire into the core
muscles and also the glutes. Five-second hold, you're going
to relax and then, you're going to repeat it on the other side.
If you do have a lot of hip or pelvic imbalance or weakness,
you may notice that one side will start to sag real focus on
trying to keep it level across the hips and engage those
muscles. During this exercise too, if you do notice that one
side is more challenging, it just feels really tight, achy,
or weak. Focus on that. That's the side that is more or less
your weak link and you always want to challenge yourself to
activate those muscles to bring everything in balance. So, if
that one right there is a little bit too easy, we can
then progress into the full bird dog. So, the movement is
pretty much combining the arm and the leg but you're going to
alternate the sides. So, if I'm doing my right leg, I'm going
to lift up with my left arm and your body will really be
challenged with this one. I feel a ton firing into my abs.
Five-second hold, we're just going to relax and then repeat
it on the other side. If you really want to take this one to
the next level, we can then add in what is known as dynamic
movement to challenge the muscles just a little bit more.
So, with this one, let's with our leg I'm going to get back
into that leg bird dog but this time around I'm going to hold
it for five seconds and then I'm slowly going to swing it up
like this hold it for a couple seconds and then go back into
that position you'll notice that it hits the muscles just a
little bit differently and it challenges your body to keep
this in balance so give that a try on both sides if you really
want to make this the most challenging what you can do is
then alternate the other side's arm so what I'm going to do is
my elbow bended towards my knee like this at the same time in a
nice fluid motion. Wow, I really feel a lot of muscles
fire but I try to do that for roughly about 10 to 15
repetitions on both sides but give that a try and again,
focus on any spot or movement that feels weak. This balance
exercise is really good for the lower body. It's going to help
strengthen the back, the hips, the pelvis, and the legs. It's
known as star taps. We just need a stir chair for this one.
One without wheels. I'm going to be using the wrestler
special, the metal foldable chair. So, whatever side is
closest to the chair, you're going to put all of your body
weight onto the heel of that foot. Just use your hand right
here to balance on the chair. We want very good upright
posture. What I'm going to do is whatever side is closest to
the chair. I'm going to put all of my body weight on that foot
and then slowly bend my knee downward until I feel a deep
activation, the muscles start to fire in the legs and the
glute. The leg is going to go straight like this. So, this
bent knee, we're going to keep it locked. We're not going to
move through that leg. Instead, all the movement is going to go
in this other leg. What I'm going to do is just tap in
front of me with my foot. What you're going to notice is your
body is going to be challenged to balance this movement. I
like to do this for roughly about three to five times and
then, I'm just going to switch a little bit outwards with it
and do the same thing. You're going to notice it hits the
muscles just a little bit differently. So, the goal to go
all the way in front of you and then just do a nice complete
arc going off to your side right here and then working
your way backward until you can't go any further once you
can't go any further you're just going to work your way
back up in any of these positions if you feel like you
have a lot of weakness like the muscle is just really weak or
it's just really hard to control that movement that's
your weak link so you want to stop over that spot and throw
more repetitions in you can always focus on the weak spots
from there you can make this one little bit more challenging
by then trying to strengthen this bent knee a little bit
more so instead of this leg doing all the movement what I'm
going to do now is squat downwards with this knee so now
my other leg being kept straight is going to tap in
front of me this one is going to really really fire those
muscles into the leg and also the glute so again I do that
for about three to five times and then I just repeat that
whole process focusing on any spot that just feels very very
tight, weak, or it's just really hard to maintain. To
make this one more challenging, do this without the aid of the
chair and at that point, all of your muscles will be challenged
even further because they won't have the stability or the
support of that chair. So, give that a try and whatever you do
on one side, always switch to the other to keep them both
imbalance. If the exercises help, please support the
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watching!