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Seniors' Top 3 Exercises To Master Walking & Balance
- chelsie462
- Aug 12
- 8 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/aTy2CjG60gc.
Mike: You're walking funny.
Brad: Yeah, well, it's a problem. I've got issues with waddling as well as my balance. So if you're having and feeling anything like this, we're going to show you a whole system of how you can improve your walking and your balance with similar exercises. Mike, you have more on how to put that together. My words are losing it.
Mike: I guess. We have the three best exercises to help improve your coordination, your proprioception, which is a fancy word for balance essentially, and some neurological benefits with all these exercises to improve your walking and balance.
Brad: Right, all in three exercises.
Mike: All right, the first exercise we're going to do is actually to target and strengthen the glute max muscle. Brad's going to show it on the wall here in a second, as well as stretch out your hip flexor muscle at the same time, and you're going to get a little bit of balance in there as well.
Brad: Right, this really focuses on if you know that you're hunched forward when you walk, this is going to help stretch out the right muscles, strengthen the ones that are going to get you up, and then a little balance. I'll show you that. So you just go up to any wall, both hands on the wall, feet about a shoulder width apart, and think about posture. So you're going to bring your shoulders back, head up, good posture, not rounded forward. And then with one leg, you're going to go straight back like this. You're going to feel that glute muscle. If you want to put one hand on it to feel it, you'll feel that glute muscle kick in. We really want to work on that. That also positions the hip and the socket properly for decreased chances of arthritis. Just a little benefit there. So we're going to do that 10 times on each leg, and I'm going to push up and back, stretching out that front, pulling the shoulders back if you have those rounded shoulders, good time to think about that.
Brad: There's a lot to think about, but just think about bringing the chest forward and the leg back. Everything else takes care of itself. Now, to add a balance benefit to this, simply go to one hand. You can put the other hand down by your side and do this. If it still feels easy, go to two fingertips or to one fingertip and do it, and your balance will be challenged as well. And do 10 on each side, two or three sets of 10 of each will work. And I already feel the change in my posture from doing that. I feel like I'm up in this position, which is what you want to feel.
Mike: So the second exercise we're going to do is called hip abduction. We're going to be doing this in a standing position. We'll show how beginners can do it to be more advanced. And what this exercise does is actually strengthen the outside of your hip muscles, known as your glute medius and minimus. They keep you upright when you're walking. If you have issues with the Trendelenberg gait or you really sidestep when you're walking, this can help those muscles out.
Brad: All right.
Mike: So, for beginners, hold onto something for support. It can be a cane, a countertop, a wall, etc. You're going to begin by standing on one leg. I have a slight bend in my knee, and I'm going to kick directly out to the side. When I'm doing this, my toe is pointing straight ahead, not rotating out to the side. I'm also not leaning over to the side to get more height. We want to target this muscle. You need to try to keep a nice neutral pelvis, tall posture throughout. Try to do 10, 15 repetitions of this. Once you do one leg, make sure to switch and work the other side.
Mike: Your glute med. is actually firing to kick out to the side as well as keeping me in the upright position. If the right side is really weak and I kick out and lean way over, I probably have a really weak glute med. on the right side.
Brad: That's right. Now, if you want to help incorporate and add a balance challenge to this, if you're using the wall and like I am here, it's working really well, it's keeping me upright and strengthening the right muscle. I'm doing it slowly, toes upward and forward. Simply go down to maybe one fingertip on the wall, and that's going to increase and challenge your balance. And you know, you may be able to try doing this hands at your hips. That really makes a difference. And again, I think Mike mentioned a slight bend in the knee of the leg that is weight-bearing. That makes a big difference, strengthens the right muscles, and works the balance a little bit more.
Brad: Mike, if they need even more challenge with strength and resistance.
Mike: You can add a resistance band. You could also use a cuff weight if you happen to have one to throw on your ankle at home. With bands, you want to make sure they are roughly under your arches so it doesn't fly out on you. To add more resistance, simply pull up more or get a harder band. Again, same exact positions, and I'm just kicking out to the side. You're gonna notice the bands may be harder, so maybe start with eight to 10 repetitions to begin with, work up to 15 over time. Once you do one side, switch to the other, you may notice a difference from side to side, so maybe work a little bit more on the weaker issues.
Brad: That's right. If you have loop bands, they work really well. Okay, let's go to number three. All right, now the last exercise focuses on the ankle range of motion and the strength of your ankle. Particularly if you find yourself when you swing through, and you get what we call foot drop or toe drag is a really good way to have a stumble or a fall. So we want to make sure we have enough ankle range of motion or dorsiflexion.
Brad: That muscle must be tight enough; the muscles in the back need to be stretched out enough. This exercise specifically hits that and strengthens the ankle at the same time. It all works together for a great balance and walking. Show them how to do it, Mike.
Mike: So the first one is going to target the front shin muscles, known as your tibialis anterior. With this one, place your back flat against the wall, bring your feet out a little bit. With this one, you actually want to have straight knees; do not bend them, and we're simply going to do toe raises. So I'm going to raise my toes up towards my knees. For this, I would recommend wearing shoes personally. Socks, you might slip out, and it gets kind of hard on your heels because you're specifically pushing on them so hard. Again, do 10, 15 repetitions of this if this feels easy.
Mike: Now we need to work the opposite side, so our calf muscles here. To do that, we're going to face the opposite way, hold onto a wall. For beginners, definitely start with both legs. Try to go up as high as you comfortably can and then slow and controlled back down. Don't just drop down.
Brad: Look at those calves on that guy. Holy cow, you've been doing something with them.
Mike: They moo a little bit. So, what we're going to do is just go up to 10, 15 repetitions. If you feel strong and this is easy, you can certainly try it on one leg.
Brad: Right. Now, if you want to go to even a more advanced balance aspect of this is do it without, maybe just a cane or a stick, and go up on your toes and then back.
Brad: Word of warning, this backwards motion is really good to do, but it challenges your balance, and you could fall backwards. So have a chair or a bed behind you so that if you do do this and you get like this, the worst that happens is you sit down. Be very careful. That is not necessary to do. There may be some people who want to challenge themself, but even then, be safe. You know, I've always learned the hard way, and anyway, we don't want to get into that. So, anything else, Mike?
Mike: We like to make things hard on ourselves.
Brad: All right, very good. Let's get on with the outro. Is that what we're going to do?
Mike: Well, yeah, if you want to check out more videos on how to improve your walking, check out our video, "How To Stop Walking Hunched Over! 5 Best Fixes."
Brad: Yes.
Mike: So, if you feel like you're stuck forward and you can't get out of that habit, this video could help.
Brad: That's right. It's kind of interesting because you probably don't know you're hunched over; only a family member or a rude stranger will say you're looking pretty hunched over when you walk or you see yourself in a video.
Mike: I know some people that way. I should be rude, I guess, and tell them.
Brad: That's right. It's for their benefit.
Mike: Yeah.
Brad: Take care. Have a good day.
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