Balance isn’t just for tightrope walkers or yogis. It’s a crucial component of overall fitness that enhances your ability to perform everyday tasks, from walking and climbing stairs to playing sports and lifting weights. Good balance can help prevent injuries, improve coordination, and boost physical performance. It’s an often-overlooked aspect of fitness that deserves more attention in your training regimen. That’s why we’ve rounded up some of the best balance exercises that reveal whether or not you’re in good shape.
Balance naturally declines as you age, increasing the risk of falls and injuries. Incorporating balance exercises into your routine can counteract this decline, enhancing your stability and overall quality of life. Whether you’re an athlete aiming to elevate your performance or want to move more confidently and securely through daily activities, working on your balance offers substantial benefits.
Ready to test your performance? These 10 balance exercises can help you assess and improve your stability, ensuring you’re in good, if not even great, shape. Each exercise challenges your balance differently, delivering a well-rounded approach to this essential fitness component.
If you can master these balance exercises, you’ll be well on your way to achieving better balance and overall fitness!
Single-leg Stand
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The single-leg stand is a fundamental balance exercise that tests your static balance and lower-body stability. It’s beneficial for identifying imbalances between your left and right sides.
This exercise engages the stabilizing muscles in your ankles, knees, and hips, promoting joint health and reducing the risk of injuries. Additionally, it enhances proprioception, which is your body’s ability to sense its position in space, which is crucial for maintaining balance and coordination in everyday activities and athletic pursuits.
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Stand tall with your feet together. Lift your right foot off the ground and bend your knee to form a 90-degree angle. Hold this position for 30 seconds to a minute without letting your hips tilt or your standing knee wobble. Switch to your left foot and repeat. To increase the difficulty, try closing your eyes or standing on an unstable surface like a foam pad.
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Tree Pose
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A staple in yoga, the tree pose improves static balance, focus, and proprioception and strengthens the muscles around your ankles and knees. By requiring you to balance on one leg while maintaining a specific posture, the tree pose enhances your mental concentration and mindfulness.
It encourages proper alignment and posture, which can translate to better overall body mechanics. Additionally, the tree pose stretches the groin, inner thighs, chest, and shoulders, contributing to flexibility and muscle balance.
Stand with your feet together and your arms at your sides. Shift your weight onto your left foot and place the sole of your right foot against your inner left thigh or calf (avoid placing it directly on the knee). Bring your hands together in front of your chest in a prayer position. Hold for 30 seconds to a minute, then switch sides. For an added challenge, extend your arms overhead or close your eyes.
Single-leg Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
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The single-leg RDL targets your hamstrings, glutes, and core while challenging your dynamic balance. It’s excellent for improving stability and strength in the posterior chain. This exercise enhances hip mobility and can help correct muscular imbalances that often lead to injuries.
By engaging your core muscles throughout the movement, the single-leg RDL promotes better posture and alignment, reducing the strain on your lower back. This exercise is particularly beneficial for athletes, as it mimics the movements required in many sports that involve running, jumping, and changing directions.
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Stand on your right leg with a slight bend in the knee. Hinge at your hips, extending your left leg straight behind you while lowering your torso toward the ground. Keep your back flat and your hips squared to the floor. Reach your hands toward the ground or hold a weight for added resistance. Return to the starting position and repeat for eight to 12 reps before switching legs.
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Split Squat
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The split squat enhances lower-body strength and balance, particularly in the quadriceps and glutes. It also helps improve hip mobility and stability. This exercise isolates each leg, allowing you to focus on developing unilateral strength, which can help correct muscular imbalances and improve overall leg strength.
By requiring you to stabilize your body in a split stance, the split squat engages your core muscles and promotes better balance and coordination. It’s a versatile exercise you can modify with weights or varying stances to target different muscle groups and intensities.
Start in a staggered stance with your right foot forward and left foot back, about two feet apart. Lower your body until your right thigh is parallel to the ground and your left knee nearly touches the floor. Keep your torso upright and your front knee aligned over your ankle. Push through your right heel to return to the starting position. Perform eight to 12 reps before switching legs.
Single-leg Squat to Box
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This exercise improves single-leg strength, balance, and coordination. It also helps identify and correct imbalances between your legs. You engage your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves by performing a controlled squat on one leg, enhancing lower body strength and stability.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e
The single-leg squat to box also challenges your core muscles to maintain proper alignment and balance, reducing the risk of lower back strain. This exercise can improve your performance in activities that require unilateral strength and stability, such as running, jumping, and changing directions.
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Stand on your right leg in front of a box or bench. Slowly lower yourself into a squat, lightly tapping your glutes on the box. Keep your left leg extended in front of you and your torso upright. Push through your right heel to return to the starting position. Perform six to 10 reps before switching legs. Start with a higher box and gradually decrease the height as you get stronger.
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Single-arm Plank
The single-arm plank challenges your core stability and upper-body strength and tests your ability to maintain balance with asymmetrical loading. Lifting one arm off the ground forces your core muscles, particularly the obliques and transverse abdominis, to work harder to stabilize your body.
This exercise also engages your shoulders, chest, and back muscles, promoting upper-body strength and endurance. The single-arm plank improves your coordination and balance, making it an excellent addition to any functional training routine.
Begin in a standard plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders and your body in a straight line. Lift your right hand off the ground and extend it straight before you or keep it by your side. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds, keeping your hips level and your core engaged. Switch to your left hand and repeat. To increase the difficulty, try lifting the opposite leg simultaneously.
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Suitcase Carry
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The suitcase carry tests your dynamic balance, grip strength, and core stability. It mimics carrying a heavy object in one hand, which requires significant stabilization. This exercise engages your obliques, shoulders, and grip muscles, promoting overall functional strength.
The suitcase carry also improves your posture by encouraging you to maintain an upright position while carrying an asymmetrical load. It’s a practical exercise that enhances your ability to perform everyday tasks, such as carrying groceries or lifting objects, with better balance and reduced risk of injury.
Hold a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in your right hand at your side. Stand tall with your shoulders back and your core engaged. Walk forward for 30 to 50 feet, maintaining an upright posture and avoiding leaning or twisting. Switch hands and repeat. Focus on keeping your steps controlled and even.
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Heel-to-Toe Walk
This exercise enhances dynamic balance and coordination, making it particularly useful for improving gait and stability. The heel-to-toe walk engages the muscles in your lower legs and feet, promoting strength and endurance in these areas.
This exercise challenges your proprioception and spatial awareness by requiring you to place one foot directly in front of the other, helping you maintain better balance and coordination. The heel-to-toe walk is an excellent exercise for older adults or anyone looking to improve their walking mechanics and reduce the risk of falls.
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Stand with your feet together. Step forward with your right foot, placing your heel directly before your left toe. Continue walking straight, placing each heel directly before the opposite toe. Keep your eyes forward and your arms at your sides or extended for balance. Perform for 20 to 30 steps.
Lateral Shuffle
The lateral shuffle improves lateral movement, agility, and dynamic balance. It’s excellent for athletes who need to move quickly in different directions. This exercise engages your hip abductors, adductors, and quadriceps, promoting strength and stability in these muscle groups.
The lateral shuffle also enhances cardiovascular fitness and coordination, making it an excellent addition to high-intensity interval training (HIIT). By improving your ability to move laterally, this exercise can enhance your performance in sports and activities that require quick direction changes, such as basketball, tennis, and soccer.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Shuffle to your right by pushing off your left foot and stepping your right foot to the side. Follow with your left foot, keeping your feet apart and your movements quick and controlled. Shuffle for 10 to 20 feet, then switch directions. Perform for 30 to 60 seconds.
Three-way Toe Taps
This exercise tests your balance and proprioception in multiple directions. It strengthens your ankles, calves, and core. Tapping your toes in different directions challenges your ability to maintain balance while shifting your weight, promoting better coordination and stability.
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The three-way toe taps engage your hip flexors, glutes, and lower leg muscles, enhancing overall lower-body strength and endurance. This balance exercise is particularly beneficial for improving your ability to perform multi-directional movements, such as those required in sports and daily activities.
Stand on your right leg with a slight bend in the knee. Tap your left toes forward, to the side, and then behind you, returning to the starting position after each tap. Keep your torso upright and your movements controlled. Perform eight to 12 taps in each direction before switching legs.
Now is the time to recommit to your health in time to feel your best for all your summer activities! One to One Fitness Center offers several ways to save in March.
Members of the Case Western Reserve University community can take advantage of sign-up specials designed to reward themselves for creating healthy habits.
Individuals can get 50% off the initiation fee (regularly $50 plus tax) and earn back what they do pay by exercising eight or more days in both April and May. Learn more online about this deal on initiation fees.
Students also can get additional savings:
Graduate students who are enrolled for the spring semester receive summer membership free.
With Spartan Shape Up memberships, affiliate students pay just $40 per month for membership from now through May, and no initiation fee or security deposit is required.
Students also can pay $44 plus tax per month with a month-to-month, ongoing plan. No initiation fee or security deposit required.
One to One Fitness Center, owned and operated by CWRU, is known for offering personal, professional, friendly and clean services. Memberships include full access to the 28,000-square-foot fitness center, group exercise classes, validated parking in Lot 53, towel and locker service, and member discounts on programs and services.
Members also can add their spouse or partner to their account for $30 plus tax per month. The center also offers personal training, Pilates Reformer, massage therapy and sound bath therapy, swim lessons, and more.
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Visit the One to One Fitness Center website, email onetoone@case.edu or call 216.368.1121 for more information.
To help you do this, we’ve tapped our Start TODAY experts for simple tips to lighten up meals, move in ways that boost metabolism and and refocus our mindset to get motivated to keep working toward your goals. Apply their strategies and finish the month feeling lighter, more energized and motivated to move forward. Here’s the plan to make it happen:
>>Download the 31-day calendar here
31-Day HIIT & Walking Challenge
This month’s workout plan is focused on short workouts that pack a punch. “HIIT workouts give you a bigger bang for your workout buck! They provide a more efficient workout because you’re alternating the pace and intensity rather than sticking to a steady, moderate pace,” says Mansour. “Changing things up with HIIT prevents boredom and keeps your muscles guessing. This is how we can get the body to change — whether that change is speeding up your metabolism, burning more calories, building muscle, losing weight, or just improving overall health — keeping your body guessing is the magic ticket to seeing results!”
Active recovery days include stretching to improve flexibility and walking for a cardiovascular workout that aids muscle recovery. When weather permits, Mansour encourages people to get outside on walking days. “Walking outdoors isn’t just a workout, it’s a chance to breathe in fresh air and get out of the house to change your environment,” she says. “Each time you go outside on a walk, even if you go on the same path, you’ll see or feel something different. Maybe it’s a change in weather, plants or flowers, people or things. Prioritizing taking your walk outside can hugely benefit your mental health. Getting out of your regular environment and into nature can be a form of meditation, too.”
Get the full 31-day workout plan with unique workouts sent to you daily — plus, walking podcasts, healthy spring recipes and mindfulness tools — in the Start TODAY app!
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Lighten up comfort food favorites by adding seasonal ingredients, like in this Spring Asparagus Pasta.
3 Simple Spring Diet Tips
In addition to mixing up your workout routine, use spring as an opportunity to start lightening up your meals by packing them with seasonal ingredients. Start TODAY dietitian Natalie Rizzo shares her top tips:
Incorporate more seasonal foods. After a long winter of eating the same foods, your palate is ready for a change! Aim to add at least one spring fruit or vegetable to your meals each day, like asparagus, peas, spinach, radishes, citrus or strawberries. This Spring Asparagus Pasta is a simple weeknight dinner that feels both light and comforting. Seasonal produce is fresher, more flavorful, and an easy way to naturally boost vitamins and fiber. Plus, seasonal produce is more affordable than other items in the produce section.
Use fresh herbs to brighten up your dishes. Fresh herbs like basil, cilantro, parsley, mint, or dill can instantly upgrade simple meals without extra salt or heavy sauces. Sprinkle them on salads, roasted veggies, eggs, soups, or grain bowls for a burst of spring flavor. Cilantro is the perfect finish to this Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato, while herbs are blended into cottage cheese in this Herby Cottage Cheese Toast with Tomato recipe for a pop of fresh flavor.
Shift from heavy comfort meals to balanced plates. As the weather warms up, it’s time to move away from heavy comfort foods and embrace lightened up spring dishes. Build plates with a mix of lean protein, whole grains or starchy veggies, and plenty of colorful produce. Think roasted veggie grain bowls, hearty salads like this BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad, or simple stir-fries instead of creamy casseroles or heavy stews.
A sprinkle of fresh cilantro is the perfect finish to this Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato.
Spring Clean Your Mindset with This Mental Health Exercise
Yes, we are working to propel ourselves forward toward our health goals, but an important part of that process is slowing down and reflecting.
Getting permission not to rush in a world that feels like it’s moving faster than we can keep up is a reminder that most of us need.
Yasmine Cheyenne, start TODAY mindfulness expert
“Getting permission not to rush in a world that feels like it’s moving faster than we can keep up is a reminder that most of us need, but how often would we admit that?” says Cheyenne. “ When the to-do list feels long, and we’re trying to get everything done, we often say the opposite, disregarding how we feel, and push ourselves. Yes, we all have deadlines and things that need to be done. But we also need the reminder to take care while handling our responsibilities.”
This can be easier said than done. So Cheyenne offers up a simple exercise to help: Write down the words you need to hear each day to make yourself a priority and work toward your goals. Put them somewhere you see often, like your fridge or bathroom mirror, and recite them out loud daily.
“This is a perfect example of a reminder that seems small, but can come at the perfect time and help us care for ourselves,” she explains. “One of my favorite examples is: Take it slow and don’t rush, your nervous system deserves peace.”
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“When you tell yourself the thing you’ve been needing to hear, it allows you to admit the quiet rumbling within you and take the steps you need. It might be admitting ‘I’m tired and will give myself an early night this week.’ Or you’re saying ‘I’m so proud of the way I’ve committed to moving my body everyday.’ Whether you’re cheering yourself on or reminding yourself of what you need, we don’t always slow down enough to hear what we need from ourselves, and this practice is a great way to start.”
Talking out loud to yourself may feel strange at first, but Cheyenne says over time it will help shift your mindset and translate those words into action. “When we hear ourselves recite these words, it’s like we’re planting positive seeds within us. The more we say what we need, the more we remember it, and we’re more likely to follow through and care for ourselves,” she says. “Our actions really start with the words we say to ourselves. Reading them out loud helps us rewire the way we talk to ourselves and that inner shift is exactly what opens the door to transformation.”
Join our live “Spring Reset Workshop” on March 22 to get one-on-one coaching from Yasmine Cheyenne and connect with other Start TODAY members. Sign up here!
If you’ve ever wanted to lose weight, you’ve probably heard the phrase ‘calories in versus calories out’. While it’s true to a degree, losing weight in menopause isn’t about eating less, but rather eating differently.
Speaking to fitness coach Loretta Hogg, Dr Stacy Sims says: “One of the first things that women often do, because we grew up in an era of calories in, calories out, less calories means fat loss. That is not true because if you are not eating enough, your body holds on to fat.”
This is called the ‘starvation response’, and it’s the body’s way of protecting itself when food is restricted. Metabolism slows down, hunger hormones increase, and fat stores are preserved for survival.
“Staying adequately fuelled” and strength training regularly is what’s actually needed to lose weight while managing our hormone levels in menopause. “When we’re looking at how we’re going to budge some of the meno-pot, we really want to focus on getting strong and building that muscle because if we are working on muscle and our whole focus is muscle and bone, then we end up eating accordingly.”
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Fibre and protein are the food groups to focus on, she says. They are filling, aid muscle growth (and so help maintain a healthy metabolism), help reduce food cravings, and provide us with the key nutrients our body needs when oestrogen levels fall.
We know there’s a huge market for protein powders, bars and other supplements, but actually, most of us can get what we need from eating high-protein foods.
The amount of protein you need in menopause depends on your weight. “The recommended protein intake for women over 45 is approximately 1 to 1.5g of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, which is higher than the general recommendation for younger adults,” Dr Nadira Awal, a Doctify-rated GP who specialises in women’s health and menopause, previously told woman&home. You can work out your personal recommendation using menopause specialist Dr Mary Claire Haver’s perimenopause protein calculator.
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Dr Sims says many women are “afraid of abundance” when it comes to eating, but emphasises that “without abundance we can’t lose fat”. “Let’s change the focus on not what we want to lose, but what we want to gain. We want to gain bone, we want to gain muscle. We want to fuel for that, so then the body fat comes off,” she tells Loretta.
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Dr Sims says the best way for us to gain this muscle and bone growth is through strength training. “We need to focus on heavy lifting,” she explains in another video on her Instagram account. “The caveat here is that most perimenopausal women haven’t had a long history in strength training, and it’s a learned skill.” She says consistency is key, and starting off small, even just focusing on movement without weights, before you start adding some load. “But the goal is to get into heavy resistance training, where we have low reps with a heavy weight,” she says.
Dr Sims says it’s “absolutely safe” for women to lift heavy during perimenopause and menopause – and it’s something we should all be doing. She is keen to emphasise that it’s never too late to start, and that “what matters is your form and your function”.
If you’re new to lifting weights, try a simple dumbbell workout at home and work your way up from there. If you have the means, consult a personal trainer for guidance on developing a workout plan.
Sleep is another lifestyle aspect that Dr Sims says says may affect how you lose weight. She says poor sleep “creates metabolic disturbance and dysfunction and increases fat gain”. Improving our sleep quality can lead to body composition improvements in as little as two to three weeks. High levels of cortisol, caused by poor sleep and ongoing stress, also makes fat loss harder as our bodies hold onto energy rather than using it.
Some key ways to improve sleep include going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, limiting blue light exposure at bedtime, and cutting down on your alcohol and caffeine intake.
