Better balance can improve your coordination and help prevent accidents. By working certain muscles used to help keep you stable – you can develop more strength and prevent falls. The exercises in this article were created to help stabilize the hips, work the glutes and build core strength. Before you try any of these, ask your doctor if it is safe for you to do so.

When you perform these movements, try and control your breathing and focus on good posture. If the exercises are too easy, try and mix things up to give yourself more of a challenge. You can do things like increase the amount of reps, add weights or focus on posture.

Single Leg Stance

This is a great exercise to begin with. Have a chair ready. Place both of your hands on the back of the chair to keep your balance and stand on one leg. This is will help you gauge your center of gravity. The purpose of this is to help you evenly distribute weight over your ankles.

Do this on each leg for 5 seconds. The idea is to gradually work your way up to an entire minute on one leg. If that becomes too easy, try using just one hand. Eventually you may be able to do this with no hands.

  • With your arms at your sides, stand with your feet together.
  • Use the chair to maintain your balance. You can use one or two arms.
  • Lift one of your legs up on the floor.
  • Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds, then switch.

Clock Stretch

To prevent falling, be sure to brace yourself onto a chair or something solid when doing this exercise to keep from falling. Never reach any farther than feels comfortable. Stop immediately if you experience pain or discomfort.

  • Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and hold onto the chair with your left hand.
  • Imagine there is a clock on the floor with the 12 being directly in front of your chest, and the 6 directly behind your back.
  • Lift one leg so that you are balancing on one leg.
  • Extend your arm from the 3 o’clock position to 6 o’clock.
  • Repeat this on the other side.
  • If you can’t stretch that far don’t worry, just do as much as you can without straining.

Eye Tracking

You may already know that your eyes have a significant impact on balance. Don’t believe me? Try standing on one leg with your eyes closed. This movement will work your vestibular system and your vision. If you become dizzy, stop doing this exercise immediatly. This is quite common and you may be able to give it another try using smaller head movements.

  • Bend your elbow and place your thumb in front of your face. Kind of like you are painting a self-portrait.
  • Move your thumb to the left and follow it with your eyes while keeping your head still.
  • Steadily move your thumb as far to the side as you can while remaining comfortable.
  • Try this for a few minutes every day. There are many different ways to try this exercise. Just keep your head still and track your movements with your eyes.

Balancing Wand

This is a simple and entertaining exercise. Take a golf club, cane or anything else that can be used as a wand you have lying around the house. Try to look forward when doing this exercise.

  • Sit down in a chair.
  • Hold the wand in your hand. Put the wand in your palm with your other hand.
  • Let go and keep your focus on the top of the wand while you try to keep it from falling.
  • Be careful not to fall out of your chair.