It’s been almost a year ago now since I introduced my monthly fitness challenge. I explained my “inspiration” and why I think it’s so important to do strength work ESPECIALLY as we age. (You can read all about that here.)
So. How are you doing? By now, I hope you’re having some success with my challenges. Keep up the good work. Every day! (And if you haven’t started yet? Well. You can begin today!)
Today’s challenge . . . is a little test.
Not much of a test; don’t freak out. It’s just a little one. (But important.)
Challenge #12 – How’s your balance?
For the next few months, my monthly fitness challenges are going to shift a little: they’ll focus specifically on balance for a while. So to get you primed and ready, let’s just see how you’re doing, balance-wise, with this 10-second balance test.
Can you balance on one leg for 10 seconds? You can leave your eyes open, but you can’t hold onto a chair or table or the wall to do it. (You should have one nearby, though. Just in case.) Now, try it again on the other leg.
Photo credit: Sarah Karlan for The New York Times
Whether you can “pass” the test successfully or not . . . isn’t really the point. It’s just to give you an idea of “where you are” today. We all need to work on our balance, and especially as we age.
Balance impacts our quality of life — and our longevity, too, it turns out (recent study results here). The National Institutes of Health reports that every year in the US, one in three people over age 65 will experience a fall. Falls, of course, are serious at any age — but they’re especially dangerous for us as we get older, when fractures can cause potentially serious and long-lasting health problems.
For most adults, our balance actually starts to decline long before we notice it — between the ages of 40-50. Why? There are lots of reasons! Some of it is just age-related, some is related to health conditions, and a lot of it is . . . well . . . a use-it-or-lose-it thing.
- Muscle mass begins to decline faster every year as we age, which impacts our strength and stamina.
- Reflexes and coordination decline as we age, which impacts our ability to react quickly.
- Cells in our vestibular system (the system in our inner ear that helps us perceive and adjust for changes in balance) begin to die off as we age, which affects our ability to right ourselves when we need to.
- Medical conditions (vision issues, changes in blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease . . . just to name a few) and various medications can also impact our balance.
“There’s a downward spiral of the people who don’t go out, who don’t walk, who don’t exercise, who don’t do balance training, and they become weaker and weaker. And muscle weakness is another important risk factor for falls.”
—Dr. Lewis Lipsitz, professor of medicine at Harvard University and the director of the Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, as quoted in The New York Times
While it’s impossible to prevent some age-related decline, we can counteract the impact on our balance through specialized training and strength-building. Over the next few months, my Monthly Fitness Challenges will focus specifically on balance-enhancing activities.
So this month, let’s get ready. Give yourself the 10-second balance test . . .
Try it.
See what happens.
And then join me here next month where we’ll continue to work on our balance!
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(For now, most of these links will whisk you back to Stepping Away From the Edge. I’m working at transferring them over to my new space, but it hasn’t happened yet. Bear with me.)
Previous Get Strong Monthly Fitness Challenges:
Challenge #9 — Try this 10 minute beginners yoga once a week for a month.
Challenge #8 — Give yourself a couple of hugs (every day).
Challenge #7 — Pay attention to how you walk. (With every step.)
Challenge #6 — Get your feet off the ground! (And make it an everyday practice.)
Challenge #5: Get down on the floor. And then get back up again! (And make it an everyday practice.)
Challenge #3: Increase your physical activity every day.
Challenge #1: Strengthen Your Lower Body by Doing Body Weight Squats . . . All Day Longmost
My balance is so awful – I say I look up I fall down! So important to work on this – looking forward to your tips! xo
I can do it! A little shaky, but I’m actually surprised I can do it. (I was better when I was doing Yoga regularly.) Aside from Yoga, Tai Chi is another practice that really helps with balance. Thanks so much for these posts Kym. I really enjoy them.
I’m better at balance than I am at some of the more physical challenges. I had an ankle tendon injury over a decade ago and the physical therapist was all about balance. He told me to stand on one leg while I was brushing my teeth with my eyes closed and I’ve practiced this daring feat almost every day since then. I’m looking forward to more balance-enhancing in the coming months!
I can do it! (Better with my right leg down than my left… that left hip is a problem child!)
Carole shared that the yoga she is doing has bits for … ummm, more rounded people… I am signing up today and adding that to my daily “fill” list!
I can do it, but I wouldn’t say my balance doing other things is always all that great. I’ll be looking forward to seeing what you have to say about improving balance.
Have a great weekend.
I can do it, but I do it much better with shoes on than when I’m barefooted. Since I’m right handed, I’m more steady when standing on my left leg.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Like Bonny, I work on balance while brushing my teeth, usually easier in the morning, than after a beer or two in the evening… ;-), but have fallen off the practice of YWA and just got back to it on Wednesday. I find regularly doing her workouts help me balance better in all postures.
Glad you posted this today. I have been thinking about your foot strike walking advice all week (it’s finally getting cool enough to take the babies out for a morning stroll {power walk for me, double stroller for them} after they get here) and I wanted to brush up on the technique. Was going to search your site, but the link was right here in this post. Thank you!!
I am keenly aware of just how dangerous a fall can be as we get older; when my grandmother fell and broke her hip, she was already experiencing some cognitive issues, but after her surgery, it was like the anesthesia never cleared her system — it really precipitated her decline. I just tried the balance test and was fine, but I’ll keep trying it and keep an eye on my balance, particularly as I know I have a family history of wobbliness (we always said that my other grandmother couldn’t walk by a doorway without bumping into it).
If there’s one thing I learned after working at the COA, it’s the importance of NOT falling. Balance is something I’m still pretty good with, Dale has struggled with it since his accident unfortunately.
The worst part of keeping balance has been my reaction time. I just can’t recover as quickly as I used to and so, DOWN I go. The little Arthrofit gym I go to has a focus on balance and I’ve been working hard to recover what’s lost. It’s going to be my secret to life. Thank you, Kym.