When I am working with older adults, they are often highly concerned about having proper balance. More specifically, many of them want to improve steadiness on their feet and ultimately reduce the risk of falling for themselves. Because of this, I provide a large variety of ways for them to challenge their balance and improve how they feel on their feet. Part of reducing the risk of falls is also being quick enough to catch your body from falling. Due to this, I also add numerous quickness drills for the older adults I work with to help assist them in improving quickness and overall speed in their body. Let’s take a look at a few simple drills to improve agility and quickness in seniors.

Equipment Used

All of the drills that we will describe below, will also be available to watch on the video above that was filmed. If you are confused on what is being said, it would be highly recommended to consult the video for extra assistance. When doing the exercises, try to complete them as quickly as possible, under control. They will tire you out quickly, so work as long as you can. In addition to this, the exercises that we are doing in the video and will describe are ball tap variations. We recommend using a medicine ball, but any object you can tap with your feet will do just fine. We also use a sturdy adjustable weight bench to do the seated exercises on in the video. Lastly, you will see a walker used for stability on the standing exercises. For all of our equipment recommendations, feel free to check out the products we use in the video on Amazon, below:

Walker from video: https://amzn.to/3PqOz1a

Medicine Ball: https://amzn.to/3SGSN7z

Weight Bench from Video: https://amzn.to/3oEsLnB

Agility Drills for Seniors

Seated Side Taps

The first exercise will involve placing both feet to the side of the medicine ball. Then, bring one leg up to touch the top of the ball, and then bring the leg down to the other side. Then, bring the other leg up to touch the top of the ball, and have that leg come to the other side as well. Repeat going back and forth on the ball.

Seated Forward Taps

This exercise is slightly easier than the first one. You will have the ball starting in front of your feet. Next, bring one foot up to touch the top of the ball, and then return the foot back into the starting position. Then, repeat the same movement with the other foot.

Standing Side Taps

This exercise is the same as the first one we did, but standing. This will increase the difficulty on your balance quite a bit. Make sure to hold on to something in case you need it.

Standing Forward Taps

This exercise is similar to the seated forward taps, but standing. Again, tread with caution as this exercise is much more difficult of variation since you will be standing.

Shuttle

For this exercise, start with the medicine ball in a set position on the ground. Then, set a marker or area about 10-15 feet away from the medicine ball. Then, you will start standing on your marked area away from the ball. Finally, you will shuffle your feet as quickly as possible to grab the ball, and then shuffle back to the starting position and place the ball down. Repeat numerous times.

These are just a few of many great agility exercises for seniors. If you experience pain with any of the movements, stop them immediately. Good luck on your balance practice, and keep it up!

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