Quickness and Agility Exercises for Seniors (Reduce Falls)

Improving the overall quality of life in seniors encompasses a lot of different things. It could be getting better nutrition, better finances, etc. One of the things that I help numerous seniors with is balance and agility. Agility is the ability to move quickly, which is incredibly important in reducing the risk of falls. The best way to address this concern is through targeted exercise designed specifically to help improve quickness. The following description below, in addition to the video above, will outline a few agility exercises you can do to help reduce the risk of falls. In the video, we do use an ankle resistance band, which you can browse with our Amazon Associate link here. In addition to this, most of the exercise I highly encourage you to move as quickly as possible. The purpose of these drills is to move quickly, to help catch yourself from falls. If you don’t practice moving quickly, it won’t matter when it really counts (out in the real world.) Follow ALL exercises carefully otherwise you might never improve and ultimately keep falling in your normal life.

Quickness and Agility Exercises

Side Shuffle

The first two exercise are seated. For side shuffles, start with the band around your ankles. Next, reach far to the left with one leg, and then bring it back to the middle. Repeat on the other leg, and then bring it back to the middle. Repeat numerous times until you are tired.

Monster Walks

For monster walks, start with the band around your ankles. Next, reach one foot forward as far as you can, with the other foot following behind it. Next, bring the foot you started with back towards you, with the other foot following again. Do multiple times until you are tired, and make sure that you switch whichever leg you lead with for equal balance.

Forward and Backward Reach

The last three exercises will be standing, so make sure you have a sturdy object placed next to where you are standing. For this exercise, have the ankle bands around your ankles. Next, you will take a large step in front of you with one leg. Then, quickly bring that same leg back behind you for another large steps. Do multiple times until you are tired, and make sure to switch legs.

Diagonal Reaches

For this exercise, start with the band on your ankles. Next, take a step with one of your feet at a forty five degree angle. After that, bring the foot back to the starting position, and repeat on the other leg. Do multiple times, until you get tired.

Banded Marches

This is one of my favorite exercises for improving agility and leg strength. For this exercise, you will need to start with the band around the arches of your feet, instead of around your ankles. Next, you will reach one knee up towards the sky as high as possible, and then quickly bring it back down. Repeat on the other leg, going back and forth numerous times.

These are a few of many great agility exercises you can do to improve your speed and quickness to help reduce falls. Practice them daily for the best results! If you are interested in checking out a few other low impact programs we have made, feel free to see them below. You can also purchase an ankle band if you still need one with our Amazon Associate link here.