No More Physical Therapy
If you are a senior and are currently in the process of doing physical therapy or are about to start it, I’m guessing that you probably want to finish it as quickly as possible. One of the crucial aspects for most seniors who go to physical therapy is improving their balance through specific agility and quickness exercises, in the goal of reducing the risk of falls. This article will detail some of the best standing agility exercises that seniors can do to improve their balance and finish physical therapy quickly. And if you master every single exercise, you may never have to go back to physical therapy ever.
Standing Agility Exercises for Seniors
Tightrope Walk
The first agility exercise will be a quick tightrope walk. This exercise has your feet starting in a heel to toe position, alternating tapping one forward and backward as quickly as possible, while the other foot stays stable. Make sure to do these as fast as possible, and repeat the movements on both legs.
Quick Step Over
Next we have the quick step over. For this exercise, start with both feet touching and close together. Next, you will take one foot, bring it across the other foot, tap the ground, and quickly return the foot into the starting position. Make sure to repeat on both legs, and hold onto something if you need to.
Heel to Toe Fast Walk
Although those exercises are great, the heel to toe fast walk is arguably even better. For this exercise, start with both feet together and have a space about 5-10 feet in front of you. Next, you will quickly walk in a “heel to toe” fashion down the length of space in front of you, turn around, and complete it the other way.
Enjoying The Exercises?
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Balance Beam Walk
These next exercises will use a small balance beam. I personally use a 2*4 piece of wood in the video, but I do recommend a soft balance beam as it’s much more comfortable (link below.) For the balance beam walk. Start with both feet heel to toe on the balance beam. You will then alternate tapping your one foot forward and backward quickly, while the other foot stays stable. Make sure to repeat on both legs, before trying the last exercise.
SOFT BALANCE BEAM
Foot Arch Walk
One of the most challenging balance beam exercises will be the foot arch walk. For this one, stand on the balance beam on the side so the arches of your feet are the only thing on the balance beam. Next, you will quickly shuffle left and right. Be careful with this one, and have something near you to grab onto in case you need it.
If you want more balance work, you can start out our 21 days to better balance program we created below, or you can check out this other article I made giving you a few other agility exercises to keep you steady.
Agility Drills for Seniors – Reduce Falls and Improve Quickness (Balance Pad Exercise)
When it comes to the common health and fitness concerns I address in older adults, reducing the risk of falls is always on the top of the objective list. Whether it is due to frequently falling in the past, or being afraid of falling in the future, the need to improve balance and overall steadiness…
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