Exercise goals tend to be fairly uniform among most people; lose weight, build muscle, grow stronger, get faster. Improved balance is less likely to be on your fitness wish list, but it should be. Better balance both improves your physical capacity – allowing you to live a longer, better life – and reduces your risk of injury. A recent study confirmed that falls are a leading cause of mobility difficulties, and found they affected 548.8 million people worldwide in 2021 alone.
Falls are also the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, according to a 2021 World Health Organisation report, with adults aged 60 and above suffering the greatest number of fatal falls. A separate 2024 review, published in the Ageing and Disease journal, found that “balance problems or dizziness are common among older adults”, with muscle weakness, decreased joint mobility, changes in bone density and neurodegenerative disease all listed among possible contributing factors.
However, in many cases, age-related decline in balance can be combatted through training and exercise – whatever age you start, it is likely to help. Helen O’Leary, a physiotherapist at Complete Pilates, and certified pilates instructor Tara Riley explain how you can incorporate this type of training into your weekly routine.
What is balance and how do you improve it?
“Balance is the ability to maintain an upright position in the face of a disturbance to your equilibrium,” says O’Leary. “It is something we are constantly using but mostly unaware of.”
Balance is regulated by three interconnected systems: the vestibular system, the visual system and the musculoskeletal (or somatosensory) system.
O’Leary describes the vestibular system as “the body’s internal spirit level”, relying on the movement of fluid within a set of canals in the inner ear to detect changes to the position of your head.
The visual system constantly feeds information to the brain about where your body is in space, based on what you can see, while the musculoskeletal system depends on receptors in your tendons, ligaments and muscles to detect pressure, stretch and load.
“These tiny receptors are particularly rich in the feet and ankles, which have a really important role in helping us to balance,” O’Leary adds. “Anyone who has sprained an ankle will likely find this ability is significantly impaired, which can result in poor ankle stability and recurrent strains. Consequently, retraining balance is a key part of physical rehabilitation following foot and ankle injuries.”
A lack of balance only becomes apparent when this attribute is challenged – walking on uneven ground or bumping into someone in the street, for example. To prepare for these eventualities, it pays to train and maintain your balance. You can do this by strengthening your body and exposing yourself to unstable environments in a controlled setting.
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Balance problems are common among older adults, but this attribute can be maintained through appropriate exercises and training (Getty/iStock)
Read more: The science-backed exercise method that can help fight the effects of ageing
Balance: the missing piece of the puzzle in your fitness plans
“Many training plans lean hard into the extremes; chasing strength and forgetting mobility, or focusing on flow and flexibility without foundational support,” says Riley. “Real, sustainable movement lies somewhere in between for most people.
“Balance is about nurturing the relationship between stability and mobility. If you’re working flexibility without strength, you risk instability. And if you’re working strength without mobility? You become rigid and restricted.”
As we age, we naturally stop testing our balance in everyday life, too.
“Children are constantly challenging their balance with play and sporting skills, but as we get older, we tend to move away from this type of movement and either adopt a sedentary lifestyle or focus on other fitness activities,” O’Leary says. “We may not even notice that our balance is deteriorating over time.”
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After childhood, opportunities to test and develop our balance in our day to day lives often become less frequent (Getty/iStock)
How to test your balance
To know how to train your balance, it helps to know your starting point. Below, O’Reilly shares a selection of easy tests to assess both your static and dynamic balance. If you score poorly, start with static balance exercises like simply standing on one leg. If you perform well, you might want to try some of the more advanced and dynamic balance-boosting exercises at the bottom of the page.
Test one: static balance
Stand on one leg. Hold this position for as long as you can, then repeat on the other side.
“A 2007 study by Springer et al, looking at normative values for a single-leg balance, suggested that the average adult aged between 18 and 39 was able to balance for about 45 seconds, while in the over-70 age group, the average balance was about 21 seconds,” O’Leary says.
She recommends taking note of your “balance quality” too – were you able to stand relatively still, or did you wobble from side to side, claw at the ground with your toes and rely on moving your arms for added stability? If you fall into the second camp, you can work on this using the accessible drills below. You can also repeat the test with your eyes closed for further insights, if it is safe to do so.
“This will remove the visual system input to your brain,” says O’Leary. “It is normal to struggle a little more to balance with your eyes closed, but if you are significantly more unstable or cannot remain upright, this gives you a clue that your proprioceptive system [the body’s ability to sense movement and where it is in space] may need more training.”
Test two: dynamic balance
Put your socks on without sitting down.
The “old man test” went viral on TikTok recently, challenging people to put their shoes and socks on while balancing on one leg. There is some merit in this seemingly trivial task.
“This is a simple, functional test that is relevant to everyone: standing on one leg while putting your pants or socks on,” O’Leary says. “It is a great marker of your balance that you can monitor throughout your lifetime.”
Test three: the star balance test
Place several markers on the floor in a circle around you. Stand on one leg in the centre of the circle. Reach out to each marker in turn with your non-standing leg, trying to reach as far as you can towards each one. If your balance is good, you may need to squat on the standing leg to extend your reach.
“The star balance test is frequently used for higher-level balance training – often after a knee or ankle injury, and often in sportspeople,” O’Leary says.
“It will challenge your balance in different directions. You can measure how far you get to each marker, or how many markers you can reach before losing your balance.”
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Strength training can improve proprioception and strengthen tissues such as muscles, bones, ligaments and tendons, translating to better balance (Getty/iStock)
Read more:
Easy ways to improve your balance
Strength training will strengthen your bones, muscles and other bodily tissues such as ligaments and tendons, improving your balance by maintaining a healthy musculoskeletal system. But you can also protect this attribute with balance-specific training.
“The simplest place to start is static balance [holding an unstable, stationary position],” O’Leary says. “But we also need to train dynamic balance [staying upright in an unstable environment while moving] because this is more specific and relevant to how we use our balance in everyday life.”
Below, Riley and O’Leary share a few accessible exercises you can slip into your daily routine:
Practise standing on one leg while brushing your teeth – switch legs halfway. Every time you wait for a kettle to boil, lift one knee or repeatedly rise onto your toes slowly then lower your heels back down to the ground. Employ “mindful transitions” – for example, stand up from your chair without using your hands. Try walking barefoot, particularly on grass and uneven surfaces, if there is an opportunity to do so. Incorporate more unilateral, or single-limb, exercises into your strength training sessions – think split squats, lunges and single-leg deadlifts.
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Simple activities such as standing on one leg and walking barefoot can benefit your balance (Getty/iStock)
Best exercises for developing balance
If you are in the market for more formal balance-based exercises, Riley and O’Leary have listed their top exercise recommendations below.
Heel-toe stand
Sets: 1 Reps: 30 seconds on each side Rest: –
Stand with one foot right in front of the other, heel to toe. Now turn your head from side to side – “this is more difficult than it looks,” O’Leary warns.
Alphabet Balance
Sets: 1 Reps: As many as possible Rest: –
Stand on one leg. With the other leg, trace the letters of the alphabet in the air. Attempt to get through all the way from A to Z.
Leg Swings
Sets: 3 Reps: 30 seconds on each side Rest: –
Stand on one leg. Swing your other leg forwards and backwards, gradually increasing the speed until you start to feel off balance. At this point, stop, then repeat the process, first while swinging your raised leg from side to side, and then while drawing circles with your foot out to one side.
Kettlebell around the World
Sets: 1 Reps: 10 in each direction Rest:
Stand on one leg. Hold a light kettlebell in your right hand in front of your hips, with your arm extended toward the ground. Move it around your body and pass it to your left hand behind your back, then bring it back to the starting position. Do this 10 times before changing direction.
Single-leg dumbbell deadlift
Sets: 3 Reps: 8-10 on each leg Rest: 60 seconds
How to do it
Stand tall with your arms at your sides and a dumbbell in your right hand. Lift your right foot off the ground. Keeping your spine long, hinge at the hips to lean forward and lower the dumbbell toward the ground, allowing your right foot to rise behind you as a counterweight. When you have lowered the dumbbell as far as you can while controlling the movement and maintaining a long spine, squeeze your bum and reverse the motion to return to the starting position. “Keep your hips square and move slowly – this is about control, not depth,” Riley says. Once you have completed the prescribed number of repetitions, switch sides.
Benefits
“This exercise builds glute and hamstring strength, hip control, and ankle stability – all key for balance under load.”
Quadruped hover to knee tap
Sets: 3 Reps: 10-12 Rest: 60 seconds
How to do it
Start on all fours with your hands on the ground underneath your shoulders, and your knees on the ground underneath your hips. Push through the ground to hover your knees just above the floor. In addition to the video above, slowly and gently touch one knee down to the ground at a time while keeping your hips level.
Benefits
“The quadruped hover to knee tap strengthens the core and shoulders while building awareness of alignment and resisting movement. To challenge proprioception [your awareness of your body’s position and movements], close your eyes for a few reps to challenge proprioception.”
Pilates side-lying leg circles
Sets: 1 Reps: 8-10 in each direction on each leg Rest: 60 seconds
How to do it
Lie on your side with your legs extended and toes pointed away from you. Keeping your hips stacked, lift your top leg then draw small circles with your pointed toes. Draw slow circles in alternating directions until you have completed the prescribed number of repetitions, then switch sides.
Benefits
“Pilates side lying leg circles activate glute medius [the muscle on the outside of the buttocks] while stabilising the pelvis and building awareness through controlled movement. This is classic balance training because one side holds still while the other moves.”
Teaser prep to roll back
Sets: 1 Reps: 6-8 Rest: 60 seconds
How to do it
Sit tall with your knees bent and your feet planted flat on the floor, arms extended in front of you. Slowly roll halfway back, pause, then return to the starting position.
Benefits
“This movement strengthens the deep core muscles and teaches control through spinal articulation – essential for fluid, functional balance. Move slowly with intention, rather than throwing your arms forward to get back up.”