Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Improving balance can be tricky. Where do we start? What even is balance training? Standing on one leg? Walking more? It seems like everyone has their own idea of balance. What we do know, is that it becomes more important for active older adults to build and maintain balance with each passing year.

All of these can certainly help our balance! But a method that has seen success is building strength, endurance, and balance from the ground up. It makes sense after all. Our feet are the only part of our bodies in direct contact with the ground as we walk. It stands to reason that strengthening the foot, ankle, and muscles of the lower legs would be helpful.

We have been incorporating lower leg and foot/ankle exercises for the past year but two of the most practical ones (in my experience) have been the short foot drill (invented by Dr. Vladimir Janda) and the tibialis raise (popularized by Ben Patrick the “knees over toes guy”).

The short foot drill can be complicated to learn and teach but I have found it to be highly beneficial for seniors. It might take a few extra minutes to explain the nuances of the drill but once they have their “lightbulb moment” this drill can be beneficial for essentially any standing movement one encounters. The idea is to spread the toes wide to widen the base of the foot. Try and find the “foot tripod”. This means the 1^st metatarsal (by the big toe), the 5^th metatarsal (by the pinky toe) and the heel. Then gently (think 20% effort) press the tips of the toes into the ground until the 1^st metatarsal head lifts up.

This movement can be further complicated, but I find that this is a good starting point for most people. This movement trains the intrinsic foot muscles which are responsible for building and maintaining the arch of the foot. For those who have flat feet or collapsed arches, this can be an essential movement.

While some residents are still in the process of learning the short foot drill, the ones who have “got it” speak about the benefits. They have noted that it applies to standing exercises as well as balance and stability while walking and standing throughout the days. Some have said it has lessened their knee pain. My personal favorite bit of feedback was from one of our most consistent class attendees who said the short foot drill felt like it was “waking up” her feet and legs. I think it is a very important drill to put time into learning and teaching.

The tibialis raise is (fortunately) a good deal easier to teach and explain. While the typical version is performed standing, I almost always use a modified seated version with our senior fitness classes.

The basic concept behind tibialis raises is to strengthen the often neglected and underdeveloped anterior tibialis muscle. This muscle is responsible for “dorsiflexing” the foot which is a technical term for saying “this muscle lifts the foot up”. When practicing this exercise, I instruct our residents to put their fingers on the tibialis anterior muscle so they can feel it contract as they lift the front of their feet upwards. This has been the most useful method for allowing them to feel the muscle contract. Activating and strengthening this muscle seems to have a positive effect on knee and ankle healthy. The tibialis anterior can be thought of as one of the “braking” muscles of the lower body. When one is walking or changing direction, some of the forces from the ground should be absorbed by the tibialis anterior. When this muscle is weak or inactive that can lead to extra forces irritating the knees or ankles. Having strong and healthy tibialis anterior muscles can protect the legs and increase balance.

As for results, well it depends. There isn’t an exact way to track how effective these exercises are. As mentioned, I have heard great feedback from my residents. When it comes to balance, I think incorporating these two exercises to strengthen and activate the feet and lower legs as part of a comprehensive exercise plan can be highly beneficial to almost anyone.

Talk to almost any senior about exercise and physical health and it likely won’t be long before they talk about a fear of falling. Falls become a major risk with every year one ages. For exactly this reason it is vital to prioritize balance and stability when training the senior population. Without the ability and confidence to walk comfortably, get on and off the floor, and move safely into and out of a seated position, seniors sacrifice a certain quality of life. On the contrary, improving balance and stability can dramatically increase the quality of life in senior populations. It’s easier to participate in more activities and socialize more if one is not nervous of stumbling or falling on the way there.

I have found appropriate strength training to make a huge difference improving balance. Several regular attendees of our group fitness classes have remarked that they feel more stable while walking, that they feel more confident getting out of chairs or off of the floor, and that they feel their hips and leg muscles working more to stabilize their body while standing or walking. This improves confidence and allows them to walk further, perform more advanced exercise, and remain more active in their daily lives. Strength can be a life saver! Check out these four tips for seniors to maintain and improve balance:

1. Use your hips!

The entire lumbopelvic complex (core and hips) is helpful for full body balance. The more one improves their core and hip strength, the more these muscles can contribute to full body stability. In our group classes we perform sit to stands (standing up out of a chair), one leg balances (supported against a wall if necessary), seated leg extensions, seated or standing hip abductions, seated or standing marching, and many more exercises that strength train the hip complex to improve balance.

2. Walk more (as long as it feels good)

If you can walk comfortably and without pain, it won’t hurt to add a little extra walking to your daily routine. Every time we walk, we are training our balance as every muscle of our lower body has to constantly be stabilizing as we shift our weight from one foot to the other. Walking is one of the best and simplest exercises to perform and requires no equipment.

3. Stand when possible

Many exercises can be performed seated or standing. As long as you feel comfortable to perform exercises standing, you will be working your balance. Even exercise such as overhead presses or bicep curls will help improve balance as the hips and core need to be active while standing.

4. If you don’t use it you’ll lose it

One of the worse things we all witnessed during the strict COVID lockdown was the loss of physical ability. Daily physical movement that people took for granted was suddenly severely limited. Without a regular daily schedule it becomes very easy to pass the days with little to no physical activity. Many found that their strength, balance, mobility, and endurance had decreased over the course of the lockdown. The best way to avoid this is to find ways to practice balance throughout the day. We have already mentioned walking more, but practicing getting in and out of seated positions, practicing getting on and off the floor, and practicing exercise that help you improve balance will all be critical for maintain these abilities for as long as possible.

Let us know if you have any enjoyable or interesting ways to maintain and train balance! Is your community in need of balance programming? Check Balance Redefined below.