How do I improve my balance?

Balance is trainable and it declines without use, which means it responds well to small, regular practice. It also matters more than most fitness qualities as people get older, because falls are what change lives.

Safety

Step by step

1. Start beside something solid.A kitchen worktop, a doorframe, a heavy chair back. Fingertips resting on it, not gripping. The support is what makes the practice safe enough to do often.
2. Stand on one leg for 30 seconds.Then the other. If 30 seconds is easy, that is a good sign. If it is hard, that is exactly why it is worth doing.
3. Attach it to something you already do.While the kettle boils, while brushing your teeth. Balance practice fails as a separate activity and succeeds as a habit attached to another one.
4. Reduce the support gradually.Two fingers, then one, then hovering nearby. Progress by removing support rather than by adding time.
5. Then make it harder in small steps.Eyes closed — a large step up, hold on for that one. Standing on a cushion. Turning your head side to side while balancing.
6. Practise heel-to-toe walking.Walking a straight line placing the heel directly in front of the toe, along a worktop for support. Different from static balance and equally useful.
7. Include strength work too.Balance depends on the legs being able to respond. Sit-to-stand from a chair, done repeatedly, builds exactly the strength that catching yourself requires.
8. Keep at it — it fades without use.Balance is maintained by practice. A few minutes most days indefinitely is the model, not a six-week programme.

Tips

• Being unable to balance on one leg for very long is common and improvable. It is a starting point, not a verdict.
• Sit-to-stand from a chair without using your hands is one of the most useful movements there is, and it is both strength and balance.
• If you have already had a fall, or feel unsteady, ask about a falls assessment rather than practising alone. It is a genuinely useful service.

Questions people ask