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Balance

Single Leg Balance

Balance is a trainable capacity and it responds to training at 85 much as it does at 45, but only if it is genuinely challenged. Walking on level ground practises something you are already competent at, which is why people who walk daily are often surprised by how hard 30 seconds on one leg turns out to be. The training happens near the edge of steadiness, which is exactly why it belongs beside a kitchen counter. Ten steady seconds each side is also one of the readiness checks before returning to running after having a baby.

Reviewed by Dr. Shyyada Banu, BPT, MPT · MIAP License No. 69386

Single Leg Balance

Demonstration photo coming soon

Part of these sets

This exercise rarely works alone. It appears in the following routines, where it is sequenced alongside the others that support it.

What it works

Primary muscles

  • Gluteus medius, holding the pelvis level
  • Calf and small foot muscles, making the constant ankle corrections

Also involved

  • Quadriceps, keeping the standing knee steady
  • Trunk muscles, holding you over the foot

Equipment: A kitchen counter or a solid chair back within instant reach. A cushion or folded towel for the later stages. Firm shoes rather than socks or slippers.

How to do it

  1. 1

    Stand beside a kitchen counter or a solid chair back, close enough to reach it in an instant.

  2. 2

    Set the feet at your current stage: feet together, then a narrow stance with one foot partly in front, then heel to toe with one foot directly in front of the other, then standing on one leg.

  3. 3

    Rest your fingertips on the counter, stand tall, and look ahead at a fixed point rather than down at your feet.

  4. 4

    Hold for 30 seconds, breathing normally. Wobbling is expected and is the exercise working; the counter is there so a wobble stays a wobble.

  5. 5

    Reduce the hand support over the weeks: fingertips, then one finger, then hands hovering just above the counter, then hands off with the counter still within reach. That progression is the training.

  6. 6

    Repeat on the other side. Most people have a clearly worse side, and that is the side that earns the extra set.

How much to do

3 holds of 30 seconds each side, at your current stage

Most days

Move up a stage only when the current one is easy for the full 30 seconds. Balance responds to frequency more than to session length, and the falls prevention evidence is strongest at around three hours a week sustained over months, which short daily sessions reach comfortably.

Stop and get assessed if

Always practise within instant reach of a solid support, and do not practise alone if you have fallen in the last year: have someone in the room until the early stages are secure. Stop and get assessed if you feel dizzy or light headed when you stand or turn your head, if the standing knee or hip gives way, or if you cannot hold feet together for 30 seconds at all.

Common mistakes

Gripping the counter
A firm grip does the balancing for you, so the muscles never get the practice they came for. Fingertips are enough, and reducing that contact is how you progress rather than an optional extra.
Staring down at your feet
Looking down drops your head forward and removes the visual reference you are balancing against. Pick a fixed point at eye level and keep your eyes there.
Moving up a stage too early
A stage you can hold for only eight seconds is not training balance, it is rehearsing a near miss. Own the full 30 seconds comfortably before you narrow the base further.
Practising in the middle of the room because support feels like cheating
Useful balance training happens near the edge of steadiness, and that is only safe with something solid within arm's reach. Away from support, a wobble has nowhere to go but the floor.
Only ever standing still and looking ahead
Most real falls happen while you are doing something else: turning to talk, reaching for a shelf, looking for the doorbell. Standing still is where you start, not where you stop.

Making it harder

  • Add slow head turns left and right, then up and down, while you hold. Bring these in as early as you safely can, because the head is usually turning when a real fall happens.
  • Stand on a cushion or a folded towel, which takes away some of the information your feet were relying on.
  • Close your eyes for a few seconds at a time with a hand back on the counter. Vision does more of the work than people expect, which is why balance is markedly worse in the dark.
  • Add a task: passing an object from hand to hand, catching a ball, or counting backwards out loud.

Making it easier

  • Drop back a stage: heel to toe, then a narrow stance, then feet together. Feet together for 30 seconds is a genuine starting point and nothing to apologise for.
  • Hold the counter with both hands and reduce to fingertips over the following weeks.
  • Shorten the holds to ten seconds and do more of them through the day.

Helps with

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