Chair-Assisted Balance Exercises For The Elderly (Free PDF & Video) – Better5.com (2024)

If you’re worried about taking a fall or you’ve noticed your stumbling more often—then you’re in the right place! By strengthening your lower body you’ll build up the stabilizing muscles that keep you upright and moving with confidence. And the best part is that these balance exercises for the elderly come with a pdf printable for quick reference.

If your balance makes you worried about exercising, you can relax. You’ll have the assistance of a chair to keep you safe & supported the entire time.

What are the benefits of balance exercises for seniors?

You’ll rebuild strength in all the muscle groups that keep you upright, agile & pain-free. Here’s what a stronger lower body can do for you:

• Improves balance
• Reduces the risk of falling
• Reduces stumbles
• Improves ability to catch yourself if you do stumble
• Improves agility & nimbleness
• Creates a smoother, steadier stride
• Improves sit-to-stand
• Makes it easier to walk & stand longer
• Improves ability to take stairs
• Gives you more confidence!

Better5 Tip: Your feet play a big part in your balance. Try adding in these foot exercises to see your balance improve even more (Click Or Tap Here)

Balance Exercises For The Elderly – A Gentle 25 Minute Routine

Follow along step-by-step with the video or click to download your free pdf below.

Warm Up

Take a 30 second break between each warm up exercise

Lateral Toe Taps

• Extend your right leg out to the side
• Bring it back in
• Extend your left leg out to the side
• Bring it back in
• Repeat for 60 seconds

Jacks

• Do a lateral toe tap like above
• As you step with your right leg, reach your right arm over your head
• Do the same on your left side
• Repeat for 30 seconds

Squats

• Put your feet shoulder width apart and stand behind your chair (holding on to it if you need to)
• Squat down by pushing your butt back
• Rise back up
• Repeat for 30 seconds

High Knees

• Standing behind your chair, raise your right leg up (holding on to chair if you need to)
• Bring it back down
• Repeat with left leg
• Continue alternating sides for 30 seconds

Workout:

Take a 30 second break between each exercise.

Front Rack March (With Or Without Weights)

• Standing beside your chair, hold on to it with 1 hand & hold on to a light dumbbell with your other
• Bend at the elbow so you are holding the weight in front of your shoulders
• Continue doing the high knees movements from above while holding the weight for 30 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Repeat on other side for 30 seconds

Note: For the unweighted version, you will still hold your hand in the same position as if you are holding the dumbbell near your shoulder

Standing Rear Glute Leg Extension

• Slightly bend your right leg
• Extend your bent leg out behind you (hold on to a chair for support if needed)
• Bring it back to the starting position
• Continue the movement for 30 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Switch sides & repeat for 30 seconds

Good Morning

• Stand with feet shoulder width apart
• Hinge forward like you are taking a bow so you feel a stretch in your hamstrings
• Raise your upper body back up
• Repeat this movement for 30 seconds
• Take a 30 second break and repeat for 30 seconds

Note: You can hold on to a chair for support if needed. To scale up the difficulty, perform this exercise while holding a pair of light dumbbells in the front rack position)

Squat To Calf Raise

• Put your feet shoulder width apart and stand behind your chair (holding on to it if you need to)
• Squat down by pushing your butt back
• Rise back up, then continue pushing up on to your tip toes
• Repeat for 30 seconds
• Take a 30 second break then repeat for 30 seconds

Note: You can hold onto a chair for support if needed. To scale up the difficulty, perform this exercise while holding a pair of light dumbbells in the front rack position)

Front Rack March (With Or Without Weights)

• Standing beside your chair, hold on to it with 1 hand & hold onto a light dumbbell with your other
• Bend at the elbow so you are holding the weight in front of your shoulders
• Alternate doing high knees while holding the weight for 30 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Repeat by holding onto the chair with your other hand for 30 seconds

Note: If you don’t need to hold on to the chair, you can hold weights in both hands.

Standing Glute Extension With Side Toe Tap

• Slightly bend your right leg
• Extend your bent leg out behind you (hold on to a chair for support if needed)
• Bring it back to the starting position, then tap it out to the side before bring back to the starting position again
• Continue the movement for 30 seconds
• Rest for 30 seconds
• Switch sides & repeat for 30 seconds

Good Morning

• Stand with feet shoulder width apart
• Hinge forward like you are taking a bow so you feel a stretch in your hamstrings
• Raise your upper body back up
• Repeat this movement for 30 seconds
• Take a 30 second break and repeat for 30 seconds

Squat To Calf Raise

• Put your feet shoulder width apart and stand behind your chair (holding onto it if you need to)
• Squat down by pushing your butt back
• Rise back up, then continue pushing up on to your tip toes
• Repeat for 30 seconds
• Take a 30 second break then repeat for 30 seconds

Cool Down

Perform each stretch one after the other (no breaks)

Staggered Stance Hip Stretch

• Right foot forward with left foot back slightly
• Lean back slightly and feel a stretch in your hip
• Hold for a few seconds then switch sides

Calf Stretch

• Slide right foot forward and lift toes up off the ground
• Reach down slightly past the knee
• Hold for a few seconds then switch sides

Hamstring Stretch

• Standing in a wide stance, bend over sliding both hands towards the ankle of your right foot (or hold on to a chair as you bend over)
• Go down as far as you can and hold for a few seconds
• Switch sides and hold for a few seconds

Groin Stretch

• In a wide stance, lean your body over to the side and hold on to the chair so your right leg is extended out to the side
• Hold for a few seconds then switch sides

Congrats on finishing this gentle workout! With these balance exercises for the elderly (with free pdf and video) you now have some tools to help you on your way to getting your lower body strength back—so you can move with more stability & confidence.

To continue building up lower body strength, try the full 7 day program “Better Balance With Chair-Assisted Leg Strengthening!”

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