A collection of balance exercise videos

Improving balance requires doing exercises consistently.  But it doesn't require carving out a special time.  The idea is to find a few favorite exercises that you can remember easily.  Then do them as often as possible.  Spending 5-10 minutes every day doing a simple exercise like balancing on one leg is more effective in the long run then only doing balance exercises once a week.

When I was doing physical therapy to rehab a knee in 2012, I had homework to do between PT sessions.  Those exercises didn't take long, but it was important that I did them at least once a day.  Improving balance was a key goal.

7 Balance Exercises for Seniors-Fall Prevention by Physical Therapists

Jan 2017, 11 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNC4bi3Ucac

Balance Exercises - 10 Minute Home Workout to Improve Balance

Sep 2016, 10 min 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQLiXC31Nrk

25 Lower Body Balance Exercises

Nov 2016, 5 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcK8btsPN9Q

1. Single Leg Balance (0:42) 2. Single Leg Balance With look Up(0:55) 3. Single Leg Balance With Hamstring Stretch (1:04) 4. Tree Pose(1:14) 5. Tree Pose With Arms(1:21) 6. Warrior III (1:31) 7. Airborne Lunge (1:38) 8. Skater Lunges (1:52) 9. Skater Hops With Reach (2:02) 10. Single Leg Deadlift and Reach (2:12) 11. 3 way Leg Swings (2:24) 12. Skater Lunge (2:46) 13. Lunge with Knee Drive (2:56) 14. Step Up With Balance (3:09) 15. Step Down (3:22) 16. Bosu Squat (3:34) 17. Bosu Lunge(3:46) 18. Bosu Side Lunge (3:57) 19. Boss Squat #2 (4:09) 20. Surfer Squat(4:24) 21. Blue Pad Balancing (4:33) 22. Blue Pad Deadlift (4:43) 23. Lunge To Balance (4:54) 24. Balance Taps (5:08) 25. Single Leg Squats (5:26)

Ever heard of "foot intrinsics"? Important muscles to understand

Before I began researching plantar fasciitis (PF), I didn't know much about the muscles in feet.  As I learned more, it became obvious that even though one foot had developed PF, the other foot needed help too.

The woman in the first video is an orthopedic surgeon.  She explains the basics related to understanding and activating the muscles called "foot intrinsics" inside a foot.  After following those simple exercises, it's much more likely to figure out how to do the exercises in the second video.  The functional exploration in the second half are helpful for learning more about the interaction between the feet and the rest of the body.

How to Wake Up Your DEAD Feet (3 Exercises for Arch Strengthening)

Oct 2023, 6 min

https://youtu.be/hdMolpygXGg?si=SbjTi0X-2TVZ1fcd

6 Intrinsic Foot Muscle Strengthening Exercises (Fix Pain & Flat Feet)

March 2023, 21 min

https://youtu.be/xM4E3pc0lQg?si=CP4qdADaX2mp69of

00:00 - Intro

01:15 - Anatomy details

05:05 - ASMR: Plantar Fascia

06:38 - Foot Joint Mobilization

08:49 - Short & Skinny Foot

11:10 - Active Arch Exploration

12:38 - Fundamental Movement Patterns

17:41 - Active Arch X

19:05 - Next steps

Ideas when Plantar Fasciitis is a problem

Given that so many people end up with Plantar Fasciitis, it's no surprise that there are many people with suggestions on how to fix the problem.  The first video is by a man in the UK who specializes in working with people who are over 50 years old.  The second video is a good introduction to understanding what other parts of the body need attention in order to deal with pain in feet.  The third video is geared more towards people who are very active, in particular people who do advanced hiking.

How to FIX Plantar Fasciitis Permanently! (for 50+)

Nov 2023, 16 min

https://youtu.be/2k92DGPzVbU?si=vRGVQfq43Df_pqWo

How to Fix Plantar Fasciitis (NO MORE HEEL PAIN!)

Nov 2018, 14 min

https://youtu.be/72p58Iy6u7M?si=gzGSekKbk6eL3xj0

How I Fixed my Plantar Fasciitis for GOOD

May 2022, 11 min

https://youtu.be/gkImPA_R7uI?si=B6uFhDBrSdyqK0wE

Help from Bob & Brad for Plantar Fasciitis

Bob and Brad started talking about Plantar Fasciitis years ago.  Here are a few of their recent videos.

Fix Plantar Fasciitis Fast - Foot Pain Gone (50+)

 Nov 2023, 13 min

Plantar Fasciitis. Why Doesn't It Get Better?

Jan 2022, 13 min

You Are Walking All Wrong & It's Causing Pain

Sep 2023, 6 min

https://youtu.be/Y9J7OemNqsU?si=At21dKxc7ePNq34O

Ideas for Functional Fitness

Been looking at Matt Hsu's videos.  I like his banter, although probably not to everyone's taste.  First found a few of his videos related to balance.  They range from the most basic for seniors and beginners to ideas appropriate for people who are already in good shape when it comes to holding a 1-leg stand.  He suggests 30 seconds as a good baseline before moving on to more challenging approaches.

2 Ways to Improve Your Balance and Stability (And Have Fun Doing It)

10 min

Intermediate and advanced

For me, wanting to ski more was the incentive to exercise deliberately after finishing up knee rehab a decade ago.  Matt came up with an incentive that everyone could relate to for improving strength and flexibility for multiple parts of the body.  The idea is that being able to get out of a car window safely could be life-saving in the event someone is in a car stuck in rising water.

The approach is about functional fitness.  While he has pay programs, he's released a fair number of free videos in the last few years.  His motto is "think right, move right, feel right."

This Practice Physical Fitness Test could SAVE Your Life

15 min

Balance exercises to do at home

I'm always on the look out for balance exercises that are easy to do at home.  For seniors, maintaining good balance is the best way to avoid falls.  The worst case scenario after a hard fall is a broken hip.  Post-op recovery is quite difficult over 70 or 80.

The second video is a different take on how to improve balance because he is demonstrating exercises to strengthen muscles around the hips and glutes.  The exercises to work adductors and abductors look more like routines I would do, as opposed to doing crab walks with an exercise band.  Usually people mention working the small muscles around the ankle.

The reason the third video caught my eye is because the subtitle was "Proprioceptive Rehab by Dr. Doug Weise DPT."  Proprioception was an important factor that I learned about in 2012 when doing knee rehab.

How To Improve Your Balance - Home Exercises For Balance And Stability

6 min

How to Improve Balance - Seniors and Beginners
10 min

Best balance exercises, 5 min
10 Best Exercises for Balance!, 22 min

Ideas for using BOSU® Balance Pods

In 2019, BOSU came out with a new product.  They are called BOSU® Pods and they look like mini BOSUs.  I noticed them when shopping for something else and thought they might be useful during driving trips.  A regular BOSU takes up too much space.  I took it along a few times during knee rehab in 2012-13 but have only been using it at home in the last decade.

Here are a few videos using BOSU Pods.  I'm unlikely to do Kaitlin's full workouts but found her videos good for ideas of how the Pods can be used.

BOSU® Balance Pods Exercises at Home

5 min

At Home Core & Glute Workout 

| Trainer Kaitlin and the BOSU® Balance Pods

17 min

Cardio, Core and Agility Workout 

| A BOSU® Balance pods Series with Trainer Kaitlin

 14 min