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.

Learning about foot muscles called "foot intrinsics" inside a foot helped.

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

Wall sits are good for hamstrings and quads

A wall sit is an isometric exercise.  Doing a wall sit only takes a few minutes, but when done consistently there are benefits for hamstrings and quads.  The best approach is to do a wall sit during pre-season for a minute every day, or a couple wall sits every few days.  How long you can hold a wall sit will make it clearer whether or not you need to work on strengthening the muscles that are involved.  Strong hamstrings help to support knees.

Depending on where and when I do a wall sit, sometimes it's easier to slide all the way to the floor when done instead of trying to stand back up.  I prefer to do wall sits where I can reach something for support when standing up.

The last couple of links include video clips.

Muscles Used During Wall Sits
https://healthyliving.azcentral.com/muscles-used-during-wall-sits-3749.html
A text explanation of how wall sits help hamstrings, quads, and potentially adductors, all at the same time

Introduction on how to do wall sits
https://www.wikihow.com/Do-Wall-Sits

Wall Sit Benefits
https://theworkoutdigest.com/wall-sit-benefits/

TRX HIIT, only 7 exercises but tough!

The easiest way to use TRX for improving cardio is to do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).  This routine is best for people who are already familiar with the exercises.  The standing exercises can be done with jumping or without.  Also helps to know other exercises that can be used as alternatives.  Especially during the second and third round for the exercises on the floor.  By the third round, I don't want to take the effort to get down and put my feet in the straps.

The single-leg Burpie is really hard to get set up quickly.  I opt to just do regular Burpies without the TRX.

TRX Cardio HIIT #1

https://youtu.be/X__Ivsjrf4o, 17 min, #shortcircuitswithmarsha

TRX for strengthening core muscles, any level of fitness

This sequence of ten exercises involve using the TRX while on the floor, preferably with a mat.  All of them are geared to strengthening core muscles.  The goal is to develop enough core strength to be able to do a suspended TRX plank for a minute or more.  A strong core is key for skiing at any level.  Also turns out to be useful when getting to your favorite ski area is more than 

A few of the exercises remind me of Pilates.  Being able to use the TRX straps to help stabilize is similar to the advantage of doing deep squats with TRX.  Even though I now can do deep squats without TRX, I much prefer doing them with the TRX.  Net result is that I do more squats and more often because I invested in a TRX after learning how to do some exercises with good form working with my personal trainer.

TRX Core - Abdominal Exercises for Everyone, 14 min

https://youtu.be/0__WL6PzmGA

TRX using a door anchor or outdoors

One of the advantages owning a TRX is that it can be set up in a variety of places.  With the appropriate accessory it's easy to find good places indoors or outdoors to set up a TRX.

I use mine mainly with the door anchor in my basement.  I have brought it along on driving trips and to use in a few hotel rooms or hotel/resort fitness center.  It's better if the door opens away from the side you are exercising on.  Then the door frame is extra support and the door cannot open accidentally.  However, if that's not an open then putting the Door Anchor near the hinge is pretty safe.

Using a TRX outdoors is great when the weather is nice.  Also easier to do with friends when you have a a place to meet where it's easy to set up 3-4 TRX straps a reasonable distance apart.  Click on the link and scroll down on the webpage below to see a few creative outdoor locations for TRX when traveling in Paris.

All the Unusual Places You Can Use Suspension Trainers to Get a Great Workout

TRX Door Anchor Set Up

https://youtu.be/8hAAN2JO5rM

Basic squat with door anchor

https://youtu.be/cRiyoSd_yQY

Anchor™ Upper Body Workout

https://youtu.be/mHPe2p0Kukc, 3 min

Four exercises with door that opens towards the exercise side

Complete TRX workout for a hotel room or apartment

30-min including warm up and cool down

https://youtu.be/2yb30TMXrRA

Core workout using a stability ball aka Swiss ball

A strong core is fundamental for good skiing at any ability level.  Using a stability ball, also called a Swiss ball or balance ball, is one way to work to improve core strength that doesn't require that much upper body strength.  I've used a stability ball in hotel and resort fitness rooms.  When I started ski conditioning 7+ years ago, we had a ball at home but I'd never used it for exercise since it was bought at a yard sale as a toy when my daughter was young.  It was the second training aid I used at home, after a BOSU.

Regardless of what other exercises I do with a stability ball, I usually do hip curls or hip lifts to get in a little hamstring work.  It doesn't matter too much what size ball is available.

BEGINNER CORE | 15 Minute STABILITY BALL Workout for BEGINNERS, 15 min

https://youtu.be/GKa1Kx0uuMg

CORE & MORE Stability Ball WORKOUT - Intermediate, 14 min

https://youtu.be/QUCawq66H_w

Swiss Ball Hamstring Curl, 2 min

https://youtu.be/jiq-Vv1-sac

TRX Full Body 12-min workout, advanced

This 12-min TRX HIIT workout is pretty advanced.  Meaning it's better for someone who already has a fairly strong upper body.  By the time my personal trainer introduced this routine, I'd been working with her and the TRX for over five years.  Of course, the advantage of using TRX is that it's possible to start at an easier level and increase the amount of body weight being applied as strength increases simply by placing the feet a slightly different distance from the anchor point.

There are 12 exercises, each done for 45 seconds, with 15 second rest periods  The video provides timing for three sets, but I normally just do one set and then move on to different exercises.  Keeps me from getting bored.

36 Minute TRX Full Body Workout #9, 45 min (12 x 3)

https://youtu.be/4_ntfCMCRFI

1. Face anchor, 2 straps: squat, or squat with arm raise, or squat jump; can mix
2. Feet in straps, chest towards mat: body saw, or crunch, or alternate
3. Heels in straps, back towards mat: pull thru
4. Face anchor, 1 strap: single arm row
5. Face anchor, 1 strap: single arm row, other arm
6. Face anchor, 2 straps: single leg squat
7. Face anchor, 2 straps: single leg squat, other leg
8. Face anchor, 1 strap: torso rotation, both hands on handle
9. Away from anchor, 1 strap: single arm push up
10. Away from anchor, 1 strap: single arm push up, other arm
11. Face sideways, 1 strap: hip drop, foot closer to anchor in front
12. Face sideways, 1 strap: hip drop, foot closer to anchor in front, other side

Hamstring workouts at home

The hamstrings are important when it comes to supporting knees.  Strengthening hamstrings does not require any equipment.  You can do useful exercises with just a mat.  The exercises in the first video take about 8 minutes to finish, assuming you can do them all without any rest in between.  The second video sequence takes about the same amount of time, but includes a slightly different set of exercises.  The third video has six exercises (5 min for demonstrations) and includes a few exercises I did as part of knee rehab physical therapy.  Although all the videos include double and single-leg bridges, they are done differently.  The first are done on the floor, the second uses a chest of drawers (instead of a wall or chair), the third is the hardest.  I sometimes do bridges using a stability ball, which adds a little bit of core work.

TRX for strengthening knee support muscles

Using TRX as part of knee rehab is how I got started.  I learned how to use TRX working with a personal trainer who had experience using the TRX with seniors.  She and I learned together about which exercises were most relevant for strengthening the muscles that help support knees.

The first part of the second video shows how the TRX can be used during a physical therapy session after knee surgery.  The last two videos are examples of physical therapy for a young athlete recovering from knee surgery, most commonly ACL reconstruction.

TRX Training Knee Reconstruction Surgery Physical Therapy
https://youtu.be/GytYWmRczFQ, 15 min, TRX in first 6 min

TRX Training: Knee Rehab Phase 1
https://youtu.be/AFJofGKbjyM, 5 min

TRX Training: Knee Rehab Phase 2
https://youtu.be/0mcnrJcSqJk, 6 min

HIIT using a Medicine Ball, low impact

There are some HIIT workouts that are dominated by high impact exercises that leave out the upper body.  Here is an example of a workout that engages the entire body.  She is using an 8-lb medicine ball but obviously could start with a much later ball and work up the weight.

With any HIIT workout, it's important to warm up, cool down, and stretch afterwards.  This video is designed to allow people to follow along, with a count down and audio markers at the end of each period.

15 Minute Medicine Ball HIIT Workout - Total Body Circuit

https://youtu.be/vLs1PpPBmXM

Basic hamstring lift with stability ball

For a quick look at a way to work on hamstrings with a stability ball (Swiss ball), check out these 1-minute videos.  The third video is a seated hamstring stretch.  She mentions how to choose the correct size ball based on height because there are three sizes available.

A Swiss ball is one of the items that I find worthwhile to have at home.  Often use it during personal training sessions.

For ideas about progression if you want to make the hamstring exercises more challenging:
https://over50skifitness.blogspot.com/2016/06/hamstring-curl-progression-on-stability.html

HIIT using TRX in 10 minutes

The variety of exercises and stretches with TRX is one of the advantages of using it.  Another is that almost every TRX exercise helps build core strength.  Here are a few ways to use TRX for a HIIT workout in ten minutes or so.  The second video includes a warm up sequence using the TRX, as well as a cool down sequence.  The third video is a quick look at other exercise possibilities to include in a TRX HIIT routine doing six exercises for 1-minute each.

I learned the first sequence with the help of my personal trainer.  We modified a few of the exercises the first few times.  Partially so I would not over do it because I had not been doing much cardio endurance work at the time.  But mostly to minimize the amount of jumping that I tend to avoid because of being ACL-deficient in one knee.  I can jump easily, but see little reason to do it just to increase cardio when there are other approaches that work as well.

TRX Power HIIT Workout by Short Circuits

https://youtu.be/-3PjU3l7qnA

TRX HIIT Strong - Includes Warm Up and Cool Down

https://youtu.be/U7egOSXJQUA, 20 min

Six Minutes of TRX HIIT Cardio Workout

https://youtu.be/jqODYLji51s, 2 min

BOSU basics with Bob and Brad (physical therapists)

The BOSU was the first piece of exercise equipment I bought for home use when doing knee rehab.  Starting using it the first PT appointment.  This 2017 video is an introduction by Bob and Brad, the "most famous" physical therapists on the Internet, of simple balance exercises using the BOSU.  They demonstrate progressions from easy to hard using the BOSU flat side up and flat side down.

BOSU Ball: 10 Best Balance Exercises for Athlete and Post Rehabilitation

https://youtu.be/m4v3jdAEK4k, 11 min

TRX basics, with a session for a first-time senior

It took me a while to decide I liked using a TRX as I was finishing up knee rehab in 2012.  I was introduced to the TRX by an older personal trainer (over 50) who has a special interest in working with seniors at all fitness levels.  When the TRX was invented, the target market was athletic people who wanted to be as strong as the Navy Seal inventor.  However, it didn't take long for trainers to discover that the TRX is great for seniors too.  One of the first videos I found showed an 80-something grandmother in the UK doing TRX exercises.

This article from 2018 covers ten TRX exercises for people getting started.  I like it because there are video clips and written descriptions.

https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/the-best-trx-exercises-for-beginners/

The first two videos below from 2018 cover a few basic exercises that demonstrate the versatility of using body weight and the TRX.  Before you watch the second one, guess the age of the woman being taught.  Notice how the trainer suggests small adjustments to help Melva to have the best form possible.

The last video shows a few basic exercises being done by a senior for knee rehab.  Most likely a knee replacement.  I did the same type of exercises after knee rehab after an ACL injury (not skiing).

Broadway Fitness TRX Trips with Renae, 5 min

https://youtu.be/FhSJYhspnwY

TRX for seniors with Renae & Melva, 7 min

https://youtu.be/cOWGw0U-F-0

TRX - Knee rehabilitation, 1 min

https://youtu.be/S79dkDctdDM