What Nine Years of Strength Coaching Taught Me About Balance ✅
Staying Upright Is More Complicated—and More Trainable—Than You Think.
My 30-year-old nephew had recently started working with a personal trainer. One day, he said, "I thought balance was about my feet. It's my core."
Yup!
Balance is key to safety, comfort, and ease of movement.
Photo by Katie Dyer
My nephew was thinking about it fairly young; many of my older clients come to me because they are noticing their balance isn’t as reliable as it used to be.
The Science of Staying Upright
That is the mission, isn’t it, we would like to stand up as opposed to sprawled on the ground particularly not with a broken hip.
Toren was right about the necessity of core strength, but let’s dig a bit deeper into the science of balance or staying upright.
Your brain receives information from three systems to keep you stable.
1. The vestibular system or inner ear detects shifts and changes in your position.
2. Proprioception or Body Awareness uses receptors in your skin, muscles, and joints to detect movements and tell your brain where you are in space.
3. The Visual system or your eyes provides a frame of reference.
Those combined systems help your brain keep you in place.
How well you stand and move depends on the stability and mobility of your muscles, bones, and joints.
Tiny Corrections Stabilize
One of the biggest surprises after nine years of coaching is that balance isn't about standing still. It's about making thousands of tiny corrections without ever thinking about them. Your brain receives information from those three systems to keep you upright. It isn’t a question of being still or frozen; it is your brain's ability to constantly integrate that information and adjust to keep you upright. Your brain and body don’t just react when you start to fall; the whole system is constantly calculating and adjusting as you go on about your day.
The Importance of Strength Training
If left alone, our muscles, bones, and joints will weaken. If we engage in resistance or strength training, this action will counteract that natural process. Most of us are capable of becoming far stronger than we realize. To balance when standing, walking, engaging in sports, playing with grandkids, doing chores, and all we want to do, we need strong legs, including the feet and ankles, and a strong core. By core, we are referring to the torso front (that six-pack zone), side, and back. Walking is helpful, but not enough to guarantee you will remain independent and active. I recommend strength training two to three times a week. And that is a life sentence. If you trained for 10 years in your 40s and then stop, those muscles are long gone by the time you need them at 80. This isn’t a 12-week project or a when-I-feel-like-it event. To remain upright, one must commit to a doable weekly routine for the rest of your life.
Fall Prevention or Why Bother
The challenge is that if we ignore our balance, the risk of tripping and falling gradually increases. I have noticed that older clients tend to shuffle. They push each foot forward, barely lifting off the floor. I introduce the concept of allowing air under each foot as they step. Walking is a balance exercise. The shuffling is coming because weakness has already developed. The good news is that everyone can improve regardless of their starting point. Falling is epidemic. According to the CDC, over 14 million people fall each year. The global statistics are equally shocking.
You are in Charge
The encouraging news is that balance is trainable. At any age, your brain can become more efficient, your muscles can become stronger, and your confidence can grow. You don't have to accept feeling unsteady as an inevitable part of getting older.
Over the past nine years, I've watched clients improve their strength, steadiness, and confidence one workout at a time. They didn't become fearless overnight. They simply became more capable.
If you've noticed you're catching yourself on walls, shuffling your feet, or feeling less steady than you once did, don't wait for a fall to act. Whether you work with a trainer, join a Tai Chi or yoga class, or begin a simple strength program at home, the best time to improve your balance is before you need it.
Your future self will thank you for every tiny correction you begin training today.
The truth I'm training for is that growing older doesn't have to mean growing weaker.
If you'd like guidance building a strength program designed to improve your balance and confidence, I'd be happy to help. Feel free to reach out or learn more about my coaching programs at Mighty Fit.