Unlocking the Power of Strength Training for Better Balance in Older Adults

September 1, 2024

by Cathe Friedrich

When we’re young and healthy, we don’t think a lot about balance. We’re used to being able to climb stairs and walk or run without falling over. But as the years go by, balance issues later in life can make it hard to even get out of a chair.

You lose more than muscle mass and strength as you age. After the age of fifty, proprioception, or balance skills, takes a hit. This means you have more problems getting around safely because of stability and coordination issues. So, you might wonder whether strength training helps counter the loss of balance and coordination that accompanies aging. Let’s take a closer look.

The Importance of Balance and Coordination

As the National Institute on Aging points out, falls are a leading cause of injury and death in older adults. According to their statistics, over a third of the elderly (over age 65) fall each year. The risk of falling escalates because of vision and hearing problems, and muscle weakness, but a decline in balance and coordination is another cause.

The Connection Between Strength Training and Balance

Fortunately, you’re not predestined to lose your balance and fall as you get older. A study published in the Journal of Gerontology revealed an encouraging finding. Strength training using high-velocity movements, so-called power training, improved balance in older adults. The most effective approach was to use a lower load (40% of one-rep max), allowing a greater contraction velocity. So, how does strength and power training impact balance and coordination? It helps by:

Building stronger muscles: When you work your muscles against resistance, you build strength and muscle thickness. When your muscles are stronger, you have a better sense of body position. Plus, you’re more aware of your body alignment.
Improving proprioception: Strength training also helps boost proprioception, so you’re more coordinated and have better balance. This lowers your risk of falling.
Enhancing neuromuscular control: You also have better neuromuscular control, or the ability to control how your muscles move when you strength train. The result is you’re more coordinated and have a better balance.

Tips and Strategies for Incorporating Strength Training into Your Fitness Routine

If you’re working on strength and balance, there are ways to tie the two together into a single workout for time efficiency. Let’s look at strategies to make your strength-training session more effective for improving balance too:

Focus more on exercises that use the muscles you need to stay balanced. When you engage your core, legs, and the stabilizing muscles you use to stay balanced, you’ll improve your proprioceptive skills too. Squats, deadlifts, and planks are exercises that fit this requirement. A strong core that comes from doing planks ensures you’re training the muscles that help keep you stable.

Choose more strength exercises that challenge your balance. For example, on your last set of deadlifts, do single-leg deadlifts. Don’t forget to target each side. Lunges are another exercise that forces you to balance and will improve your balance skills. And don’t forget about side planks, single-leg squats, and single-arm presses.

Do Focused Balance Exercises Too

Include focused balance exercises in your training. How about narrow-stance reaches, single-leg stances, and heel raises? These exercises are less effective for building strength, but you can use them as recovery exercises between your strength-training sets.

Do strength-training exercises on an unstable surface. Any type of uneven surface will improve your balance skills more than doing them on a stable surface. You can create an uneven surface with balance boards and stability balls. For example, place your hands on a balance disc and do push-ups. Do your last set of squats on a BOSU ball.

Other Tips for Boosting Your Balance Skills

Let’s look at other approaches for working on balance:

Create an uneven load on certain exercises: You can do this by holding a dumbbell in one hand when you do exercises like lunges or farmer’s walks. When you create an uneven load, you’re forced to use your stabilizer muscles to stay balanced.
Combine Movements: Choose an upper and lower body exercise. Then combine them into a single movement. An example is doing a squat into a press or a lunge with biceps curl.
Close Your Eyes: Vision plays a critical role in staying balanced. When you do exercises with your eyes closed, you force other proprioception systems to kick in and become stronger and more efficient. Try doing simple exercises with your eyes closed. For example, do single leg stands or lunges with your eyes closed. Be careful though! Make sure you have something close by to grab on to if you feel unsteady.
Train for Power Too: Do sets where you use a resistance of around 40-60% of your one-rep max. When you do each rep, use maximum speed or explosive power during the lifting phase. Then, lower the rate at a slow controlled rate and repeat.

Conclusion

Now you know why developing balance skills is so important and how strength training can help. You also know how to add balance training to your strength workouts. By working on your balance skills when you strength train, you’ll enter your later years with more resilience and protection against falling. Plus, you’ll be stronger and have a healthier physique.

References

https://www.facebook.com/NIHAging. 2024. “Falls and Falls Prevention.” National Institute on Aging. 2024. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/falls-and-falls-prevention.
Lee IH, Park SY. Balance improvement by strength training for the elderly. J Phys Ther Sci. 2013 Dec;25(12):1591-3. doi: 10.1589/jpts.25.1591. Epub 2014 Jan 8. PMID: 24409027; PMCID: PMC3885846.
Kingsley, J. D., & Kudel, I. (2011). The Effects of Strength Training on Balance in Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Journal of Aging Research, 2011, 1-13.
“The National Council on Aging.” 2024. Ncoa.org. 2024. https://www.ncoa.org/older-adults/health/prevention/falls-prevention.
“Prevention of Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.” 19 Feb. 2020, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcp1903252.
Salles JI, Velasques B, Cossich V, Nicoliche E, Ribeiro P, Amaral MV, Motta G. Strength training and shoulder proprioception. J Athl Train. 2015 Mar;50(3):277-80. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-49.3.84. Epub 2015 Jan 16. PMID: 25594912; PMCID: PMC4477923.
Liu, C. J., & Latham, N. K. (2009). Progressive resistance strength training for improving physical function in older adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2009(3), CD002759. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD002759.pub2
Orr, Rhonda, Nathan, Nalin A Singh, Dale A Ross, Theodora M Stavrinos, and Maria A Fiatarone-Singh. “Power Training Improves Balance in Healthy Older Adults.” The Journals of Gerontology Series A 61, no. 1 (January 1, 2006): 78–85. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/61.1.78.