All About YOU: Don’t Take the Fall

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Young or old, spry or not -- all of us are going to take the occasional spill. (We know, sometimes it's like the ground just reached up and grabbed your toes!)

Whether you hit the pavement as a result is not about the initial misstep. It's about your ability to right yourself when you lose your balance. And we've got three tips for helping you wobble like a Weeble and not fall down.

3 Ways to Sure and Steady

Choose dumbbells over weight machines. Dumbbells force you to balance the weights as well as lift them. Hint: Tap your balance muscles by doing lunges with weights in your hands. Here's more on the free-weights-vs.-weight-machine debate.
Make like a flamingo. Try doing whatever you're doing on one foot. It will help improve your proprioception -- your awareness of yourself in space -- which leads to better balance. Hint: Brush your teeth or crank out a few bicep curls with this method. Find out how long someone your age should be able to balance on one foot.
Buy a ball. Adding stability-ball exercises to your workout routine tunes up your balance muscles, too. Hint: Try doing crunches, push-ups (hands on the floor and feet on the ball), or leg lifts with it. Here's a great torso and ab toner.

The Ideal Workout
Martial arts are great for your balance, too -- especially this gentle-on-the-joints version.

RealAge Benefit: Strength training can make your RealAge 1 year younger.

References Published on 04/15/2008.

YOU: Staying Young. Roizen, M. F., Oz, M. C., New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.

EDITOR'S PICK

All things require balance: your diet, your checkbook, your life. But do you ever balance your body? Discover how with a beginner session in tai chi. Good bet you'll find a little peace and serenity, too.

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What are your tips and tricks for boosting your balance?

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Rich88

4 of 4 people found this helpful.

6/12/2008 4:31:41 PM

Accent the positive; eliminate the negative.

Andree167

9 of 9 people found this helpful.

5/7/2008 3:41:56 PM

Be compassionate and loving towards others. It makes you feel good and eliminates a lot of stress.

Jennie65

4 of 7 people found this helpful.

5/4/2008 4:15:46 PM

To help my balance after one spainal fusion T6 to S1 and revision surgery for a break between L4 and L5, I have found the best way to improv [Show More]