The Importance of Practicing Balance Exercises with your Eyes Closed and with Head Movements

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Balance is something many of us take for granted—until it becomes challenging. Practicing balance exercises regularly can help improve stability, reduce the risk of falls, and support overall confidence in daily activities. Two simple ways to challenge your balance are practicing balance exercises with your eyes closed and moving your head while maintaining balance. Why Practice Balance With Your Eyes Closed? When your eyes are open, vision plays a major role in helping you stay upright. Closing your eyes removes that visual input and encourages your body to rely more on other systems, including: Your inner ear (vestibular system), which helps…

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The Ground Test: Why It Matters More Than You Think

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Imagine this: you’re at home, and something rolls under the couch. You kneel down to grab it, but when it’s time to get back up, it feels harder than it used to. Sound familiar? For many people, getting up and down from the ground isn’t something we think about—until the day we realize it’s a challenge. But here’s the truth: this simple movement is one of the most powerful tools we have for staying independent and preventing falls. Why It’s So Important Falls happen—even to healthy, active people. The difference comes down to how safely and confidently you can get up…

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The Importance of Foot Health for your Balance

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Feet play a critical role in balance, mobility, and overall stability, especially as we age. Here’s why they matter so much—and how they can impact balance: 1. Foundation of the Body Feet are literally our foundation. Each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments, all working together to support movement and posture. When something’s off—sensation, pain, other abnormalities—it can affect everything from the knees to the hips and back, throwing off balance. 2. Sensory Feedback and Proprioception Feet have a high concentration of nerve endings that provide sensory feedback to the brain about body position—this…

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Spring Better Your Balance Challenge

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Here is the PDF of the Spring balance challenge. You can print it yourself, I can print it out for you or you can get a copy at the Perinton Rec Center and Pittsford Senior Center. I have also made a video with demonstrations of the exercises and the link for that is here: https://youtu.be/0rr4IophTmk?si=ai3Jeqx9avHjeCQE If you have any questions please let me know! If you would like ways to make it a little less challenging or more challenging please let me know and I'd be happy to accommodate. Have fun with it and get ready for all the nice…

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Your Grip Strength Can Tell More About You Than You May Realize

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I’m sure grip strength is not something you think about everyday, I definitely don’t. I think we may only think about it when we have trouble opening a jar (or maybe that’s just me). If you do think about it and work on it then that is fabulous! If not, here are some reasons why it is important to maintain and/or improve good grip strength. Grip strength is a good marker for how well you are aging. People who have good grip strength age more slowly compared to those with weak grip strength which tends to lead to more frailty. …

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Exercise for Brain Health

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Need Another Reason or Motivation to Exercise? Exercise has many health benefits but did you know it enhances brain health? It can improve cognition and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases as we age. Also good news, any exercise is beneficial for brain health! If you combine aerobic exercises and resistance training (strength) it can be even better for your brain. The recommendation is to exercise at a moderate intensity for 150 minutes a week. It takes approximately 6 months to reap the cognitive benefits, so build it into your routine. 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week is ideal.Other top…

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Is it Time to Change up your Walking Routine?

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Caucasian women walking in park

Walking is one of the best things you can do for your health and there are ways to change it up to make it even better! Change speeds! This challenges your balance and your muscles more than maintaining one speed for the duration of your walk. If you walk the same route everyday try reversing it or walking somewhere new. This also helps keep your brain stimulated. Try to include inclines and declines,( as long as you can do it safely), to work your muscles differently. This can also challenge your balance and posture. Make sure on the inclines you…

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Another reason to add planks and wall sits to your routine

Read more about the article Another reason to add planks and wall sits to your routine

If you have high blood pressure or would like to maintain your current blood pressure planks and wall sits can help!  A large study done in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that wall sits and planks (isometrics) reduced blood pressure more than aerobic/ cardio exercise, High intensity interval training and resistance training. All of these exercise programs helped to reduce blood pressure but the isometric exercises had the most significant reduction in both systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure. Planks and wall Sits (also known as wall squats) are isometric exercises. Isometrics focus on the…

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Recommended Home Exercise Equipment

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These items are what I use frequently, are versatile and are great for using at home! Of course it is not necessary to purchase since I bring everything with me to sessions, but this is just if you want to purchase anything for yourself:) Exercise Loop Bands - Several levels of resistance, light weight, doesn’t take up much space and can be used anywhere. They can be used for various lower body, upper body and core exercises. https://amzn.to/3TvlQxe Exercise Bands with Handles- Various levels of resistance, lightweight and doesn’t take up much space. Can also be used in many spots…

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Some Tips for Decreasing that Stiffness Feeling

Read more about the article Some Tips for Decreasing that Stiffness Feeling

Do you wake up in the morning feeling stiffness or after sitting try to stand up and feel stiff? So why are you feeling so stiff? There can be several reasons for stiffness in specific areas of your body or just general stiffness. As we age, the amount of fluid lubricating our joints decreases and cartilage may also become thinner. Arthritis and lack of activity/movement can also cause increased stiffness. Also, if only certain muscles are being used that can also cause tightness and of course weakness in other muscles  Why is the stiffness worse first thing in the morning…

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