Balance and Mobility, by far, are the major concerns of my Senior clients. And helping people elevate their quality of life by making significant improvements in these two critical capabilities brings me great joy.

Let me share with you some reasons to be optimistic regarding your ability to improve.

Understand the Reasons

It’s important to eliminate mobility and balance challenges that are caused by issues that won’t respond to exercise. If the cause of balance difficulties, for instance, stems from a problem relating to the balance mechanism (called the vestibular system) inside your inner ear, treatment by the appropriate medical specialist would be necessary.

As a certified personal trainer, my focus is on those who do not have medical issues that would be aggravated by the use of exercise. It’s always best to discuss these issues with your medical professionals if there is any doubt regarding the cause of your mobility/balance problems.

The Usual Issues

There are three main areas of development that I emphasize when designing your program for improvement:

Strength

This is the component that responds the fastest. Targeted exercises for the hips are the most important. The entire chain of movement from the ankles to the hips must be strengthed in order to be successful. Which exercises and how much depends on the individual’s capabilities in the beginning. After four to six weeks (if you’ve put the effort in) you will notice significant gains in strength. Your confidence will start to come back, but there are other factors that take more time to improve…

Range of Motion

Over the years, your range of movement has become smaller and more restricted simply from lack of use. Because this involves the tendons and ligaments which are slower to respond, we target these areas with gentle stretching techniques to restore your natural movement. This aspect of training is critical because small restricted movements are often dangerous. Using the stairs safely–even holding the rail and using a cane–involves having the range of motion to clear each step with confidence.

Balance

Helping my clients understand the basics of balance–the importance of posture in movement; center of gravity; how to maintain balance when moving in different directions–these are critical functional capabilities that can be developed by awareness and practice.

The majority of balance training with my clients is done in the pool. It provides us the perfect environment of safety and near weightlessness to achieve what we could never do otherwise.

By strengthening and improving these vital areas, significant improvement in mobility and balance can be achieved.

For the quality of your life,

Steven

• Balance
• Mobility