Three steps to a perfect balancing act

QWITH age, balance becomes less reliable, so could you suggest a suitable exercise to improve balance for an 83-year-old woman?

ATHERE are three really good exercises that you should do regularly in order to engage the stabilising muscles around the hips, knees and lower back.

These muscles will add strength to your body and allow it to respond to any movement that might put you in danger of falling.

1: Side steps: This is really simple, but it is also something that’s often overlooked as we only focus on moving forwards in our day. Starting in a standing position, take a wide step to your right and then bring the left foot to meet it in a standing position again. Do five to ten sideways steps, and you can add a small amount of knee bend into this movement if your strength and mobility are reasonable. Go in one direction, then return, and repeat until you have done about 15 to 20 in each direction. Then rest and repeat the process twice, so you have done three ‘sets’ in total.

2: Knee raises: Stand facing a wall with your arms outstretched and palms on the wall. Lift one knee, bending at the hip and the knee, until your knee reaches about hip height. Return the foot down and repeat with the other leg. Each raise should take two to three seconds. Aim for 20 raises before resting and then repeating two or three times. This really engages the hip flexors and supporting muscles around the hip joint, as well as using the abdomen. 3: Heel to toe walking: Walk in a line, placing one foot directly in front of the other as you do so, so that your heel touches the front of your toes. Do 20 to 30 steps and then rest and repeat four or five times. It’s a simple movement that encourages use of the key muscles that help your balance.

Try to do these exercises four or five times every week and you will start to feel stronger and more stable.

QI AM a former fitness instructor, now 75 years old. I was always very fit until I had a pacemaker fitted two years ago due to atrial fibrillation. I am also on medication for high blood pressure and an underactive thyroid, as well as beta blockers. While I am not really very overweight (5ft and 9st 11lb), I want to lose some, and get back into a regular fitness regime but cannot find much information for training with pacemakers. What can I do, apart from brisk walks which I find very boring?

AI WOULD recommend interval training, using the Perceived Rate of Exertion scale, which is simply a 1-10 scale in which 1 is at complete rest and 10 is exhaustion. Think of working for 20 to 60 seconds at a raised level (between 8 and 10) and then resting for 40 to 90 seconds to recover (down to an easy level of 5 to 10).

These changes of exertion will raise your metabolism and help to keep you lean and stay conditioned. Exercising with a pacemaker and medication is about good management, not about exercise cessation. If you want to mix things up a little, try a circuit that uses a pattern of: 1: 40 seconds’ moderate to high-intensity cardio. 2: Leg exercise – 20 to 30 reps (squats or lunges). 3: Arm exercise – 15 to 20 reps (shoulder press, half press-ups). 4: Core exercise.

Do this cardio circuit for seven to eight circuits and it will work your body without being a rigid, cardio-style workout.

Keep aiming to exercise four days each week in these ways and you can always add in the ‘boring’ power walking as well if you want to.

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