Don’t Wait Until You Fall

I’ve heard so many stories lately about people who fell and never fully recovered and couldn’t get back to doing the things that they once enjoyed. Just recently, a friend told me her mother died from complications following a fall. My mom fell, and the following day she died from internal bleeding.

Stories like this break my heart, and they’re what motivates me to share some simple things you can do now to hopefully keep you from falling.

We shouldn’t let fear of falling hold us back from the things we enjoy, but I also think it’s super important to do the things we can do to help us avoid a fall. It’s so important that we do what we can to feel confident, strong, steady, and independent for as long as possible.

Here are a few things that can really help:

Total Body Strength

One of the best things you can do is keep your whole body strong. Each area plays an important role:

• Legs: Help you walk, climb stairs, get up from a chair, and catch yourself if you stumble.
• Upper body: Helps you brace yourself during a fall and makes it easier to get back up.
• Core: This may be the most important piece of all. A strong core is your body’s foundation, helping you stay stable and in control when you walk, turn, bend, reach, or suddenly need to catch your balance.

This is one reason I’m such a believer in total-body workouts. The stronger we are, the easier and safer everyday activities become.

Muscle Balance

It’s also important that our muscles work together. When one area is much stronger, weaker, or tighter than another, it can affect our posture, stability, and even our ability to catch ourselves if we trip or stumble.

I think this is something we often overlook. We tend to focus on the muscles we can see or the exercises we like doing without thinking about how well all our muscles are working together.

To create better muscle balance:

• Work the front, back, and sides of your body.
• Include both pushing and pulling exercises.
• Move in different directions, not just forward and backward.

The goal is to have your muscles working together so you can move well, stay steady, and react when you need to.

Fast-Twitch Training

Fast-twitch muscle fibers help your body move and react quickly when you need to avoid a fall when you stumble. Think about catching your toe on a curb or losing your balance when you miss a step going down the stairs. Your body only has a split second to react, and these are the muscles that help you catch yourself.

We naturally lose some of that quickness as we age, so it’s important to keep training it. You might try:

• Standing up from a chair a little faster.
• Adding short bursts of faster walking.
• Picking up the pace during parts of your workout.

Don’t be afraid to safely challenge yourself. That split-second reaction could be what keeps you on your feet.

I created some videos (shown below) that show fast twitch muscle exercises you can try.

Balance and Mobility

Balance is a skill, and the good news is, it can improve with practice. I encourage you to work on it regularly and not wait until you start feeling unsteady.

Try things like:

• Standing on one foot.
• Shifting your weight from side to side.
• Practicing exercises that require you to change direction.

Hold onto something if you need to, but as you get stronger, challenge yourself to use a little less support. Your balance won’t improve unless you give it a reason to.

Mobility is just as important. Simply put, mobility is your ability to move your joints freely and comfortably. If your ankles, hips, spine, or shoulders are stiff, it can change the way you move and either cause a fall or make it harder to adjust when you lose your balance.

I want you to keep moving well for a long time, and working on your mobility now can make a big difference down the road.

Your Future Self Will Thank You

None of us can guarantee we’ll never fall, but I want you to do what you can now to prevent one. Keep getting stronger. Challenge your balance. Work on your mobility. And don’t be afraid to move a little faster.

I don’t want you to become one of the stories I talked about at the beginning. Do what you can now to stay strong, steady, and independent for as long as possible.