I’m a physio and women’s strength coach. These are 3 things I notice in women over 40 who are worried their balance is getting worse.
1️⃣ She assumes it’s just part of getting older — and that there’s nothing she can do about it.
2️⃣ She completely underestimates how much her balance can actually improve.
3️⃣ She avoids anything that makes her feel wobbly. She reaches for handrails automatically. She’s stopped doing single leg movements. She steers clear of uneven ground. And every time she does this, she reduces her body’s capacity to balance. The thing she’s avoiding is the exact thing that would help.
Here’s what’s actually happening:
Balance relies on several systems working together — your vision, your vestibular system (inner ear), proprioception (your muscles communicating your position to your brain), your strength, and your reaction timing. After 40, all of these gradually reduce if they aren’t being trained.
And just like strength, balance responds to challenge.
Which means standing perfectly still and rigid isn’t training your balance at all. Your balance improves in the wobble — in the moment your body has to find stability and correct itself. That instability is the stimulus. Take it away and nothing improves.
To get better, you need to be slightly outside your comfort zone. Not dangerously so. Just enough that your body has to work.
This is why I build balance work into every GLOW10 program. If you’re doing a calf raise for balance, you don’t hold on. If you’re doing it for strength, you hold on and load it up. Same exercise, completely different stimulus. Both matter.
This becomes even more important if you have an osteopenia or osteoporosis diagnosis. Stronger bones are part of the picture. But reducing fall risk is just as critical; and that’s a balance training conversation.
Your balance is not just declining. It’s waiting to be trained.