Can you … balance on one leg without holding onto something? Put your socks on standing up? Steady yourself when you’re about to fall?? 

Well, six years ago I was quite unable to stand unsupported on one leg – and the most I could do was five seconds! 

I remembered reading articles on this subject, and one in particular titled “Lift and Celebrate” by Paula Goodyer from 2012:

“Like strength, balance is a casualty of inactivity and age … if you skid on a patch of oil and find yourself teetering on one leg, good balance can prevent a fall. …

“Start strength training now and by your 60s, you can offset some of the age-related changes that can cause muscle loss. … [It] helps preserve fast-twitch muscle fibres – the fibres that generate force rapidly so you can quickly move out of harm’s way or stop yourself falling if you trip.”

(Paula paraphrases Rob Newton, Foundation Professor of Exercise and Sports Science at Western Australia’s Edith Cowan University).

Prof. Jamie McPhee, Head of Sport and Exercise Sciences at Manchester Metropolitan University, provides useful tips:

• Stand on each leg, eyes open, for at least 20 seconds. Evidence shows that doing this for up to a minute 3x a day improves balance and increases hip-bone density for people in their 70s.
• Do it with eyes closed once you can manage 20 seconds. This further maintains balance and sharpens your other senses.
• Walk along a marked line on the ground. Keeping “one foot in front of the other … [shifts] your centre of mass to maintain balance”.
• Walk up and down on steps or a platform. Gradually using your toes for this also shifts centre of mass. Switch legs and “spend as much time on one foot in every movement as you can”.

(Bee, P. (2022, June 23). “If you can’t stand on one leg for 10 seconds, be concerned”. The Australian.)

BALANCE has also been found to be a potential risk factor affecting longevity. Mmm.

For the last 30 years, I walked for 30 minutes uphill every morning, did Pilates and Tai Chi exercises at home … but still wobbled trying to do this seemingly simple exercise. Was this Dad’s poor “sense of balance” and acute motion sickness I inherited? 

No, it was not. It was because I had poor posture and my muscle strength was not evenly distributed. Some areas of my body were simply weaker than others; as a result, my “balance” was poor. I had to do something about it. I thought “What the hell?” – and joined a gym.

I walked up to Dirk’s Health in Sydney early one morning in September 2016 for my first “Live Long and Stay Strong” class. But at 67 years old, I asked myself, “Is this really something I should be doing now??” I resisted, making the usual excuses. I didn’t believe it was “worth it” (the money too!).

If you’re also thinking that, please STOP right now. In the end, I absolutely regretted leaving this so late. Please, please: DON’T wait as long as I did!

You have a CHOICE:

• Lose lean muscle as you age, or build it up 
• You can give your body the strength and power it needs
• To bend and not break, to sway and not fall! 

That day, I took on a new path towards leading a better life. Now at 73, I can stand on one leg for a minute doing bicep curls (but only for 5–10 seconds with my eyes closed). I LOVE IT! Weight training, squatting, stretching, pulling … even boxing! Working every muscle, flexing every joint. But most importantly, maintaining good posture with every exercise. I made the best of friends at the gym, managed my aches and pains, and got out of bed feeling HAPPY! 

Energised. Alert. Alive. Motivated.

So Dirk Hansen, this post and quote are dedicated to you. My appreciation and gratitude for the life you’ve given me, which I can never put a price on. 

“Posture, balance and joint flexibility are often overlooked when people talk about exercise programs, yet the health effects of poor posture, lack of balance, joint misalignment and stiffness affect many aspects of our daily life and contribute to a great deal of disease and disability.”

Fontana, L. (2020). ‘The Path to Longevity: How to reach 100 with the health and stamina of a 40-year-old’, p.173. Hardie Grant Books: Richmond, Victoria.

(Of course, you knew this long before Fontana wrote his book. And you taught us well!) 

As we approach the silly season, I’ll indulge myself and attach an audio clip of a song I recorded in 2021, using my own lyrics to a famous tune. I hope it will motivate those of you “thinking about” joining a gym!