Standing on One Leg Won’t Prevent a Fall: And Why Balance Deserves Better Advice
- Bethanne Weiss
- Feb 20
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 24
Every few months, another article pops up announcing “the most effective simple exercise to improve balance, increase ankle stability, and prevent falls.”
Before I even open it, I know what it’s going to say.
Drumroll please…
The infamous single-leg stand.
Stand on one leg for 20–30 seconds. Make it more challenging and brush your teeth. Or empty the dishwasher. Or close your eyes. Balance while reciting your childhood address....
Yada yada yada.
Cue my internal groan: Oh no. Not again.
Here’s the truth:
Standing on one leg is not wrong, it's just SO incomplete.
And when it’s presented as the solution, we miss what actually prevents falls in real life — especially after 50.
Why the One-Leg Stand Became the Go-To: And Why It Falls Short
It’s popular because it’s:
• Easy to explain
• Easy to measure
• Easy to prescribe
But easy doesn’t equal effective.
Before we go any further, let me say this clearly:
I’m a 60ish year young, degreed and certified fitness and wellness professional with 40ish years of experience helping people move their assets safely, confidently, and joyfully.
And I am also a walking balance experiment.
I’ve lived for decades with dizziness, vertigo, severe foot and ankle issues (I was born with feet that might better serve a chicken,) and proprioception challenges to the tenth power.
So when I say this, I say it as both a professional and a patient:
Standing on one leg did very little to help me prevent falls or move more confidently in real life.
And I am not alone.
Falls rarely happen because someone couldn’t stand peacefully on one foot while staring at a wall, or even adding on the ole toothbrushing piece... though I am a huge fan of using your less-dominant (notice I don't say non-dominant) side as much as possible.
They happen:
When we’re transitioning.
When we’re turning.
When we’re stepping off a curb.
When we’re getting up from a chair.
When we’re distracted, staring at our devices, carrying groceries, rushing, or navigating uneven ground.
In other words — when we’re mindFULL and unaware of our bodies and surroundings.
Real life is dynamic.
Layered.
Unpredictable.
Static one-leg stands don’t fully prepare you for that.
If we want to prevent falls and move with confidence as we age, we have to train for real life — not just for the test.
The #1 Balance Skill That Actually Prevents Falls
If I had to name the most powerful, overlooked balance training tool as well as THE most important fitness test on the planet, it would be this:
Get up and down from a chair, toilet, car, or couch —without grabbing anything (including yourself,) without making dramatic OYful noises, and without collapsing into your sitting instrument.
• Standing up quickly and hands-free activates the muscles you’re supposed to be using — especially your glutes and core — dramatically improving mobility, stability, and balance.
• Sitting down slowly builds control for the same reasons. Strength isn’t just about pushing up. It’s about lowering yourself with intention and control.
• Falling into a seat is… mic drop please...falling.
And this simple movement is one of the clearest indicators of how well you’re caring for your soul's container (aka your body.) It’s functional. It’s transferable. And it’s something we do dozens of times a day. Do it often. Do it well. Your future self will thank you.
Awareness Beats Autopilot
Balance improves fastest when we’re aware — not zoned out.
If you’re looking down at your phone and your eyes (and girls...yes those girls) are not forward, you’re far more likely to go down too.
You won’t see the step. The curb. The pothole. Or the poop.
Now that is balance training.
Your Glutes Are Not Optional
Your glutes are a major stabilizing force — and yes, they’re part of your core.
You don’t want to be diagnosed with Noassitol disease, do you? Hint: if you sit more often than not, you are a victim of this devistating ailment. Butt (pun intended) it is SO fixable with some simple, and very powerful, Tiny Tweaks™ like:
• Skip the escalator and take the stairs
• Push through your heels when standing to activate your glutes
• Practice controlled backward walking (safely) and while turning neck and torso
• Squeeze your glutes when stepping up or turning
Strong glutes mean better balance. Period.
Why Turning Your Head Might Be Exactly What You Need
Many people avoid turning their heads quickly because it makes them dizzy.
Here’s the irony:
Avoiding head movement is often why you stay dizzy and have some serious neck and shoulder issues as a result. Been there.
In my FUNIQ® classes, we:
• Turn the head evenly to both sides
• Follow hand movements with the eyes, head and rest of the body
• Move the body and vestibular system together
Much of this comes from vestibular therapy I personally went through when my balance was far worse.
Life doesn’t happen facing forward, standing still. Your training shouldn’t either.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Standing on one leg can be:
• Painful for people with foot or ankle issues
• Discouraging
• Misleading
Balance training must be individualized, functional, and layered.
The one-leg stand is a tiny piece of a very big puzzle — not the picture on the box.
The Bottom Line (Yes, Pun Intended yet again)
If you want to prevent falls and improve balance:
• Train transitions, not poses
• Prioritize awareness, not autopilot
• Strengthen what stabilizes you in motion
• Move your head, eyes, and body together
• Respect that bodies are different
Standing on one leg? Fine. Keep it. Just don’t call it the solution.
Preventing falls isn’t about doing one impressive trick.
It’s about building strength, increasing mobility, awareness, and confidence — one smart yet simple Tiny Tweak™ at a time.
If you’d like more practical, real-world strategies you can start using immediately, I share additional tools in my article,“10ish Tiny Tweaks™ to Age Safely, Joyfully, and Prevent Falls.”
"As Bethanne Wellness — the Queen of More JOY and Less OY — I enJOY teaching Tiny Tweaks™ to your eats, your moves, your brain, and your life so you can move, feel, and look (even more) amazing while aging safely, healthfully, and JOYfully in your own home — or wherever you choose to plant your fabulous self.
I’m certified in fall prevention, balance, posture, ergonomics, and senior home safety, and I’ve helped prevent thousands of people (including myself) from starring in the “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercial or scooting through life at two miles per hour. I don’t just teach this work — I live it. Having navigated dizziness and balance challenges for most of my life, I understand firsthand how powerful the right Tiny Tweaks™ can be."
Bethanne Weiss, B.S., is an American Posture Institute posture ergonomist and balance expert, Age Safe® America Certified Senior Home Safety Specialist®, motivational speaker, author, host of the More JOY Less OY podcast, FUNIQ® Fitness Founder, ACE-certified fitness and nutrition professional, ACE-approved CEU provider, and ACE-certified behavior change specialist with 40ish years of moving assets, changing brains, bodies, and booties — and preventing falls.
Her Tiny Tweaks™ will have YOU moving, feeling, and looking amazing in less than 30 minutes.
Hire Bethanne today to Wow Your Crowd!
Click Here to check out Bethanne's book,
Move Your Assets: From the Chair, Not the Bank!
Email: Bethanne@moveyourassets.com
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