Balance is an aspect of fitness that is often wrongfully underestimated when it comes to both competitive athletic performance and everyday quality of life. This Fitness Blender Balance Workout is meant to challenge and improve the control that you have over your own body, making you a stronger, faster, and more agile competitor (or fitness fanatic).

The exercises in this video are deceptively difficult. If you take just a quick glimpse at any given part of this video, you might find yourself wondering what the big challenge is. Try an exercise for yourself – the Single Leg Head Nods, with Eyes Closed, for example – and you will more likely than not find yourself struggling not to fall over.

Why you should do this workout:
Maintaining stability and being able to exert control over one’s body is a huge part of avoiding injury and falls, for both the elderly and the athletic. This workout also improves your coordination and your sense of spatial location. Aside from turning you into a more agile individual, this program will also help tone your body.

To do this routine you will need:
An exercise mat and a physioball

How this workout is structured:
This video has 5 different advanced balance exercises. There are two rounds of the entire routine for a workout that comes in at just over twenty minutes total.

Advanced Exercises for Balance:
Single Leg Head Nods; Eyes Closed – Deceptively difficult with your eyes closed, you may find that you need to get the hang of this motion with your eyes open first. Make sure that you do this in a safe place where you cannot fall or trip over anything, because you will lose your balance while attempting this one. Take your time; you don’t have to go at the same speed as we do in the video. Do 5 on each leg.

Single Leg Agility Dots – Do 20 on each leg; 10 in each direction. If you don’t have tape or agility dots, just imagine that you are jumping around the box pattern. This one is a high calorie burner and great for toning the calves.

Superman Lifts – Tap into your inner superhero with this one and hop onto that physioball. Again, make sure that you don’t have any breakables (or things that can break you) around while you do this. If you need to, do this on a Bosu ball to make it easier. Do 4 lifts of each limb, total.

Physioball Kneeling Rotations – This one is tricky, and meant only for those who already have a solid foundation of coordination and core strength. If you want to make this one harder, hold onto a medicine ball or weight while you do the slow rotating motions.

Plank Extension Tucks – From a push up position, tuck the right hand and left foot inward towards your core, and then back out into an extension. Do 8 repetitions on each side, without touching the ground in between repetitions, and the repeat on opposite sides of the body. If you want to make it easier, you can rest your limbs on the ground in between reps.

How many calories does this workout burn?
The exact numbers for each person will be different, but we estimate that this 20 minute workout ends up burning roughly 140-170 calories total.

This routine would be great to do in combination with a cardio workout (see Fitness Blender’s entire library of full length workout videos for ideas on cardio that you can do at home without any equipment).

If this workout is too hard, try our Beginner Balance Workout.