Keep getting up off the floor.
A workout for today, every day, built for people over 60. Balance, strength and walking — the three things that decide whether you stay steady on your feet. About thirty minutes, three days a week, in your own front room.
Free. No sign-up, nothing to download, no adverts.
35%
fewer falls
Across four controlled trials of 1,016 people aged 65 to 97, this kind of programme cut falls and fall injuries by about a third.
30
minutes, three days a week
Plus a walk on two other days. That is the whole commitment.
4
levels
From holding the counter with both hands to standing on one leg for thirty seconds. You start where you actually are.
Who this is for
You do not want to join a gym. You do not want a class full of twenty-year-olds. You want to keep carrying the shopping in, keep taking the stairs, keep getting down on the floor with the grandkids and — the part nobody says out loud — keep being able to get back up.
That is not about being fit. It is about balance and leg strength, and both of them respond to work at any age. The research on this is unusually clear, and it is strongest in people over 80.
What you actually do
Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The session
Five minutes loosening up, five strength exercises, then balance work. Around half an hour. A chair and a kitchen counter is all the equipment.
Tuesday, Saturday
A walk
Up to thirty minutes at your own pace. Three ten-minute walks count exactly the same as one long one.
Thursday, Sunday
Rest
Properly nothing. Muscle gets stronger on the days between sessions, so the rest days are part of the programme.
Where it comes from
The balance and strength work follows the structure of the Otago Exercise Programme, developed at the University of Otago by Professors A. John Campbell and M. Clare Robertson. The gym sessions follow the National Strength and Conditioning Association's guidance for older adults. The weekly shape follows the World Health Organization's 2020 recommendation of balance training three or more days a week.
We did not invent any of this. We put it somewhere you can read it at half past six in the morning without squinting. All the exercises are here, free, whether you use the daily plan or not.