Strength, bones and balance

The Dutch movement guidelines ask adults to do muscle- and bone-strengthening activities at least twice a week, and older adults to combine them with balance exercises. These are the things most people skip, and they matter more from now on: bone density goes down faster around the menopause, and muscle mass decreases with age, while strength training slows that loss. The routines below cover them at home, with a chair, a wall and a pair of light dumbbells or a resistance band.

Start with what feels manageable. Slow, controlled movement is more important than the number of repetitions. If you have osteoporosis, a fracture in your back, a heart condition or joint problems, or if you have not exercised for a long time, ask your GP or a physiotherapist to help you choose and adapt the exercises.

Strength, twice a week

About 20 minutes · a sturdy chair, a wall or kitchen counter, two light dumbbells (1 to 3 kg) or a resistance band

Do each exercise 8 to 12 times, slowly. Rest for a minute, then go through the list again. Build up to three rounds. When 12 repetitions feel easy, make it harder: a heavier weight, a slower movement, or the harder version below. Increasing the load bit by bit is what makes strength training work. Some muscle soreness the next day is normal.

1. Sit to stand

   Sit on the front half of a chair, feet flat and hip-width apart. Lean forward slightly and stand up without using your hands. Sit down again slowly, taking about three seconds, and only just touch the seat.

   Easier: use your hands on your thighs, or a higher chair. Harder: hold a dumbbell against your chest.

2. Wall or counter push-up

   Place your hands on a wall or kitchen counter at shoulder height, a little wider than your shoulders. Step back so your body is in a straight line from head to heels. Bend your elbows to bring your chest towards your hands, then push back.

   Easier: stand closer to the wall. Harder: use a lower surface, such as a sturdy table.

3. Step-up

   Stand in front of the bottom stair, holding the banister. Step up with one foot and press through that heel to bring the other foot up. Step down slowly with the same foot you started with. Do all repetitions on one side, then switch.

   Easier: lean more on the banister. Harder: hold a dumbbell in your free hand.

4. Bent-over row

   Stand with one hand on the back of a chair and a dumbbell in the other. Hinge at the hips, keeping your back straight, until your upper body leans forward. Pull the dumbbell towards your lower ribs, keeping your elbow close to your body, then lower it slowly. Switch sides.

   Easier: no weight, or a light band. Harder: a heavier weight and a two-second pause at the top.

5. Hip hinge with weights

   Stand with a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs, knees slightly bent. Push your hips back and let the weights slide down the front of your legs to just below the knees, keeping your back straight. Stand up by pushing your hips forward. This is the same movement you use to pick something up from the floor safely.

   Easier: no weights, hands on your hips. Harder: heavier weights, slower on the way down.

6. Heel raise

   Stand behind a chair with your hands lightly on the backrest. Rise onto the balls of your feet, hold for a moment, and lower slowly.

   Easier: hold on with both hands. Harder: one leg at a time.

Impact for your bones, most days

A few minutes · no equipment

Bones get stronger from being loaded, and short, firm impacts are one of the ways to do that. The UK consensus on exercise and bone health, from the Royal Osteoporosis Society, suggests building up to about 50 moderate impacts on most days. You can spread them over the day, for example 5 sets of 10.

• Lower impact: brisk marching on the spot, climbing the stairs a few times, a brisk walk.
• Moderate impact: stamping, small jumps, skipping, jogging on the spot, dancing.

Start with lower impact and add moderate impact over a few weeks if it feels comfortable. If you have osteoporosis with fractures in your back, or have been told you are frail, stay with lower-impact activity unless a physiotherapist advises otherwise. If jumping causes leakage or a feeling of heaviness, also stay with lower impact and ask a pelvic floor physiotherapist for advice.

Balance and posture, a few minutes a day

5 minutes · near a wall or kitchen counter

Balance gets worse when you do not train it, and it improves with regular practice. Good balance and a strong back lower the chance of a fall. Do these near something to hold on to.

1. Stand on one leg

   Stand on one leg for up to 30 seconds, then switch. A good moment is while brushing your teeth.

   Harder: turn your head slowly from side to side, or close your eyes, holding on lightly.

2. Heel-to-toe walk

   Walk ten steps in a straight line, placing the heel of one foot directly in front of the toes of the other. Turn around and walk back.

   Easier: stand heel-to-toe without walking, holding the counter.

3. Back extension

   Lie on your front with a pillow under your hips and your arms along your sides. Lift your head and shoulders a few centimetres off the floor, look at the floor, and hold for 3 to 5 seconds. Lower slowly. Up to 10 times.

   Easier: stand with your back to a wall and press the back of your head and shoulders gently into it for 5 seconds.

Three minutes in the morning

Every morning at 6:30, Japanese public radio broadcasts rajio taisō, a routine of simple exercises to piano music that has been running since 1928. It takes a little over three minutes, and people do it at home, at work, in parks and at schools. It is not strength training, but it is a good example of something that works because it is short, the same every day and done at a fixed moment.

A short morning sequence in the same spirit:

• Swing your arms forward and up, then let them fall, 8 times.
• Bend your knees slightly and straighten them, rising onto your toes, 8 times.
• Reach one arm over your head and lean gently to the other side within a comfortable range, 4 times each side.
• Turn your upper body slowly left and right, arms loose, without forcing the turn, 8 times.
• Roll your shoulders back 8 times, then take three slow, deep breaths.

A sample week

With the brisk walks and an active weekend, a week like this can reach the Dutch guideline of at least 150 minutes of moderate activity. For more on why muscle and bone matter after 45, read Strength training after 45 and Protein after 50.

Sources

• Gezondheidsraad, Beweegrichtlijnen 2017, samenvatting.
• Royal Osteoporosis Society, Strong, Steady and Straight: quick guide (2018).
• NVAB, Richtlijn Overgang en werk (2026), on bone density before menopause.
• Nippon.com, Rajio taisō: radio calisthenics.