As we age, building balance and strength safely becomes more important than ever, but that doesn’t mean we all start from the same place. One activity or exercise certainly does NOT fit all. And as such, one of the most common questions I get as a physical therapist is: “How do I make an exercise harder- or easier- so that it’s right for me?” 

The good news is that you don’t need to overhaul your routine, nor do you need to buy any fancy equipment or weights to modify an exercise like us physical therapists do. A few simple changes to your support, your stance, your focus, or your body’s position can make a big difference in how challenging an exercise feels.

How to Modify an Exercise: 5 Options

Here are 5 strategies I use with my physical therapy patients (and in my own workouts!) in order to make any exercise easier or more challenging:

Strategy #1:  Adjust Your Hand Support 

With any exercise, you can change how much or how little you use your hands for support in order to adjust the difficulty level. Start with both hands holding on, and then gradually reduce how much your hands are holding as you progress: 

• Level 1: Both hands holding onto the counter (the most stable) 

   

• Level 2: One hand holding onto the counter (slightly more challenging) 

   

• Level 3: No hands holding the counter (even more challenging) 

     

Note: Always stay safe and keep your hands hovering just above a sturdy counter, even when you get to the point you aren’t using either hand to hold on. This way, if you do lose your balance, you can quickly touch down and keep yourself safe so you don’t fall. 

Strategy #2:  Adjust Your Stance 

With nearly any standing exercise, you can change how your feet are positioned to adjust the difficulty level. Start with your feet wide, and then gradually narrow your stance as your balance improves: 

• Level 1: Wider stance with feet apart (the most stable) 

   

• Level 2: Narrow stance with feet closer together (slightly more challenging)  

   

• Level 3: Standing on one leg (the most challenging) 

Note: Always stay safe and keep your hands hovering just above a sturdy counter when adjusting your base of support. This way, if you do lose your balance, you can quickly touch down and keep yourself safe so you don’t fall. 

Strategy #3:  Adjust Where You Look ("The Eye Method")

Our eyes provide our brain with a lot of information about our environment. By changing where we are fixing our gaze during an exercise, we can add more or less of a balance component into any exercise. I call this “The Eye Method.” Start easier and gradually progress through the following levels as you feel safe to do so:

• Level 1: Looking down at the ground, a few feet in front of you (the most stable) 

   

• Level 2: Looking straight ahead (slightly more challenging) 

   

• Level 3: Looking up towards the ceiling (even more challenging)

   

• Level 4: Closing your eyes (removes visual input, the most challenging) 

Note: Always stay safe and near a wall or sturdy counter when modifying your gaze. Preferably have someone with you, especially if it’s your first time attempting these types of exercises. 

Strategy #4:  Add an Unstable Surface

You can place a couch cushion, a balance pad, or even a folded towel under your feet during an exercise. This increases the challenge by requiring more leg and core muscle activation to stay steady. Start out more stable, then gradually decrease stability as you feel safe enough to do so. This will increase the challenge (and therefore improve your balance!): 

• Level 1: Flat, hard level floor such as wood or tile flooring (the most stable) 

   

• Level 2: Cushioned floor surface such as carpet or a yoga mat (slightly more challenging)

   

• Level 3: Couch cushion, pillow, or thickly folded towel (even more challenging)

Note: Always stay safe and near a wall or sturdy counter during standing exercises, especially when on an uneven surface. Preferably have someone with you, especially if it’s your first time attempting these types of exercises. 

Strategy #5:  Modify Your Body Position (Sitting, Lying Down, or Standing)

The position you're in during an exercise also affects how easy or difficult it will be. But here's the key: Which particular position is more or less challenging will vary, depending on which muscle group you're targeting. 

• Exercises in sitting: Seated exercises are a great starting point, and can be ideal for those with limited mobility or those with significant weakness or balance issues. These are good for working on posture, leg strength, or arm exercises, with a low risk for falling. Seated exercises can also engage and strengthen the core muscles, as long as you aren’t leaning back against the sofa or backrest. 

   

• Exercises lying down: Lying on your back, side, or stomach is great for isolating specific muscles and often a great choice for leg lifts, because you can really put those muscles to work against gravity. They can also be used for those with significant weakness to reduce gravity’s effect, or they can be used to make an exercise more challenging - again, this all depends on which way you are lying and which muscle group you are focusing on. 

   

• Exercises in standing: These have the potential to be the most challenging, as it incorporates more balance work, compared to sitting or lying down. Engages more muscle groups and mimics daily activities, which is wonderful for functional strength and carryover to daily tasks.

Start where you feel most safe and steady, and build from there. 

Your Turn to Try It

Choose any 1 of these strategies and play around with it, see if you can make your exercises more interesting by adding a little balance challenge work into them, even if they are something as simple as a bicep curl. You can even combine two or more of these strategies as your balance improves!

For example, if you are doing bicep curls, you can stand with a wider base of support, but stand on a couch cushion, so it’s a bit unsteady. Or you can stand on the flat floor, but just stand on one leg while doing the bicep curls. If that’s too difficult, hold onto a counter with one hand. When you get better, try without holding on. See how many options there are? 

Feeling Overwhelmed? Let Me Do the Hard Part for You!

If reading all of this makes your head spin a little, I get it, and you're definitely not alone. There are nearly an infinite amount of combinations of these strategies to modify an exercise, and it can feel overwhelming to figure out on your own. It’s enough to make you walk away and not even start in the first place! But that’s the opposite of what I want, because that’s not going to help you at all!

It’s also exactly why I created The Balance Boost Course: designed for seniors like you, who want to build the most steady, the most confident versions of themselves. You want effective exercises that target exactly the right muscles in the right way, so you don’t have to spend all of your time planning and second-guessing what you should be doing to ensure you maintain independence as you get older. 

In my course, I give you the EXACT exercises to do, step by step. And each exercise comes in 3 different levels. You simply choose the one that feels right for your body today. 

• Feeling strong? Move up a level.

• Missed a few weeks? No problem - drop down and build back up safely.

• Not sure what’s best? I’ve already done the thinking and planning for you. No researching, no hemming and hawing, no second-guessing what is safe or what is right for you. 

    

🎯 Ready to feel steadier on your feet—with confidence?
Join my course by clicking here, and take the guesswork out of building balance.

Let’s build a more steady and confident you - one step at a time. Yes! I'm ready to feel strong, confident, and steady!