10-Minute Balance Workout With Bryant Johnson

This video is part of the 30-Day Couch-to-Fit Challenge designed to help you improve strength, cardio, balance and flexibility. Start the challenge here: aarp.org/CouchToFit

Try these exercises from late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s trainer, Bryant Johnson, to improve your balance. All you need is a chair for this home workout.

Key takeaways

• Follow Bryant Johnson’s 10-minute workout to improve balance using just a sturdy chair.
• Enhance stability with accessible moves like quarter squats, heel-toe raises, and leg swings.
• Build confidence and mobility at any age while supporting injury prevention and independence.

Summary

Improve your balance at home with this 10-minute balance workout, designed by personal trainer and bestselling author Bryant Johnson — best known as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s trainer. Using only a sturdy chair for support, Johnson guides you through targeted exercises like quarter squats, heel-toe raises, knee lifts and controlled leg swings. These moves are accessible to most fitness levels and are easy to modify, making them perfect for beginners or anyone looking to build stability, confidence and strength at any age.

Maintaining and improving balance is essential for injury prevention and ongoing independence. With practical tips — such as going at your own pace, focusing on form and using the chair for support as needed — these balance exercises help strengthen your core and lower body while also supporting better posture and mobility. Incorporate this routine into your weekly schedule to boost coordination and stay active, whether you’re starting out on your fitness journey or stepping up your daily movement.

The key takeaways and summary were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Full Transcript:

[0:00:00] [AARP’s GET MOVING! Wherever You Are]

[0:00:03] [10-MINUTE BALANCE WITH Fitness Expert Bryant Johnson]

[0:00:06] >> Bryant Johnson: Hi, I’m Bryant Johnson,

[0:00:08] personal trainer and bestselling author.

[0:00:11] Today, I’m going to take you through

[0:00:13] a 10-minute balance improvement workout.

[0:00:17] But before you do any workout, I want you to remember that at any time

[0:00:21] please go at your own pace.

[0:00:23] If you need to pause me, hit pause.

[0:00:27] If you need to rewind me, rewind me,

[0:00:30] fast-forward, stop, review and play it all over again,

[0:00:34] please do that.

[0:00:35] A lot of the exercises that we’re going to do today

[0:00:37] are going to come directly from my book,

[0:00:40] The RBG Workout: How She Stays Strong ... and You Can Too!

[0:00:44] Remember, go at your own pace.

[0:00:47] The first exercise that I’m going to start off with

[0:00:49] is going to be a quarter to half squat.

[0:00:54] I want you to use a chair for balance, support, confidence.

[0:00:58] If you don’t need to use a chair, that’s OK.

[0:01:01] But remember, it’s here just for safety.

[0:01:04] First thing I want you to do is turn. I’m going to go to this position.

[0:01:08] Feet are going to be shoulder-width apart,

[0:01:10] abs are going to be tight.

[0:01:11] And I’m just going to take it down to a quarter squat,

[0:01:15] and back up.

[0:01:17] Down, and up.

[0:01:18] I’m not taking it all the way down here and all the way up.

[0:01:22] No, no, no, no,

[0:01:23] just a quarter squat down, and up.

[0:01:26] Down, and up.

[0:01:28] Down, and up. If you need to hold the chair, do so.

[0:01:31] If not,

[0:01:33] lightly touch it.

[0:01:35] And down, and up.

[0:01:37] Let’s go one more.

[0:01:38] And relax.

[0:01:40] Remember, the repetitions are going to be 10 repetitions.

[0:01:43] I’m going to do about two sets of each exercise.

[0:01:45] Sometimes my count is funny. It doesn’t matter.

[0:01:48] What I want you to do is make sure that you keep moving.

[0:01:51] Let’s go to the next step.

[0:01:52] Going into position myself again. Feet are about shoulder-width apart.

[0:01:55] All I’m just going to do is taking it down, and up.

[0:01:59] And two.

[0:02:00] Good.

[0:02:01] Three,

[0:02:02] and four,

[0:02:03] and five.

[0:02:05] Sometimes just touch the chair. Six.

[0:02:07] Fingers are right here. Seven.

[0:02:09] Here’s eight.

[0:02:11] Here is nine.

[0:02:12] And 10.

[0:02:14] Good. Relax.

[0:02:15] Shake it out a little bit. Just getting done.

[0:02:17] Once again, like I said, this is for balance improvement.

[0:02:20] Next exercise we’re going to do is going to be a combination of a heel raise

[0:02:24] and a toe raise.

[0:02:26] I like to call it rocking back and forth, OK?

[0:02:28] So let me show you the first movement here.

[0:02:31] Fingers are here.

[0:02:32] If you need to get behind the chair, you can.

[0:02:34] I’m just going to be to the side so you can see me.

[0:02:36] I’m going to come up,

[0:02:38] heel raise, pause for a second,

[0:02:41] take it down,

[0:02:42] toe raise,

[0:02:44] and down.

[0:02:46] OK? Heel, down, toe.

[0:02:50] Heel,

[0:02:53] toe.

[0:02:55] Chair, heel,

[0:02:57] back, toe.

[0:02:59] Good.

[0:03:00] Heel,

[0:03:02] toe.

[0:03:04] Heel,

[0:03:06] toe.

[0:03:07] Excellent. Again, heel.

[0:03:10] Good. Toe.

[0:03:11] Remember, sometimes my count is funny.

[0:03:13] Heel.

[0:03:14] Good. Toe.

[0:03:15] Give me two more each side.

[0:03:17] Heel,

[0:03:19] toe.

[0:03:21] Heel, and toe.

[0:03:23] Good. Relax.

[0:03:24] What I want you to do is just kind of rotate your ankles a little bit.

[0:03:27] This is really a good balance improvement,

[0:03:30] working the lower part of the calf

[0:03:33] and the front of the thighs.

[0:03:35] OK. Let’s try it again, one more time.

[0:03:38] Heel,

[0:03:40] toe raise.

[0:03:41] Heel,

[0:03:43] toe raise.

[0:03:44] Heel, toe raise.

[0:03:47] As you notice, I come up and pause.

[0:03:50] And back down, toe raise.

[0:03:53] Heel,

[0:03:55] toe raise.

[0:03:57] Good. Heel, toe raise.

[0:04:00] You’ll feel it a little bit in the shin area also.

[0:04:03] Heel.

[0:04:04] Especially on a toe raise here.

[0:04:06] Let’s go for three more.

[0:04:07] Heel,

[0:04:09] toe raise.

[0:04:11] Heel,

[0:04:13] toe raise.

[0:04:14] One more.

[0:04:15] Heel,

[0:04:17] and toe raise.

[0:04:18] Good and relax.

[0:04:20] Once again, let’s just kind of rotate that ankle around,

[0:04:23] move it up and down, rotate it.

[0:04:25] Just kind of loosen up that calf

[0:04:27] and the shin.

[0:04:29] OK,

[0:04:30] the next exercise I want you to do is going to be a knee raise.

[0:04:33] OK, once again, hand is positioned here, right on a chair.

[0:04:37] I’m going to lift my knee here, raise up right here.

[0:04:39] It’s up, and back down.

[0:04:41] I’m going to pause for about a second or so.

[0:04:43] Up,

[0:04:45] down.

[0:04:47] Up, down.

[0:04:50] Good.

[0:04:51] Up, down.

[0:04:53] Here’s number five.

[0:04:54] Up,

[0:04:56] and down.

[0:04:58] Up.

[0:05:00] Once again, this is just for support.

[0:05:02] Up, and down.

[0:05:04] If you can do it, up,

[0:05:06] you let go.

[0:05:08] Down. Let’s go two more.

[0:05:10] Up, pause it, you let go.

[0:05:12] And down. Let’s go one more time.

[0:05:14] Up,

[0:05:16] and down.

[0:05:17] Good. Relax.

[0:05:18] Let’s switch with the other leg.

[0:05:20] Once again, bringing it up,

[0:05:23] and down.

[0:05:24] Up,

[0:05:26] and down.

[0:05:27] This is number three.

[0:05:30] Down. Here’s four.

[0:05:31] Up, and down.

[0:05:33] Halfway, five.

[0:05:36] And down. Now on this one right here,

[0:05:38] up, let go,

[0:05:40] down.

[0:05:41] Bring it up, hand goes here, down.

[0:05:44] See how I just barely touch it.

[0:05:46] And down.

[0:05:48] Practice.

[0:05:50] Down. Let’s go one more.

[0:05:51] Bring it up, let go.

[0:05:54] Down, and then relax. OK?

[0:05:56] Good. Good, good.

[0:05:58] That’s one set.

[0:05:59] Let’s go ahead and do one more set for me, OK?

[0:06:01] Here we go.

[0:06:02] Bring it up,

[0:06:04] and down.

[0:06:06] Up, and down.

[0:06:08] I don’t need for you to rush through this. Take your time.

[0:06:11] If you can’t bring your knee up as so high, that’s fine.

[0:06:15] If you can bring it up higher,

[0:06:18] just do what you can do.

[0:06:21] Comparison is not a standard when we do this exercise.

[0:06:23] Right here you give me what you got.

[0:06:25] That’s all that I want.

[0:06:27] Bring it up.

[0:06:29] Good. Give me two more right here.

[0:06:31] Bring it up, and pause, balance, and down.

[0:06:33] Let’s go for one more. Bring it up. Hold it right here.

[0:06:36] I’m going to hold it, and I’m going to let go.

[0:06:40] Back down, OK? Let’s switch.

[0:06:42] Bring it up, and down.

[0:06:46] Up.

[0:06:47] This is number two. Good.

[0:06:49] Here we go with three. Good.

[0:06:52] Bring it up, let go,

[0:06:54] down.

[0:06:55] Bring it up, let go, down.

[0:06:59] You are halfway there.

[0:07:01] And down. Here we go again, up.

[0:07:04] Let it go.

[0:07:05] Three more.

[0:07:06] Up, let it go.

[0:07:09] Two. Up.

[0:07:11] Let go the chair.

[0:07:12] And one more.

[0:07:13] Bring it up, let go the chair,

[0:07:16] and down, and relax.

[0:07:18] OK, how’s everybody feeling?

[0:07:20] All right, here we go.

[0:07:22] Next exercise I want to do is going to be a leg swing.

[0:07:25] Once again, this is all incorporating improving your balance.

[0:07:30] Always using this chair, just to give you a little bit of support.

[0:07:33] What I’m going to do is swing my leg out,

[0:07:35] I’m going to bring it back, or I may bring it across,

[0:07:37] whichever feels comfortable for you.

[0:07:39] Do not try to bring it way out here, unless you can.

[0:07:43] Only do what you can.

[0:07:45] Bring it out, bring it back.

[0:07:47] Out, and back.

[0:07:49] Now sometimes you can bring it out and bring it across,

[0:07:54] and bring it back out, and bring it across.

[0:07:56] But if you can’t do that, that’s OK.

[0:07:58] Just bring it out and cross,

[0:08:01] out, and back.

[0:08:02] Good. Out, and back.

[0:08:05] Let’s bring it out, here.

[0:08:07] Good. Give me two more.

[0:08:10] Good. Give me one more. Good.

[0:08:12] Now I’m going to take it off to the other side

[0:08:14] so you get a better view from this side.

[0:08:16] So I’m going to change position just a little bit

[0:08:18] just so you can see me.

[0:08:20] And bring it out,

[0:08:21] and back.

[0:08:23] Out, and back.

[0:08:25] Good. Out.

[0:08:27] Great. Out.

[0:08:28] Remember, only go as high as you can go.

[0:08:30] If you can only go about here, then that’s fine.

[0:08:32] Just go out and back.

[0:08:34] Good. Out, and back.

[0:08:36] Give me three more.

[0:08:38] Out,

[0:08:39] back.

[0:08:40] Out, back.

[0:08:43] Out, and back.

[0:08:44] OK, good, relax.

[0:08:45] Now remember, we’re just going to do two sets, 10 repetitions.

[0:08:48] If you want to do a little bit more, you can.

[0:08:51] OK, here we go. We’re going to bring it out again.

[0:08:53] Out,

[0:08:54] and back.

[0:08:56] Out,

[0:08:57] and back.

[0:08:59] Out,

[0:09:00] back.

[0:09:02] Out, and back.

[0:09:03] Good. This should be number five.

[0:09:06] Good. And here’s six.

[0:09:09] And seven.

[0:09:11] Good. Here’s eight.

[0:09:13] Good. Here’s nine.

[0:09:16] Good. And here’s number 10.

[0:09:18] The leg that’s supporting

[0:09:19] you should really feel in the gluteus maximus a little bit

[0:09:22] and the abductors, the outer thigh.

[0:09:25] OK, here we go. Last set on this side.

[0:09:27] Turning it out here. One.

[0:09:30] And two.

[0:09:32] And three.

[0:09:34] Here is four.

[0:09:36] And five.

[0:09:39] Here is six.

[0:09:41] Here is seven.

[0:09:43] This is eight.

[0:09:45] Number nine.

[0:09:47] And 10.

[0:09:48] All right, good, relax.

[0:09:49] Kind of walk around, move it out, shake it out a little bit.

[0:09:52] OK, next exercise.

[0:09:54] We’re just going to have to kick your leg back,

[0:09:56] just a little bit of movement.

[0:09:57] I’m going to turn to the side so you can see me.

[0:10:00] Just come back and here.

[0:10:03] And two.

[0:10:05] And three.

[0:10:07] Here is four,

[0:10:09] five,

[0:10:11] six,

[0:10:13] seven.

[0:10:15] Here is eight.

[0:10:17] Here is nine.

[0:10:19] And 10.

[0:10:20] Let’s take it over to the other side for me.

[0:10:23] Kick it back.

[0:10:24] One,

[0:10:25] and two,

[0:10:27] and three.

[0:10:28] Here is four.

[0:10:30] Here is five.

[0:10:32] Six, seven.

[0:10:34] Remember, the chair is just a brace.

[0:10:36] Eight.

[0:10:37] Here is nine.

[0:10:38] And 10.

[0:10:40] Good, relax.

[0:10:41] OK, let’s take it over to the other side.

[0:10:43] OK, here we go, right here, and kick it back.

[0:10:45] One,

[0:10:46] and two.

[0:10:48] Here is three.

[0:10:50] Here is four.

[0:10:51] And five.

[0:10:53] Here is six.

[0:10:55] Here is seven.

[0:10:57] Here is eight.

[0:10:58] Here is nine.

[0:11:00] And here is 10. All right, good.

[0:11:02] Let’s take it over to the last side right here.

[0:11:05] And nice and easy.

[0:11:06] One,

[0:11:07] and two.

[0:11:09] Here is three.

[0:11:10] Here is four.

[0:11:12] And five.

[0:11:14] Here is six.

[0:11:16] And seven.

[0:11:17] Number eight.

[0:11:19] Here is nine.

[0:11:21] And here is number 10.

[0:11:22] All right, good and relax.

[0:11:24] OK, the last and final exercise that I want you to do.

[0:11:28] All I want you to do is going to bring your knee up,

[0:11:30] swing it out, bring it in, and back down.

[0:11:34] OK? Up, swing it out.

[0:11:36] If you can’t open your hip up wide, that’s OK.

[0:11:38] Here and down.

[0:11:40] Just up, out,

[0:11:42] here, balance.

[0:11:43] Up, out,

[0:11:45] here, down.

[0:11:47] Up, out,

[0:11:48] in, down.

[0:11:50] Taking your time, focus.

[0:11:52] Down, good, up.

[0:11:54] Out, in, down.

[0:11:57] Let’s go for three.

[0:11:58] Out.

[0:11:59] Two more.

[0:12:00] Up, out, down. One.

[0:12:05] And down. OK, let’s switch to the other side.

[0:12:09] Good. Nice and easy.

[0:12:10] Up, out, in.

[0:12:13] Down, up,

[0:12:14] out, in.

[0:12:16] Down, up,

[0:12:18] out, in.

[0:12:19] Down, up,

[0:12:21] out, in.

[0:12:23] Down, up, open it up,

[0:12:25] here, down.

[0:12:26] If you can’t open so wide, just go here.

[0:12:29] Down, up.

[0:12:30] Open just a little bit.

[0:12:32] Down. Let’s go for three more.

[0:12:35] Down. Let’s go for two.

[0:12:38] Down, up, open,

[0:12:41] here, down.

[0:12:42] Now usually, I want to do two sets of everything,

[0:12:45] but this last exercise

[0:12:46] you only have to give me one because that’s your finishing move.

[0:12:49] Now once again, I’m Bryant Johnson.

[0:12:52] And remember, all I want you to do is remember,

[0:12:55] it begins with attitude,

[0:12:56] and all you want to do is just please, just keep moving.

[0:13:00] Thank you.

[0:13:02] [AARP Real Possibilities]