The Brain-Body Handshake: 5 Exercises for Increased Coordination

Coordination—or lack thereof—brings a lot of business my way. In my experience, mobility plus coordination equals function. Mobility without coordination often results in falls, and it almost always equals a risk of falls.

When we’re young, we usually have fairly good brain/body coordination and strong motor control. The brain and the body “converse” easily in that signals from the brain quickly reach their intended destination and produce the desired effect.

This superpower can wane when we start getting older—and by older, I don’t mean “old.” Decline in coordination can begin in your 30s. The sedentary behavior of the modern era induces decreased endurance and a loss of strength in a wide swath of people. This can compound over time, lowering our overall quality of life and exposing us to the risk of injuries that can lower it even further.

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5 Exercises for Increased Coordination

The following exercises can help maximize your coordination, decrease your risk of falls, and increase your overall strength and endurance.

My patients tolerate these exercises well, but you may wish to talk with your medical provider first to make sure they are right for you.

1. Single-Leg Deadlift

Single-leg deadlifts are compound movements that provide great back and hamstring strengthening. They also focus on balance because you perform them on one leg.

Step 2: Keeping your upper back straight, slowly bend at your hips and reach toward the floor. As you move your shoulders down, lift your right foot off the floor and straighten it behind you. Ideally, you want your leg and back to form a straight line.

Step 3: Slowly return to standing, lowering your leg as you do.

Step 4: Touching the weight to the floor and returning to standing counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 12 repetitions per side.

Modification: If you struggle to maintain your balance, stand next to something you can hold onto with your free hand. Only dip as far down as you comfortably can while maintaining alignment.

Challenge Time: Want to make it harder? Take up to 5 seconds to complete the movements while maintaining your form. You will almost immediately feel the increased postural demands.

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2. Bird Dog

The classic bird dog exercise challenges your body across your core by involving both sides of your body at the same time. This great back and core strengthener can be performed almost anywhere.

Practice Tip: You can alternate sides or perform all repetitions on one side before moving on to the other, depending on what works best for you.

Step 1: Start on your hands and knees on the floor, with your head up and facing forward.

Step 2: Raise your right arm straight forward and left leg straight back. Ideally, your arm, trunk, and leg should form a straight line.

Step 3: Hold for 1 second before slowly lowering your arm and leg to the floor. Repeat on the other side.

Step 4: Lifting one arm and leg and bringing them back down counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions per side. You can alternate sides or perform all repetitions on one side before moving on to the other, depending on what works best for you.

Modification: If you can’t raise your arm and leg horizontally, lift them as high as you can.

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3. Single Leg Stand and Kicks

This exercise challenges your balance by having you perform different kicks with one leg while balancing on the other. You can do them on the floor, but they are even more challenging while standing on a cushion or platform, making the exercise even more dynamic.

Practice Tip: I highly recommend using a cushion for optimum balance and strength conditioning, but an aerobic step platform will also work.

Step 1: Stand with your right foot on a cushion or platform.

Step 2: Rise to your full height so your left foot comes off the ground.

Step 5: Performing the front-side-back kicks with one leg counts as a repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions per side. You can alternate between sides or perform all repetitions on one side before moving to the other.

Modification: If you find maintaining your balance while performing these exercises is too challenging, stand next to something you can hold onto if needed. Only hold on as much as you need to and go for as long as you can before doing so. If you can’t move your hips to 45 degrees for the three kicks, just move them as far as you can.

Challenge Time: Instead of stopping your kick at 45 degrees, kick up as high as you can in all directions.

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4. Crab Walk

The crab walk shares some of its muscular components with the various bridging exercises, and its movement pattern resembles the bear and Spiderman crawls, thus forcing cross-body coordination and tapping heavily into core strengthening.

Step 1: Sit on the floor.

Step 2: Lean back and lift your body onto your hands and feet. Allow yourself a few moments to stabilize in position.

Step 3: Begin walking with your hands and feet, keeping your hips high. If you get tired and can’t keep your hips up, sit down and rest for a while.

Step 4: Try to walk forward at least 30 steps, followed by walking backward the same amount. This counts as 1 set—try to complete 3 sets.

Modification: If you can’t elevate your hips very high, try to slide while keeping the reciprocal stepping pattern. You will eventually gain the strength to lift your hips properly.

Challenge Time: Want to make it harder? Increase the distance traveled, lift your hips as high off the ground as you can while crawling, or add a weight to your lap as you move.

Note: This movement often makes dogs get the zoomies, which I consider a good thing.

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5. Standing 4-Point Foot Tap

The standing 4-point foot tap seems easy at first blush, but it can vary from mild to wild depending on how you modify the movements. It’s a choice hand-foot coordination exercise and places a lot of work through your joints—high and low—from your shoulders down to your feet. It’s an effective clinical exercise we use frequently, and I believe you will benefit from it.

Practice Tip: Keep your back upright during this activity. Avoid the temptation to reach down to the foot— instead, bring your  foot up to your hand. Why? Bringing the foot up will better challenge your balance and force greater coordination of movement across your body.

Step 1: Stand with your arms at your sides and feet hip-width apart.

Step 2: Lift your left foot off the floor, cross it in front of your right leg, and touch your left heel with your right hand. Lower your left foot and repeat the movement with your right foot, touching it with your left hand.

Step 3: Repeat the movements with your left leg, but this time, cross it behind your right leg to touch the heel. Then, repeat the same movement on the other side. In effect, cross each leg in front and then behind the standing leg.

Step 4: Touching your heel with your hand counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 20 repetitions, feeling free to modify your sets and repetitions to make this exercise optimal for you.

Modification: If you can’t touch your hands to your heels, just move them as close together as possible. It isn’t uncommon for one side to perform better than the other. If you struggle with balance, stand next to a stable surface that can lend support as needed.

Challenge Time: Once you’ve mastered this exercise, try standing on a pillow or cushion to make it more challenging. Also, experiment with speeding up the pace of your taps to increase the task’s difficulty. You'll know you’ve fully mastered the movement once you can perform fast taps while standing on a cushion.

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Coordination works with strength to ensure your ability to safely perform functional tasks and maintain mobility. These exercises can help improve strength and coordination and decrease your chances of falling and having to see a therapist. Trust me, I’m already busy enough, and you have better things to do.

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