This blog post has been updated on Nov 3rd, 2025.
Every year, roughly 248,000 Australians are hospitalised as a result of a fall and 57% of adults aged 65 and over did not meet the physical activity component of the Australia’s physical activity guidelines and 84% did not do enough muscle-strengthening activities. [1] [2]
But what if there was a way to reduce your chance of falling? Luckily, there is! The solution is exercise – the activity that so many people dread.
However, exercise is extremely effective at improving your general health. Exercise can help prevent some diseases that are our leading causes of death in Australia. These diseases include but are not limited to heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. In fact, frequent exercise can help reduce your risk of developing diseases, and even death, after a fall.
Cardio and strength training are both very effective at protecting individuals against falls. A recent study found that power training can be even more beneficial than both cardio and strength training. However, power is the first fitness trait to decrease with age. This may impact the older populations ability to complete daily tasks, like climbing a flight of stairs or lifting heavy items.
Although reduced muscle strength and instability are linked to falling more frequently, losing muscle power results in even more falls.
What is the difference between strength and power?
Strength is the amount of force a muscle can exert against resistance in one single effort. Power is the amount of force a muscle can exert against resistance in the shortest amount of time.
Try to get about 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every day. If you can’t reach this, that’s okay. Even small amounts of physical activity can drastically improve your health and reduce your chance of falling. When exercising, ensure you warm-up and stretch beforehand, and cool-down and stretch after.
There is a wide range of exercises you could participate in. Some include walking, swimming, tai chi, pilates and/or yoga. Specific power-focused exercises include squats. lunges, bench press, jumping and many other high-impact and lower-impact exercises, including water aerobics.
Please speak with your Doctor before starting any exercise, especially if you have not been doing exercise for a while. If you have any health conditions, it is especially important that you consult your doctor before engaging in any strenuous physical activity.
When exercising, ensure you are doing so on a flat surface with assistance nearby if an injury occurs. Also, do everything you can to avoid injury.
If you haven’t exercised recently, start exercising at a level that is comfortable for you.
Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals. Any information in this article or anywhere in this APERS website is general information only.
At APERS, we understand that keeping your loved ones safe is the most important thing in the world.
For more information about our personal medical alarms, please call us on 1300 852 148 or send us a form enquiry via our contact us page.
