How to do it
You need: A wall or sturdy chair within reach for early attempts.
Stand on one leg in a clear space, with a wall or sturdy chair within reach in case you need it. Bend your standing knee slightly.
- Balance on one leg with your hips level and your stomach gently braced.
- Reach your free hand forwards as far as you can control, then return to the middle.
- Reach the same hand out to the side, then across your body, returning to the middle each time.
- Progress to reaching with your free foot instead of your hand, tapping the floor and returning.
Form cues
- Your standing knee stays soft and tracks over your foot, not caving inwards.
- Your hips stay level as you reach - the movement comes from your hip and trunk, not a collapse to one side.
- You control both the reach out and the return, without touching the free foot down.
Common mistakes
- Reaching so far that you have to hop, stumble or grab the wall on every rep.
- Letting the arch of your standing foot flatten and the knee roll in.
- Holding your breath during the reach.
Safety: Stop and message your physio if you have a fall, a near-fall, or new dizziness or leg weakness.