The cone pick up balance exercise means standing on both feet, bending forward from your hips with a straight back, picking a light object up off the floor and standing tall again. As you reach down, your weight moves toward the front of your feet, so your ankles, hips and the muscles along the back of your legs work to stop you tipping. In the video the object looks like a small green bottle rather than a cone; any light object that is easy to grip works the same way. It practices the reach you make to pick something up at home, and it comes before the harder single leg version.

How to do the cone pick up balance

Stand beside a kitchen counter or rail you can grab with one hand, feet about hip width apart. Place a cone, a plastic bottle or another light object on the floor, just ahead of your toes. Wear flat shoes that fit well and grip the floor, not socks, tights or bare feet.
Stand tall with your arms relaxed, and let your knees soften a little.
Push your hips back and tip your chest forward, keeping your back straight from your head to your tailbone. Let your hands travel down the front of your legs toward the object.
Pick the object up with one hand. Reach only as far as a flat back allows; if the object is too far away, bend your knees a bit more rather than rounding your back.
Squeeze your buttocks and bring your hips forward to come back up to standing, holding the object in front of you. Rise at a steady pace, not in a rush.
Set the object back on the floor in the same way, then repeat.

What you should feel

Your buttocks and the backs of your thighs work on the way down and on the way up, with a stretch behind the knees at the bottom. As your weight moves forward, your toes grip the floor.

Common mistakes

Rounding your back and reaching down with your arms instead of bending at the hips.
Letting your heels lift as your weight shifts toward your toes.
Jerking back up to standing, then feeling lightheaded at the top.
Setting the object so far ahead that you have to lunge for it.

How often

Many programs start with 2 sets of 5 to 10 slow pick ups, with a short rest between sets, once a day or on most days. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

You feel dizzy, lightheaded, faint or sick, or the room seems to spin. Hold your support, sit down and get medical advice the same day before you practice again. If you faint, it does not settle within a few minutes of sitting still, your vision suddenly blurs or goes double, or you cannot stand or walk steadily, call emergency services.
You tip forward and have to grab the support or take a step to stay upright.
Your back hurts sharply as you bend or straighten, or pain, pins and needles or numbness runs down into a leg.
A sudden sharp pain, pop or snap at the back of your thigh. Stop straight away. If you then get large bruising spreading down the back of the thigh, a gap or dip you can feel, a stiff-legged walk, or clear weakness when you bend the knee, get assessed the same day at urgent care or an emergency department, as the tendon may have pulled away from the bone near the buttock.

From the clinic

If you lose your balance here, you will most likely tip forward. He works in open space in the video, but at home set up with a counter or rail at your side and nothing hard or sharp in front of you. To make it easier while you learn, put the object on a low stool or step instead of the floor. If you have fallen within the last year, feel unsteady when you walk, or a medicine leaves you drowsy or lightheaded, rest one hand on the counter for every rep and do it while someone else is in the house.

A sudden loss of balance is different. Call emergency services straight away for any sign of a stroke, even if it goes away: sudden dizziness with unsteadiness or falling over, a face that droops on one side, an arm you cannot lift or keep up, slurred or muddled speech, weakness or numbness on one side of your body or face, sudden blurred vision, double vision or loss of sight, or a sudden severe headache.

Some people feel lightheaded when they straighten up after bending to the floor, so rise at a steady pace. If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every repetition and never hold your breath. With low bone density (osteoporosis), keep the bend at your hips with a long back rather than curling down, start with the object on a stool or step, and ask your physio whether reaching to the floor suits you. If you have had a fracture in your spine, check with your physio before you begin. If you are pregnant, check with your midwife or physio before you start.

If you have had a hip replacement, get the go-ahead from your surgeon or physio before you try this exercise. Bending forward to reach the floor folds the hips well past a right angle, and many surgeons ask you to avoid that for the first months after some operations.

Once this feels steady, the single leg cone pick up makes the same reach while you stand on one leg. The standing forward reach works on how far you can lean forward without bending down.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Cone pick up balance