A four-minute daily workout may help older adults preserve something more valuable than muscle: the ability to stay independent.

A Penn State study highlighted October 21 found that adults 65 and older with existing walking difficulties significantly improved their balance and chair-standing performance after 12 weeks of brief resistance training. The results suggest that meaningful improvements in everyday physical function may require less exercise than many people expect.

“The human body is designed to improve very quickly,” said Christopher Sciamanna, MD, MPH, a professor of medicine and public health at Penn State. “And just a few repetitions of an exercise performed regularly can lead to huge improvements.”

Related: Your Body Starts Losing Strength Earlier Than You Think, Even if You Exercise

Four Minutes Produced Measurable Improvements

The randomized trial published in PLOS One involved 97 relatively inactive adults averaging 74 years old.…