Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of exercise in and out of the water on balance level of healthy male older people.

Methods & Materials: A total of 40 healthy and physically active males aged more than 65 years old, who had not previously experienced the study exercises were recruited. The subjects were randomly assigned into three different groups: aquatic exercise group (n=13), land-based exercise group (n=12) and control group (n=15). The aquatic exercise and land-based exercise groups participated in a 6 weeks similar exercise program of 3 times per week and 60 minutes per session. Each exercise session consisted of three main phases (warm up, main exercise program and cool down). Both experimental groups were assessed before and after the exercises. The Sharpened Romberg Test and Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) were used to measure changes in balance level of the subjects before and after exercise. SPSS software version 16. 00 was used for statistical analysis and the significance level was set as P<0.05.

Results: Significant improvements were observed in static and dynamic balance of the subjects in bothaquatic exercise and land-based exercise groups (P<0.05) however, no significant differences were observed either between the two groups, nor between pretest and post test scores in the control group (P>0.05).

Conclusion: The static and dynamic balance level improves in healthy male older people as a result of aquatic and land-based exercises. However, further evaluations are needed to assess the long-term effects of these exercises.