Staying active as you age is an essential step to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeping your independence. One of the biggest causes of mental and physical decline among seniors is a sedentary lifestyle.
In order to stay sharp and properly perform everyday activities, it is crucial to stay active and exercise at least once every day.
Find the Exercise That is Right For You
If you haven’t worked out in a while, starting a new exercise routine as an older adult can be a challenging and daunting task, especially if your nursing home isn’t doing its due diligence to make sure you get what you need.
However, understanding your capabilities and starting with low-impact activities can help ease you into an active lifestyle.
So whether you’re just starting out or looking to expand your exercise regime, here are seven senior-friendly workouts you could start today.
Resistance Band Exercises
Resistance bands are a fantastic way to add resistance to your workouts without putting too much stress on your body.
Made out of stretchy rubber material, resistance bands come in all different sizes to fit every fitness level.
Not only are resistance bands cheap, but they can be used in the comfort of your own home or bedroom. Some popular resistance band exercises include bicep curls, lateral raises, and leg presses.
Walking
One of the best ways to stay physically fit as a senior is to take walks. Walking is a low-impact exercise that can be done in a group setting, allowing you to socialize with friends while getting a workout in.
Walking just 30 minutes a day can strengthen your bones, help you lose fat, increase your endurance, and reduce the risk of diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.
You can take anyone with you to make sure that you are not alone and there is someone to be take caring of you.
Body Weight Workouts
One of the most significant consequences of a sedentary lifestyle is muscle loss. Whether you live at home or in an assisted living facility, it is essential to stay active as much as possible.
While lifting weights at an older age can take a toll on your joints, bodyweight exercises can help you build and maintain muscle without stressing out your body.
Popular low-impact bodyweight exercises include squats, sit-ups, push-ups, step-ups, and lunges.
Chair Yoga
Chair yoga is a low-impact exercise designed for seniors to improve mobility, strength, balance, and flexibility. Offered in many quality nursing homes, chair yoga provides all the benefits of regular yoga without stressing out joints, muscles, and bones.
For instance, chair yoga helps elders lower depression, improve sleep, boost mood, and promotes positive overall well-being.
Water Aerobics
Like chair yoga, water aerobics is a fun and engaging low-impact workout perfect for seniors of all ages.
Water buoyancy provides a natural resistance while mitigating stresses on your joints and muscles. If you struggle with joint pain and arthritis, working out in pools can be a great way to improve strength, flexibility, and balance.
Water aerobics is also taught in classes so you can work out with your peers, which provides a friendly support group to help you stay motivated.
Pilates
Another popular low-impact exercise routine is pilates. With a focus on concentration, breathing techniques, and core strength, pilates helps seniors develop strength, balance, and mental clarity.
In addition, it helps straighten out your posture reducing the risk of spinal injuries and other health conditions.
Dumbell Strength Training
While working with dumbbells requires a certain level of physical fitness, strength training can help seniors manage their weight while building muscles and core strength.
In addition, strength training can help reduce back pain, ease anxiety, boost metabolism, and fight off symptoms of diabetes and osteoporosis.
You also don’t need to use heavy weights to see results. Dumbbells that weigh just a few pounds can help strengthen the body and improve balance and flexibility.
Consider exercises like front raises, bicep curls, overhead presses, and tricep extensions.
Stay Active
Workout should definitely be a part of every life. It is the best way to feel active. It also makes you mentally relaxed and boosts your ability to think actively.
No matter which exercise works best for you, it is essential to stay active as much as possible.
Taking time each day to focus on movement will help you lead a happy and fulfilling life in the later years. You will not only look fit but will also feel fit and fresh with a lot of energy.
Ivan Pertti
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i think there are many exercise other then this for over 65 like light swimming, streaching ect. but you give good knoweledge in this post…