Keeping fit at a senior age is crucial for maintaining optimum health. It will also help you maintain an active lifestyle and prevent the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases associated with sedentary lifestyles.
Seniors need to exercise to boost blood circulation, strengthen muscles, reduce stress, and prevent bone density loss. But it’s not that easy to start a regular workout routine once you reach senior age. Your body has different needs from when you were younger because the natural process of aging has changed your body and its functions. In this blog post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about exercises for seniors if you’re looking to stay fit and healthy in your golden years.
What Can You Expect from Exercising as a Senior?
Exercising as a senior will likely result in different results than exercising when you were younger. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t exercise as you age. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Avoiding exercise as you age can cause your health to decline faster and lead to pain, disease, and additional health complications later on. With that being said, here are things you can expect if you exercise as a senior.
- Better Sleep: Studies have shown that consistent exercise promotes better sleep in seniors. The reason for this is that a healthy exercise routine releases endorphin, which is a natural chemical that calms us down and lowers stress.
- Better Mood: Feeling down and sad is a normal part of aging, but exercising can help combat this. Your mood is heavily influenced by your health, so a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise can help ease feelings of depression.
- Improved Joints: As people age, the cartilage in their joints starts to wear away, which can cause joint pain and stiffness. Exercising can help strengthen your joints and prevent this from happening.
- Improved Blood Flow: The aging process can cause blood flow to decrease, making it harder for the body to get the nutrients it needs. This will lead to slower healing and an increased risk of disease.
- Better Weight Management: Seniors who exercise are less likely to become obese than those who don’t. This is because consistent exercise boosts metabolism and prevents fat storage.
- Improved Brain Function: A healthy exercise routine can boost cognitive function and prevent age-related cognitive decline. This is because staying active improves blood flow to the brain and increases its ability to create new cells.
What Kind of Exercises Are Best for Seniors?
The best exercises for seniors primarily focus on your lower body. This will help strengthen your muscles and prevent bone density loss. Some examples include walking, swimming, yoga, and tai chi.
- Walking is one of the best exercises for seniors because it’s easy to do and low impact. It also doesn’t require any special equipment, making it accessible for everyone. Walking can be done anywhere and can be adjusted to fit your current fitness level.
- Swimming is a fantastic alternative to high-impact exercises like running. It will primarily target your lower body, strengthening your legs and core. Swimming is also low impact, so it won’t put any extra pressure on your joints.
- Yoga is a mind-body practice that’s designed to keep you healthy and fit. It’s an excellent choice for seniors because its focus is on slow and controlled movements. This will put less pressure on your joints, making it easier for you to perform the exercises.
- Tai chi is a Chinese martial art that’s primarily practiced for health and relaxation purposes. It’s a low-impact exercise that can be done in a seated position, making it easier for seniors to participate.
Which Exercises Should You Avoid?
You should avoid high-impact exercises if you’re a senior. This includes activities like running, basketball, soccer, and tennis. These exercises put a lot of pressure on your joints, which can cause pain and swelling in the knees and hips. Avoiding impact workouts is important because they can cause your bones to lose density and make it more difficult to heal after an injury.
Seniors are also more likely to break a bone because their bones don’t heal as quickly as they used to. Another type of exercise to avoid as a senior is resistance training. This is because this type of workout puts a lot of pressure on your joints, and seniors are more susceptible to injury from this type of exercise. If you really want to do resistance training, then focus on lower-body exercises like squats, lunges, and step-ups.
Core Exercises for Seniors
The core is the area between your hips and your shoulders, and it’s super important for optimal health. Exercises for seniors focusing on this area will primarily improve your posture and strengthen your muscles. Here are some examples of exercises for seniors that focus on the core:
- Plank is one of the most effective exercises for seniors because it focuses primarily on your core, making it easier to perform. There are many variations of the plank that can make it easier or harder based on your current fitness level.
- Lunges are great for seniors because they can be performed in multiple ways, making them easier to adjust based on your current fitness level.
- The Bird-Dog is a core-focused exercise that was designed to be easy to perform for seniors. It works to strengthen the lower back and core muscles that are prone to weakness.
- Squats are the perfect all-around exercise for the entire body. They primarily focus on working on your core, making them an essential exercise for seniors.
Strength Exercises for Seniors
Strength exercises build up your muscles, which helps prevent injury and weakness. Seniors should focus on lower-body exercises, like squats, lunges, and step-ups. These exercises primarily work your lower body muscles, which are the most susceptible to weakness. If you want to focus on your upper body, then try push-ups or planks. But keep in mind that these exercises don’t focus primarily on building strength.
They’re more about improving posture and core strength. If you really want to build strength, then you may want to invest in weights or resistance training machines. This is the most effective way to build muscle, although it can be difficult for seniors to find a gym or instructor that offers this type of workout.
Steady-State Cardio Exercises for Seniors
Steady-state cardio exercises improve your cardiovascular health and help you burn more calories. They can be done anywhere and don’t require any special equipment. Some examples of steady-state cardio exercises include walking, gardening, swimming, and cycling.
- Walking is one of the best exercises for seniors because it’s easy to do, doesn’t require any special equipment, and can be done anywhere. Walking primarily targets your lower body, making it an excellent choice for seniors.
- Gardening is a steady-state cardio exercise because it primarily focuses on aerobic activity. This makes it an excellent choice for seniors because it doesn’t put any pressure on your joints.
- Swimming is one of the best exercises for seniors because it’s low impact, can be done in water, and is accessible to everyone. It primarily targets your lower body, making it even better for seniors.
- Cycling is an excellent low-impact exercise for seniors, especially if you’re not in the best shape or want to focus on building strength. It’s easy to do and doesn’t require any special equipment or training.
Conclusion
Exercises for seniors are crucial for maintaining optimum health. This is especially important because seniors are more susceptible to developing diseases like diabetes and hypertension. A regular exercise routine will help you avoid these diseases, promote better sleep, improve your mood and increase your cognitive function. It can also help you manage your weight and strengthen your bones to avoid breaking.
Exercising as a senior will likely result in different results than when you were younger. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t exercise as you age. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Avoiding exercise as you age can cause your health to decline faster. With that being said, seniors should focus on lower-body exercises like walking, swimming, and cycling.
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