Ideally, everyone, young or old, should engage in some form of exercise to keep their body healthy and allow better blood circulation. While one may feel energetic about waking up early in the morning for a 45-minute jog around the neighborhood or 2 hours of work out in the gym while they are young, they may not feel the same when they hit 50 or 65.
Age has a way of catching up with us. This does not mean that we should let it win. Regular workouts are essential in helping prevent certain lifestyle diseases such as heart attacks and diabetes. For seniors, this is a smart way of making provision for energy to keep up with the younger generation like grandchildren. Fitness for seniors requires at least 150 minutes of elderly exercises each week. This does not have to be done all at once; it can be broken down into 10-15-minute sessions twice a day. Here is a good schedule that can be used as exercise programs for seniors:
Strength workout
Engaging in elderly exercises is a great way to learn how to prepare for retirement. With strength workouts, it is critical that you consider your level of fitness. Do not overexert yourself or think that you can do something just because you could do it for several years or even months ago. That said these are some of the best strength training workouts for seniors.
1. Knee extensions
- Sit on a chair. Ensure that your back is straight and your knees are bent
- Extend your right leg in front of you slowly and hold for as long as you can. Lower your back to the starting position.
- Repeat with the next leg
- Do at least ten reps with each leg.
If you are fit enough, you can try these exercises with weights strapped to your ankle. The point is to make sure you cannot do more than 15 reps with each leg so you can get stronger.
Benefits: Stronger knees mean better balance. Better balance means you are at a lower risk of falling.
2. Triceps exercises
- Sit in an upright position holding dumbbells on both hands
- Lift your hands above your head
- Lower your right hand slowly, bending your elbow and lowering the dumbbell behind your head
- Lift the weight toward the ceiling and lower it behind your head
- Do ten reps with each arm
Benefits: It helps strengthen the triceps which tend to become flabby with age because they are not used as much. Combining both biceps and triceps workouts ensures that elderly exercise enables you to lift items without much trouble.
3. Aerobics
Aerobics include: walking, jogging, playing tennis, hiking, running, swimming, salsa, or Zumba for a certain amount of time each day. Depending on your activity levels and your fitness levels, building endurance with aerobics as an exercise for the elderly may take some time.
Benefits:
– Helps burn calories
– Lowers blood pressure
– Reduces cholesterol levels keeping your heart strong and healthy
– Helps maintain and improve joint strength
– Increase your energy levels
– Fights against stress and depression
Conclusion
Even when you are not exercising, try to remain active for most of your day. Stretching is an excellent place to start. It helps improve your motion range, makes all activities more comfortable, and helps relieve tension.