Exercise and nutrition are essential parts of a healthy lifestyle throughout one’s life, and as we age, our physical and nutritional demands keep changing. This article covers the importance of physical fitness, staying active and various exercises for senior citizens along, their benefits and much more.
Why Physical Fitness Matters for Senior Citizens
Exercise plays a larger role once an adult crosses the age of 60, because being physically active makes it easier to perform day-to-day activities. Physically active older adults are also less likely to fall, let’s look at this in detail in the following sections.
Health Benefits of Exercises for Older Adults
Listed below are some of the major benefits of exercises for older adults:
Being Physically Active Results in Independence
Exercise enhances the ability to walk, bathe, dress, and use the restroom by yourself (without needing any external help), and thus seniors that exercise regularly are less likely to depend on others.
Improves Balance
Losing balance or falling down is a much bigger deal for older adults than younger ones and it is scary that this becomes a reason for senior adults to get admitted to the hospital. Exercising regularly can reduce the possibilities of falling to a great extent.
Helps Prevent Diseases
Adopting a more active lifestyle can reduce the unpleasant symptoms and help to keep the levels of some of the most common cardiac diseases in control.
Boosts Energy
Exercise promotes the release of endorphins, which are linked to pain mitigation and promote a sense of well-being and thus help in combating stress hormones, promote healthy sleep.
Improves Brain Function
A healthy body means a healthy mind and thus exercise improves cognitive health. A study has also shown that exercising can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimers or Dementia by nearly 50%.
Different Exercise Types for Senior Citizens
Ensure to visit your doctor to check which exercises are ideal for your current fitness level and the exercises that are to be avoided as per your individual physical condition; before you get started with an exercise routine.
Easy and Quick Cardio Exercises
Cardio exercises are simple, easy to perform irrespective of your age and are also very effective because it gets your heart pumping. Opting for senior citizen’s aerobics can also be done for an overall cardio experience.
Simple Stretching
Stretching exercises can loosen the stiffness in the muscles, making you feel more free, and enhancing your range of motion. Neck stretch, ankle rotation, knee lifts, heel raises, shoulder blade squeeze, etc. are some of the easy stretches that can be performed.
Balance Boosters
Balancing boosting exercises can reduce your chance of falling or losing balance so that the older adults feel self-assured in the movement patterns. Watch the video to know the different balance boosting exercises that can be performed easily at home:
Chair Yoga
Chair yoga is one of the most convenient exercises for senior citizens as it puts less stress on the body as compared to the conventional forms of yoga. It has shown to improve mental health in older adults, with better quality sleep, and a general sense of well-being.
Here are some basic chair yoga exercises that you can perform.
Free Weight Exercises
Strength training exercises contribute to a higher metabolism and have shown to reduce the symptoms of diabetes, osteoporosis, back pain, and depression, etc. Pick-up some less-weighted dumbbells and you can opt to perform- tricep extension, bicep curl, overhead press, front raise, etc.
Body Weight Exercises
Muscle atrophy in older adults can be reduced drastically by practicing body weight workouts regularly. Some of these exercises that can be performed are Squats to chair, Stepup, Lying hip bridges, Side lying circles, etc. (depending on
individual fitness levels).
Exercises to be Avoided
Individual fitness level is a major deciding factor for the types of workout that can be performed by older adults. Squats with dumbbells or weights, Bench press, Abdominal crunches, Deadlift, HIIT, etc. are to be strictly avoided as these can put an unhealthy strain on older adults with joint pain, atrophied muscles, posture problems or issues with balance.
For senior adults, it is best advised to work with a trainer, or a physiotherapist to create a plan that’s customized as per your individual fitness levels and physical abilities. Just going for a stroll in the neighborhood daily could make you just feel a bit more active.
Summing It Up
Exercises are important in all phases of life, but for seniors, it’s absolutely essential especially for maintaining independence (along with other benefits).
Variety is the key- a combination of strength training, mobility exercises, balance exercises and aerobic activity can be added to the routine. However, the best exercises for seniors are the ones you want to do willingly, and would be consistent about it!