Regardless of your age, exercising regularly can help you lead a much healthier lifestyle. For aging adults, exercise can help you to prevent many health concerns such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. A strong body will definitely help aging adults lead a much more independent lifestyle. Here are the different exercises for aging adults that you can try to improve cognitive function and overall well-being.
Strength Exercises
Majority of aging adults may be wary of strength exercises as they may have the perception that strength exercises only involve lifting heavy weights. In actual fact, strength exercises can be done even without dumbbells and they will still be highly effective. Strength exercises are recommended to be done about two to three times weekly in 30-minute sessions. There needs to a rest day in between each strength training session to allow the muscles to recover. As your muscles become stronger, you can try using resistance bands and light weights to continue your progress.
Endurance Exercises
Endurance or cardio exercises help to lower blood pressure, improve heart health, and increase metabolism. If you are just starting to incorporate cardio into your exercise regime, it is recommended to start slow with 5-minute increments until your endurance builds. The aim is to increase your heart rate and breathing but do not get out of breath. If you ever experience shortness of breath during cardio, it means that you are working out too hard and you need to slow down your pace to let your body recover. These are some moderate endurance exercises:
- Swimming
- Brisk walking
- Stationary cycling
- Gardening
- Bicycling
Flexibility Exercises
Maintaining flexibility as you age will provide you with the independence of movement that you need to go out and about on your own more freely. You should always remember to stretch before doing any strength or endurance exercises and you can also choose to incorporate different programs that focus on flexibility. Many senior living communities offer yoga and other fitness classes that consider the needs of aging bodies. Some of common hobbies of aging adults like gardening or golfing can also help you to improve strength and keep your body flexible.
Balance Exercises
When you incorporate exercise as part of your daily routine, it could potentially save your life. The leading cause of injury that leads to death in the elderly aged over 65 is falls. When you improve your balance, you will help yourself to live more independently in a much safer environment. This will also offer your family with peace of mind, knowing that you are not at any risk of a fall in your own home. There are various balance exercises that you can do anywhere with minimal to no equipment. Below are some activities to try to improve your balance:
- Walking heel to toe
- Standing on one foot
- Rocking your body with one foot
- Lifting your foot
- Back leg raises
- Side leg raises
- Wall push-ups
- Marching in place
- Toe lifts
- Shoulder rolls
- Hand and finger exercises
- Calf stretches
- …and more!
