Exercise Ideas For Seniors

That’s wonderful!

 

Now comes the daunting part- what should I do/ don’t do?

 

Without a doubt, the number of workouts flooding the fitness realm is astounding, with all of them claiming to deliver the best results, and be suitable for people of any age. Coupled with weird exercises, and fancy techniques, you may be left wondering if all that work is required for getting fit.

 

Fact is, most of the proponents of these crazy workouts are nothing more than snake oil salesmen that will likely charge an exorbitant fee to train you, leaving you broken financially and physically.

 

Luckily, excellent exercises can easily be selected by yourself, even with very basic knowledge of working out.

If you don’t think you can, then you’re in luck- because we’ve got 10 great ideas for you right here.

 

Walking

 

We know; you’ve heard it millions of times before, but walking is exercise in its simplest and finest form. Think about it- how much do you honestly walk per week, or on a daily basis. Chances are not much. If tracking may be difficult for you, we recommend a pedometer, which counts the number of steps taken per day. You can calculate distance easily by performing a few basic conversions at the end of each day.

 

Walking will strengthen the muscles of the lower body, as well as keep blood moving along nicely and the heart pumping efficiently. Breathing also becomes easier, and you feel better overall.

 

Start slow, and increase speed/ time spend walking little by little.

 

Swimming

 

When is the last time you did a few laps in a pool, or went to the beach to do something other than sunbathe? Likely been a while- and it’s time for you to restart. Swimming can be considered the ultimate low impact total body exercise, since the muscles of the entire body need to work to propel you. Swimming, and many other water activities in general are very joint friendly, and even possess a restorative ability for many.

 

Cycling

 

Another excellent low impact alternative, biking will likely be a little more intense on your body. We recommend starting with walking, then after a few weeks, add in occasional cycling. The mix up is wonderful for keeping boredom at bay, and keep the body guessing too (it’s very smart and adaptive).

 

Pilates

 

Pilates is an exercise discipline that centers on strong core musculature. And it is not misguided one bit- in fact, a strong core is the perfect bridge between upper and lower body muscles, and can also help prevent age related maladies- such as the stooping posture, and urinary incontinence. Way better than the lame old crunch.

 

Hiking

 

Hiking doesn’t need to involve brutal terrain and weather, but can be done in the simple woods of your village. The ground will supply small inclines and troughs, to mix up the intensity and make for an awesome moderate intensity activity.

 

Weight Training

 

We haven’t spoken much about weight lifting, because many seniors consider it taboo. However, weight lifting involves many major aspects of physical training, including aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

 

Weight training will boost a sluggish metabolism (diabetics, high cholesterol patients), raise bone density, improve mood and your posture. Heart health is right up there on the list of awesome benefits too.

 

Rowing

 

Rowing in open country, or at a simple recreation center or gym can be the perfect complement to a regimen with lots of lower body emphasis. Rowing now only builds strong back muscles, but rely a lot on the core too. Rowing once or twice weekly will yield massive results for your body, and fitness.

 

Yoga

 

Did you know that yoga can either emphasize relaxation and stress relief or full-body workouts? Yes, depending on your capabilities, and fitness goals, you can use it as a simple chill down as the weekend approaches, or make it your weapon of choice for a full body workout. Whatever you choose, it’s effective.

 

Step Aerobics

 

Joining a step aerobics class may seem a little taxing for a beginner, but they’re so much fun you probably won’t notice discomfort!

Keep the sessions short to begin with, and extend as your conditioning does too.

Fun?

 

Yes, exercise doesn’t have to seem like exercise at all!

 

Do you like dancing? Then go dancing.

 

Skiing, or even golfing! are all good exercises in their own right.

 

Keep doing what you enjoy, moving and sweating like crazy and your heart will thank you!