Most people will have lost roughly a quarter of their muscle mass by the age of 75. According to research available from the National Library of Medicine, this is largely due to inactivity. But regardless of muscle mass loss, exercise and nutrition are still essential components of a healthy lifestyle at all ages. This is especially true for aging adults who are more at risk for developing complicated medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease — as well as mobility issues.
Fortunately, it’s never too late to get into shape to maintain your health and well-being, and to promote a better quality of life into your golden years. To help you get started, we’re exploring senior-friendly exercises for people at all levels of fitness.
Water Aerobics
Water aerobics — or any water-based exercise — is an effective way to improve cardiovascular health without putting extra strain on the joints. According to the Harvard Medical School Journal, water provides 12% to 14% more density than air. Due to this resistance factor, water aerobics exercises offer a double-duty workout for both cardio and strength training. This is one reason why they’re beneficial for seniors looking to improve their muscular and cardiovascular fitness all at once.
Walking
Walking is considered one of the better forms of low-impact cardio for older adults. It can be modified to suit an individual’s preferred pace, distance, and time. Walking increases the heart rate and improves blood flow, which boosts energy levels — without forcing you to run out of breath. While walking requires a certain level of balance, it can also be an effective workout for individuals who use a cane or walker.
Chair Yoga
Chair yoga is another effective, low-impact exercise for seniors that involves strength, balance, and flexibility training all in one session. All of these things are vital for senior health, but the best part is that chair yoga participants can carry out an exercise while sitting down and modify the pose as needed until they build enough strength and flexibility to do the complete pose.
Ultimately, chair yoga can help seniors with mobility issues improve their overall balance and coordination. Yoga, in general, is also associated with therapeutic benefits, such as an increased sense of well-being. This makes it beneficial for the mind and the body.
Resistance Band Workouts
Resistance bands are essentially strips of rubber that stretch out and add resistance as they’re pulled. They offer an excellent way to complete resistance training and strengthen your core without added stress on your body, and they’re beneficial for people of all fitness levels.
Resistance band workouts are growing in popularity due to their accessibility and low cost. Plus, they’re ideal for at-home exercises that can easily be accompanied by workout videos on YouTube. Adding resistance band workouts to your routine just three days a week can improve posture, mobility, and balance.
Pilates
Pilates is another excellent low-impact exercise that seniors can participate in at any fitness level. Pilates focuses on core movements in addition to breathing, alignment, and concentration to build muscle. It’s typically carried out on mats and often incorporates medicine balls and other pieces of equipment to decrease or increase difficulty. Research suggests that an appropriately designed Pilates program for seniors can improve balance and reduce the risk of falls while improving core strength and flexibility.
Bodyweight Workouts
For seniors who want to prevent or counteract muscle loss, bodyweight workouts can be an excellent addition to any workout regimen. To get started with bodyweight workouts, all you need is a mat and proper workout clothes; the weight comes from your own body. There’s also a long list of exercises that fall under the body weight workout category, including squats, step-ups, hip bridges, side-lying circles, and much more.
Body weight workouts can be easily modified to suit all fitness levels, and they can be added into other senior-friendly exercise routines such as walking, resistance band training, and even chair yoga.
Dumbbell Strength Training
Dumbbell strength training is another great exercise that can help seniors build and maintain muscle mass while staving off diabetes, osteoporosis, and joint and back pain. It’s also a great way to shed a few pounds; strength training contributes to a higher metabolism and glucose control, as stated in Diabetes journal.
Dumbbell exercises help seniors strength train because they allow for the isolation of muscle groups while improving balance and flexibility. They’re also an excellent starting point for seniors who are looking to move on to strength training using heavier weights.
All of the above senior-friendly exercises can be done in groups, with friends, or alone depending on fitness level, which is part of what makes them so convenient. Stay active and stay strong in your golden years — and don’t forget to stretch!
Resource Links
“The age-related loss of skeletal muscle mass and function: Measurement and physiology of muscle fibre atrophy and muscle fibre loss in humans” via the National Library of Medicine
“Advantages of Water-Based Exercise” via Harvard Health Publishing
“Exploring the therapeutic effects of yoga and its ability to increase quality of life” via the National Library of Medicine
“Benefits of Pilates in the Elderly Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” via the National Library of Medicine
“Strength Training Increases Insulin-Mediated Glucose Uptake, GLUT4 Content, and Insulin Signaling in Skeletal Muscle in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes” via the American Diabetes Association