Introduction
According to Bharat Bhise, as you get older you have very different motivations for exercising. Apart from staying in shape, regular physical activity helps you to delay or avoid health problems like osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, and more. Let’s check out the best physical activities for the elderly.
The Activities
- Chair yoga – Chair yoga is a low-impact exercise routine that can help improve balance and stability and promotes muscle strength and mobility. It’s a form of yoga that doesn’t add a lot of stress to the joints and bones and hence is perfect for the elderly. Some of the notable exercises of chair yoga include seated cow stretch, seated twist, overhead stretch, mountain pose, and more.
Apart from benefiting the elderly, chair yoga is also great for people who are recovering from an injury. Research also shows that people who practice chair yoga are less prone to depression and get better sleep. It improves mental health and your overall well-being.
- Water aerobics – Water aerobics have become very popular in recent years among people of all ages. However, it is great for seniors due to a few reasons. Exercising in the water doesn’t require your joints to support your weight all the time. The buoyancy of the water keeps you up and the natural resistance from the water eliminates the need for additional weights.
While fitness enthusiasts do use dumbbells and ankle weights, the seniors can get a significant workout just by doing regular water aerobics. This routine improves balance and increases strength and flexibility. Some of the water aerobic exercises fit for seniors include leg lifts, flutter kicking, arm curls, and aqua jogging.
- Pilates – Pilates is also quite popular among the elderly since it brings the same low-impact accessibility for seniors. It was developed a century ago and includes exercises like side circles, mermaid movement, food slides, leg circles, step-ups, and more. All those exercises involve basic accessories like inflated balls and yoga mats and help to improve breathing and core strength. It can help seniors to get an effective daily workout without stressing out their joints.
- Walking – While other types of senior-friendly workouts require a swimming pool, yoga mats, inflated accessories, or even a chair, walking doesn’t need any of those. It is the most inclusive and accessible form of exercise seniors can get. Just put on your most comfy pair of shoes and go on a walk with other people.
It can be a walk around a block, through the park, or just a casual walk through the neighborhood to spend your time and stimulate your senses. If you can reach the magic number of 10,000 steps a day, it can help reduce the risks of stroke, diabetes, colon cancer, and more such ailments.
Conclusion
Bharat Bhise suggests that you engage in the above-mentioned physical activities to stay fit and mitigate the problems that come with aging. Regular physical activity can help reduce pain from daily life and help you retain the ability to walk, dress, eat and cook for a longer period.
