Exercise for the Elderly

Calling all couch potatoes

With age, muscles tighten and lose their elasticity; tissue around the joints thicken. A fitness program is your full-life insurance policy. The payoff is increased mobility and a more youthful you.

Senior exercise can control weight, increase energy, relieve stress and depression, strengthen muscles and bones, and lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cholesterol, while improving the immune system.

Baby steps You've been walking since you were a year old; don't stop now. Walking uses oxygen and burns fat, boosts metabolism, and strengthens and tones muscles. Like the tortoise and the hare: it's not how fast you move, but the distance that you cover. Take the 'talk test.' If you cannot exercise and talk, you are working too hard. A light aerobic workout will release endorphins to help fight pain and promote a healthy mind and body.

Cross-training

Incorporate two or more exercises into your daily routine. Cardio and strength training combined with flexibility beneficial for senior exercises. However, never work the same muscle group two days in a row. Most retailer offer a variety of senior exercise equipment including pedalers, step exercisers, wrist and ankle weights, pulley sets, and hand exercisers

A splash in the pool and water aerobics can burn three times the calories of walking. Water exercises put little stress on the body and are beneficial for those with back, neck, and joint problems.

Use it or lose it Age does not necessarily steal our ability to function, but our inactivity does. Exercising to music or while watching TV takes away some of the monotony of the repetitive moves. Take a walk around the mall, and park your car at least 100 feet from the entrance. Gardening and yard work are the perfect exercises. Turning soil, raking, and digging simulate strength training. Bending and reaching to weed and plant are your flexibility exercises. And when the garden is in full bloom, you reap benefits of beautiful plants and healthy foods.