As we get older, staying active is essential to maintaining our health and mobility. Regular exercise can increase your lifespan, and a consistent exercise regimen can make it possible for you to continue participating in the world around you through activities like socializing and pursuing hobbies.
While exercise is beneficial for people of all ages, exercise for seniors should be relatively gentle on their bodies yet effective in promoting strength, flexibility, and overall vitality. Read on, and we’ll list the best exercise and workout ideas for seniors, offering senior fitness suggestions to help you lead a healthier and more active lifestyle.
Which Types of Exercise Are Most Strongly Recommended for Older Adults?
Here are our top recommendations when it comes to workouts for seniors:
1 Walking
- It promotes cardiovascular health
- It improves balance
- Relatedly, it helps to reduce the risk of falls, which often cause serious injuries for older people
- It maintains joint flexibility
Walking outdoors in the fresh air is also a great way to get outside. Doing so has numerous mental and emotional benefits, including fostering your sense of well-being and providing opportunities for community engagement.
2. Water Aerobics and Swimming
Even more low-impact than walking, water aerobics and swimming are ideal senior exercises that minimize stress on joints and muscles. Water’s buoyancy will help support your body, making it a safe, accessible, and enjoyable way to maintain your fitness. Even better, water aerobics classes also provide a regular opportunity to get out of the house and socialize with your peers in a fun aquatic environment.
3. Beginner Yoga
When you think of yoga, you might immediately imagine an extremely fit and muscular person moving through a series of poses that require lots of flexibility and strength. While this accurately describes many yoga practices, yoga doesn’t have to be like that—beginner yoga is by far one of the best exercises for older adults. Yoga can be tailored to be as gentle and accessible as you need it to be, with a range of modified poses and stretches that will enhance your flexibility and balance. Yoga also promotes relaxation and stress reduction through the use of controlled breathing techniques.
4. Pilates
Pilates is another excellent option when it comes to fitness for seniors. Pilates for seniors is often taught by trained instructors with specialized knowledge of how to tailor these exercises to the needs of older bodies. It’s a full-body workout that improves core strength, posture, balance, and flexibility, and it doesn’t put excessive pressure on your joints.
5. Weight Training
The benefits of weight training for seniors include improved muscle strength and bone density, which helps to reduce your risk of falls and fractures, as well as overall functional fitness—meaning that it will make your daily activities more accessible to perform. That’s not to mention the self-esteem and mental health benefits of watching yourself become more physically fit!
6. Body Weight Exercises
If you’d like to avoid buying a gym membership and you’re explicitly searching for exercises for seniors at home, body weight exercises will be a fabulous addition to your exercise routine. They don’t require additional equipment, so they’re practical and cost-effective at strengthening your body! Here are some recommendations for equipment-free strength exercises suited for adults.
Are You Interested in Living a Longer, Healthier Life?
If you’re reading this blog post, we’re willing to bet that you’re interested in improving your health and extending your life. First, you’ll want to establish a baseline for your efforts by calculating your current life expectancy. You can do so using our Life Expectancy Calculator, which is a highly effective tool that estimates your life expectancy by cross-comparing numerous lifestyle factors with the latest research on longevity.
