Exercise Ideas That Your Senior Will Love to Do

Though your senior’s body will change as they age, regular physical activity should remain a major part of their life. Some people falsely believe that there is no point in working out as they get older. In reality, quite the opposite is true. Regular workouts keep a person mentally alert and feeling positive. Additionally, regular workouts may help to ward off illness or injury. If you’re looking to help your elderly loved one get up and get active, consider these tips:

Try light cardio

A cardio workout can be customized based on your elderly family member’s ability level. Popular options for cardio workouts include:

• Dancing
• Tennis
• Walking around the neighborhood
• Swimming
• Biking
• Hiking
• Stair climbing

Whether your senior chooses to head out for a bike ride or to walk around the mall at their own pace, getting in some cardio each day is a necessary part of staying healthy. Cardio workouts boost endurance and help to cut down on fatigue. 

Incorporate strength training

Strength training workouts are not just for bodybuilders looking to pile on muscle. In fact, strength training can be the perfect workout for an elderly individual. These types of workouts improve balance and prevent the loss of bone mass, which matters to seniors.

Your elderly loved one can strength train using free weights, machines, their own body weight, or elastic bands. Depending on what they feel comfortable with, they can head to a local gym, purchase equipment to use at home, or even use items they have lying around the house (such as cans of soup) to get a workout in. There is no need to spend a lot of money or get fancy training in order to enjoy a workout focused on strength. 

Put a focus on flexibility

Your senior should also focus on their flexibility as they exercise. This helps the body to stay limber, and makes it easier to tie shoes, shampoo hair, and play with grandkids. Yoga is a great way to boost flexibility. Poses are easily modifiable based on skill and ability level, and the experience is a relaxing one.

Regardless of how fit or active your senior is, it’s important that they get in some sort of physical activity each day. Ideally, this exercise will include a mix of strength, cardio, and flexibility workouts.