Top 5 Exercises for active seniors

Published: October 20, 2021

A healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise is important to maintain throughout one’s life. However, as we age, the exercises that are actually beneficial become to shrink. We can’t simply maintain our old routine, as it might be too hard on our aging bodies. That is the simple truth of it. Luckily, that does not mean that we need to forgo exercise completely. On the contrary, all that it takes is to adapt the routine to our current needs. At DubaiPT, we have mastered the art of adapting the exercise to each individual. In this article, we are going to present you with some of the best exercises for active seniors.

The 5 best exercises for active seniors

An active lifestyle is much more preferable to a sedentary one. It improves our independence and balance and provides us with more energy. But it also needs to be tailored to our specific needs. Here are some of the best exercises that are specifically suited to seniors:

• Chair Yoga
• Pilates
• Walking
• Water aerobics
• Resistance band training

A couple of honorary mentions include body weight workouts, dumbbell strength training, and arm workouts for women. The exercises that seniors should avoid include bench press (sorry), leg press, deadlift, rock climbing, as well as long-distance running.

These workouts might bring more harm than good and are better avoided. It is much better to start with:

One of the best exercises for active seniors – Chair Yoga!

Alright, the name does not sound all that promising but chair yoga is in fact one of the best exercises a senior can practice. It will improve your muscle strength, mobility, flexibility, as well as balance. Everything that seniors actually need. The main appeal of this form of exercise is that it is low-impact, and provides minimal stress on joints, muscles, and bones. Furthermore, it has been proven that chair yoga helps with mental health as well. Participants have exhibited lower depression rates, higher-quality sleep cycles, as well as an improved sense of well-being.

Here are some of the best chair yoga exercises that you can employ:

• Twist
• Cow stretch
• Mountain pose
• Cat stretch
• Overhead stretch

Of course, if you are only starting out, it is highly beneficial to consult a professional. Professional trainers can optimize the routine to your individual needs and enable you to make the most out of the workout.

Pilates

Another low-impact exercise option, Pilates dates back almost a century. The core tenets of this exercise are concentration, breathing, core strength, and alignment. Pilates involves utilizing balls and other inflated accessories, as well as mats to reduce the impact of the exercise. This makes it perfectly suited for seniors. It has the potential to improve balance, increase flexibility, and develop core strength. It is similar to chair yoga as far as results are concerned. But it is an entirely different exercise, and you might like one and hate the other. The best thing you can do is try them both. Some of the best Pilates exercises include side circles, step-ups, leg circles, mermaid movement, and food slides.

Walking is one of the most accessible exercises for active seniors

If you are looking to minimize the cost of your exercises, nothing can beat walking. You don’t need to invest any money in it, and you can do it on your own terms. And it is a really good exercise, to boot. Generally, you might want to aim for 10,000 steps per day but feel free to lower that number if you can’t manage it. It is all about small increments.

Walking also allows you to “take your time”. It is no race and the number of steps is more important than how much time it requires to make them. If you want to “augment” your walks, you can always listen to an audiobook or a music playlist while the step counter goes up. Another great suggestion is to find a place that you love walking around. A familiar building, a favorite park trail, whatever you prefer. You can also invite some of your friends for walks, or enroll in a community that is all about walking. There are many benefits of working out with a crowd, after all. And it is going to be much more fun. You can combine exercise and social interaction into one!

Water aerobics

In the past several years, water aerobics has become extremely popular. This form of exercise utilizes water to reduce the stress on the joints and is particularly suited for those that are battling arthritis and similar joint pain. The water also increases the natural resistance of movement, improving strength, balance, and flexibility, with minimal stress to the body due to water’s buoyance. Some of the top water aerobics exercises for seniors are flutter kicking, leg lifts, arm curls, standing water push-ups, and aqua jogging.

Affordable, efficient, user-friendly – Resistance band training

A resistance band is basically a stretchy strip of rubber. It allows you to exercise with it regardless of your current fitness level. Resistance band training is one of the most user-friendly and accessible workouts for seniors and beginners alike. The materials are cheap and you can exercise at home. The main benefit of this particular exercise is your core strength, which improves mobility, posture, as well as balance. Even though you can complete the entire exercise at home, it is advisable to seek out a trainer for the first couple of sessions. They can explain exactly what you should be doing and how much you should be exercising.

The workouts with a resistance band include leg press, lateral raise, bicep curl, triceps press, and band pull apart.

The main idea behind exercises for active seniors is to put as least stress on your body as possible while improving your strength, balance, mobility, posture, and independence. These workouts are ideal for that and can provide you with a healthy lifestyle without too much effort.