5 Of The Best Forms Of Physical Activity For The Elderly
While physical activity is vital for the health of any person, as you get older and your body starts working less and less efficiently, maintaining physical fitness is one of the best ways to keep your body functioning as well as possible.
Knowing this, older adults should be prioritizing physical activity. However, when your body doesn’t feel as fit and firm as it once did, it can be hard to know what physical activities to try. So to help you figure this out, here are five of the best forms of physical activity for the elderly.
Anything In The Water
If you’re already experiencing some physical pains here and there, you likely aren’t going to want to do anything that’s too high impact on your body. Luckily, almost any activity in the water is going to give you a great workout without being hard on your joints. So if you have a pool in your assisted living community or a natural body of water close by, try to get into the water to swim or do aerobic exercises on a regular basis.
Gardening And Yard Work
In many instances, doing basic household chores can be a great way to get in some exercise. Especially if you’re going to be doing something that will make you sweat, like gardening or yard work, you can definitely count those chores as your workout. Just make sure you’re keeping your back and knees protected during any repetitive movements like digging or shoveling.
Endurance-Strengthening Activities
While you likely won’t be competing in any endurance races at your age, you do need a certain amount of endurance to be able to live your life the way you want. So to ensure that you have the strength you need to do things like go to a museum or visit an amusement park, try to regularly participate in endurance activities like long walks, climbing stairs, or even dancing.
Yoga Or Tai Chi
Balance is one thing that everyone should be working on to keep themselves healthy, not just older adults. But knowing that this is one way that you can better protect your body from things like tripping and falling, doing balance-based exercises should be a goal of yours. So if you haven’t tried Tai Chi or yoga in the past, you might want to attend a class geared toward seniors so that you can build your abilities in this way.
Basic Stretching
It’s very easy for the muscles of your body to get sore and stiff. So to help ensure that your body is ready to face whatever tasks or challenges you have ahead of you on any given day, it’s wise to do some basic stretching as part of your physical activity routines.
If you know that you need to get your body moving more but aren’t sure where to start, consider implementing some of the activities mentioned above.
