Today is National Senior Health and Fitness Day! Read on to learn more about strength training as you age to maintain a healthy senior lifestyle!
C.S Lewis once said, “you are never too old to set another goal.” As we age, most people start to give up on strength training. Many forget to workout, some think they aren’t strong enough to do it and others just don’t even know where to start.
It’s totally OK to not feel comfortable exercising as we age, but it should not feel as if we can’t do it. Here are some tips on how to slowly get back to exercising and how exercising as you age will benefit your life.
Exercising can help prevent chronic diseases such as arthritis and diabetes, and it also helps build a routine for your life. You just need to get in around 150 minutes of working out a week , according to Aaptive, an online health resource. That is about two and a half hours a week, or about 20 minutes a day.
Exercises and Advice
- Strength train twice a week: Begin with bodyweight exercises to avoid any injuries as you get back into a routine. Do some squats, lunges, step-ups, assisted push-ups or bicycle crunches.
- Move on to flexibility strengthening workouts to avoid any injuries such as the single-leg balance reach. This is trainer Jeff Warley’s favorite stretch, according to Aaptive. Follow these steps for the stretching: Bring one knee up, raising your foot off the ground to the height of your adjacent leg’s ankle. Slightly bend the knee of your supporting leg and slowly extend the raised leg, reaching outward with your foot. Bring your raised leg back into the original poses, repeat for several reps and then switch legs.
- Make sure you give yourself time to warm-up and cool down. You want to make sure you avoid injuries at all times and that you are taking care of your body.
Dumbbells
Dumbbells are senior-friendly, help you get back into a routine and also strengthen your muscles without having to lift big heavy weights. Verywellfit.com has step-by-step on how to perform some common dumbbell exercises.
- Overhead presses
- Arm curls
- Front raise
- Forward lunge
Strength training has that power to greatly improve your health. Don’t be afraid to look up exercises or ask a friend for help. Set your goal to get stronger and work towards achieving it every day.
*Always consult your doctor before taking on a fitness routine.
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