Seniors need to stay active and exercise. As you age, maintaining a healthy diet and exercising can help you prevent chronic conditions, be on fewer medications, and live longer. Seniors can do many safe exercises to stay fit and in shape. Below are some of the many exercises recommended for seniors.

Chair Yoga

Chair yoga is an excellent exercise for seniors to improve strength and mobility. It also creates more balance and flexibility. Unlike conventional yoga, chair yoga benefits seniors because it puts less stress on the muscles, joints, and bones. Some great chair yoga exercises include overhead stretch, seated twist, seated cat stretch, seated cow stretch, and seated mountain pose.

Strength Training

Strength training is a great way to maintain good muscle mass and improve bone mass. As you age, it is easy to lose muscle mass, which can lead to a risk of falling or a fracture. Strength training helps combat the loss of muscle mass by stimulating muscle growth and strengthening your bones. Some good strength training exercises for seniors include ankle waits, dumbbells, exercise balls, resistance bands, handgrips, and wrist weights.

Water Aerobics

Exercising in the water has big benefits. It can give you a full-body workout and is easy on your joints. Water aerobics is a very popular exercise for seniors. Water is helpful because it provides natural resistance, so you don’t have to use weights. Some examples of water aerobic exercises you can do are aqua jogging, arm curling, flutter kicking, leg lifting, and standing water pushups.

Indoor Cycling

Another excellent exercise for seniors is indoor cycling. It provides the benefits of cycling without the risk of bad weather or falling and hurting yourself. Cycling is a great sport for seniors because it strengthens the heart, muscles, and lungs and improves blood flow. It can also help you lose weight and is a low-impact workout, meaning it is light on your joints. 

Walking

Another great exercise for seniors is walking in nature. This allows you to hike or see some beautiful scenery safely. Because walking can be challenging for some seniors, your step goals should differ from person to person, but a good goal to start at is 10,000 steps per day. Walking will lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. When hiking, it’s essential to be aware of how challenging the hike will be and look for flat, smoother trails.

These are some excellent exercise suggestions for seniors. If you are a part of a gym, they should have some classes specifically designed for seniors. Take advantage of those classes and use your Medicare benefits like FitOn. You can attend classes in person at a gym or from your home. It doesn’t matter what exercise you do as long as it is safe; what matters is that you do something to stay fit and healthy.