Fitness Plan for Seniors Citizens: Strength, Stretching, and Balance

As you age, physical activities become more important for your health and hold great significance in the proper functioning of your body.  Physical activities can delay or prevent many health-related problems that seem to come with older age. They also help your muscles grow stronger so you can keep doing your routine activities without becoming dependent on others. Fitness activities exert numerous positive effects on elderly people’s physical and mental health, including:

⦁ Improved mobility and balance.

⦁ Decreased risks of falls.

⦁ Better cognitive functionality.

⦁ Prevention of chronic illnesses. 

If, with growing age, a person takes care of his fitness and carries out various physical activities like stretching, running, or walking on a daily basis. He can also effectively maintain his body weight, reducing the risks of various fatal diseases. Elderly people should also establish a regular exercise routine and should, at least, incorporate 130 to 150 minutes of moderate endurance activity into their week. This can also include walking, cycling, or swimming in order to improve their body’s strength, flexibility, and balance.

Fitness Exercises for Seniors to Improve Their Strength, Ability to Stretch and Balance

Regular fitness exercises can effectively enhance people’s abilities to stretch and balance training for seniors, consequently strengthening their body muscles and improving their quality of life. There are numerous fitness exercises that seniors can perform, depending on their physical conditions and preferences. 

Aerobic Exercises

There are several types of aerobic exercises that seniors can perform, such as jogging, running or cycling. Aerobic exercises allow seniors to keep their muscles strong, which can help them maintain mobility and balance as they get older. Fitness exercises can also lower the risk of injuries from falls in elderly people. In the beginning, seniors should take a slow start and perform these exercises for 10 to 20 minutes a day. If that becomes easier, they can enhance the time period of fitness activities by adding a second set with fewer repetitions of the same exercises.

Exercise is meant to make your body stronger, healthier and happier and should not create pain. That’s why people should manage their fitness plans and perform those exercises that their bodies can easily bear. One may get a little sore after doing new movements. But after a while, bodies get used to fitness exercises, and people usually feel no pain while performing them.

Pilates 

Pilates is a popular low-impact form of exercise that proves to be very beneficial for seniors. In pilates exercises, concentration, core strength, breathing, and alignment are emphasised. It typically involves the use of mats, pilates balls, and other inflated accessories to help build the body’s strength and mobility. Pilates has been proven to improve body balance, develop core strength and increase flexibility and stretching abilities in elderly people. Some useful and widely performed pilates exercises for older adults include:

⦁ Side circles

⦁ Food slides

⦁ Step-ups

⦁ Leg circle

Pilates has numerous other benefits, as it can help relieve tension in the shoulders, back and legs. It enhances the body’s natural ability to burn fat and is a great way to cross-train and prevent injury. Moreover, it can promote cognitive functionality and body awareness. Pilates can be easily performed as a mat is all you need to perform this exercise.

Body Weight Workouts 

One of the most significant benefits of bodyweight exercises is the ability to improve elderly people’s muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance. Muscle loss can prove to be very devastating and debilitating for older adults. Many seniors encounter problems like severe muscle loss, which eventually leads to hormonal problems, decreased ability to metabolize proteins and other health-related issues. 

Body weight workouts are one of the most significant ways to counteract the effects of muscle atrophy in elderly people. The major benefit of body weight workouts is their affordability. The materials required for body weight workouts are also easily available and minimal. Some common bodyweight workouts for elderly people generally include:

⦁ Step up

⦁ Lying hip bridges

⦁ Side-lying circles

⦁ Lower Body Exercises for Balance and Strength

Lower body exercises for balance and strength significantly reduce the risk of falls as an individual age. There are also various benefits of lower body exercises, including reduced risks of illnesses like osteoporosis and hypertension. These exercises also improve cardiovascular disorders and help seniors with balance and postural control. These exercises also enhance the foundational strength of seniors for everyday movements. Lower body exercises generally include:

⦁ Half Squats. 

⦁ Lunges

⦁ Knee Extensions.

⦁ Ankle Circles

⦁ Step Up.

⦁ Walking Heel to Toe.

⦁ Single-Leg Stance.

Exercises that Senior People Should Avoid

Although fitness exercises prove to be very advantageous for the physical and mental health of seniors, there are still some exercises that should be avoided to prevent serious physical injuries. Various popular workouts are also generally well-suited for younger adults. They may put an unhealthy strain on older adults with joint pain,  posture problems, atrophied muscles or issues with balance.

Senior citizens should also avoid the following exercises:

⦁ Bench press

⦁ Leg press

⦁ Long-distance running

⦁ Abdominal crunches

⦁ Upright row

⦁ High-intensity interval training

⦁ Rock climbing

FAQs:

WHAT ARE THE FIVE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF A BALANCED FITNESS PLAN FOR ELDERLY PEOPLE?

A well-balanced fitness plan that ensures the good health of seniors generally includes components like strength training, aerobic fitness, core exercises, balance training, and flexibility and stretching. Elderly people can also certainly improve their physical fitness by including these components in their daily lifestyles. 

WHY DOES A FITNESS PLAN HOLD GREAT SIGNIFICANCE IN ELDERLY PEOPLE’S LIVES?

With increasing age, our body also tends to get weakened and require more care. One can sustain physical and mental health by consuming a well-balanced diet and by following a good fitness plan. A good and well-organized fitness plan holds great significance in senior citizens’ lives and has numerous benefits.

It can also help boost their energy, maintain their independence, protect their heart functionality, and prevent symptoms of illness or pain. Fitness exercises also prevent obesity in elders by managing their weight. It is also never too late to incorporate a simple, healthy and enjoyable fitness routine into your everyday life. Moreover, regular exercises are also good for people’s minds, moods, and memory.