Exercise is a crucial part of living a healthy lifestyle. Seniors have even more reasons to stay physically fit, and the results are more notable. Regularly working out means you can be independent longer, you have more energy and vigour, and you have improved balance.
But, working out in your 60s is not the same as working out in your 20s. You need to find effective workouts that don’t transfer impact to your joints, causing pain and discomfort.
If you’re looking to make your life more active but can’t find the right workouts, here are five great exercises to get you started.
Water Aerobics
Water aerobics is becoming a popular form of exercise for all ages but particularly among seniors. Water not only adds some resistance to the workout routine but also provides a cushion for your joints, easing stress and making the exercises more fun.
There are several water aerobics exercises that are perfect for seniors, which include aqua jogging, standing water push-ups, leg lifts, flutter kicking, and arm curls. In addition to being effective, water aerobics is fun and can be an excellent opportunity to socialise.
Chair Yoga
You don’t have to leave your home to get a good workout. With as little as a comfortable chair, there are tons of low-impact exercises that will improve your muscle strength, mobility, balance, and flexibility.
Chair yoga transfers minimal stress on the muscles, joints, and bones than the conventional version of yoga while transferring an equal number of benefits. Chair yoga is not only good for your body but has been proven to have benefits on your mental health, helping you sleep better and lower instances of depression. Some typical chair yoga routines include:
- Seated cow stretch
- Seated twist
- Overhead stretch
- Seated cat stretch
- Seated mountain pose
You can incorporate these stretches after any other exercise routines for all-round benefits.
Resistance Band Workouts
With as little as a resistance band, you could improve your life. These stretchy bands of the rubber add resistance to the workouts while eliminating stress and impact on the joints, muscles, and bones. The bands are affordable, accessible, and user-friendly, even for first-time users.
Another benefit of resistance band workouts is you can do them from the comfort of your home. But we always recommend going to the gym when you can because of the social setting that makes the exercises fun and indulging.
With resistance band workouts, you can strengthen your core, improve posture, mobility, and balance. Some excellent resistance band exercises to get you started to include:
- Bicep curls
- Leg presses
- Band pull
- Triceps press
- Lateral raise
Pilates
You have probably come across Pilates when researching the best exercises in your 60s. They are a popular exercise because they are low-impact and have been tried and tested for over a century. Pilates emphasise breathing, concentration, body alignment, and core strength.
For these exercises, you will need a mat, Pilates balls and several other inflated accessories depending on the routines you would like to try. Some of the Pilates exercises that are perfect for seniors include:
- Side circles
- Step-ups
- Food slides
- Mermaid movement
- Leg circle
Each of the workouts focuses on an area of improvement. It would help if you incorporated different exercises that focus on other parts of the body for overall benefits.
Walking
The last exercise on this list is probably one of the best and easiest. Walking provides numerous benefits not only to your body but also to your mind. Understandably, for some seniors, walking is a bigger challenge than for others. You don’t have to strain yourself. The number of steps you take in a day should be what is comfortable for you.
Walking strengthens your muscles while promoting a healthy lifestyle. It also lowers your risk of diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, and stroke. What makes walking unique is the ability to try out different approaches to making it fun, and you can even do it as a group. If you have a scenic walking route, you have even more reasons to take a walk as you enjoy the views and nature.
Some excellent walking exercise ideas for seniors include:
- Walking through the park
- Enrolling in a walk-friendly race that you can train for
- Walking around the perimeter fence of a familiar building
Final Thoughts
There’s no shortage of exercises for seniors in their 60s. You can also try out a variety of bodyweight exercises. But remember to only participate in exercises that minimise the impact on your joints to prevent flaring up, pain, and inflammation after completing the workout.