Are you ready to take action? Maybe, if you’re like most of us, you’ve been thinking about starting or getting back into a fitness routine. The winter is coming to an end as the weather starts to break. No matter your age or fitness level, it’s never too late to get moving and make good choices.
Start small and don’t overwhelm yourself. Fitness can be FUN! You can get healthier and build connections with others in group fitness classes. At Performance 360 Fitness, they have several low impact classes that are great for all fitness levels. We put a huge focus on active aging and mindful movement! Our senior fitness classes are designed to keep you pain free, balanced, active, and healthy.
Senior exercise is a fundamental way to remain active for amazing quality of life! It’s about adding excellence to your years.
Exercise has been shown to increase mental alertness and happiness as well as several physical benefits. The value of exercise for seniors goes well beyond merely a focus on physical health, but improves your mind and mood.
The simplest workout for seniors is walking; an hour a day on easy trails, walking with a pet or with a companion is one of the best daily exercises.
Seniors need to develop an exercise routine. The weather will be lightening up. This may mean a daily walk to a restaurant or coffee shop that is far enough away from home or joining the gym to walk or bike indoors, safely away from the elements.
Benefits of Exercise for Seniors
Exercise keeps you strong and nimble and helps you avoid falls— which is one of the biggest causes of the need to move into a nursing home. Exercise is also shown to have other benefits including maintaining mental acuity, fighting viruses as well as boredom and depression, and of course, maintaining or improving self-confidence and pleasure!
Check out the gym for some excellent simple exercises perfectly suited for seniors who want to remain agile and strong. Here at Performance 360 we have 10+ personal fitness experts who specialize in active aging, balance, and mobility.
TRY THIS:
A simple exercise to improve balance in combination with multiple other senses
- Walk down a long straight hallway with one hand touching the wall, but walk as if you were walking on a tight rope. Feel the way your ligaments and abdomen tighten slightly as you make shorter steps.
- Turn and walk down the hallway again, this time keeping your feet closer together, with toes consistently touching heel of the foot in front.
- You can make this even more difficult by walking down the hallway in the same way while turning your head from side to side. This can be tricky at any age as your senses rely on the visual signal.
As we get into springtime, other examples of great fitness activities include golf, which involves plenty of walking as well as the exercise
of hitting the ball, or for cardio and hand-eye coordination try pickleball or tennis.
Something else to look into could be Yoga or Tai Chi to help with balance and movement. These are low impact exercise regimens with a huge focus on breath work and balance, and can be done indoors or outdoors.
As always, in any weather, working out is a great way of exercising and most elders find this is a great time to socialize. Stay active to focus on independent living in retirement!
