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Exercise is essential for staying healthy and fit at all ages. In the case of older people, it often turns out that not every person is able to perform the exercises. That is why it is very important to adjust the exercises for the elderly to their health condition and abilities. Check which exercises will work for the elderly!
3 best exercises for the elderly – health
Movement and physical activity is useful at any age. Exercise makes our heart and brain work better, we feel better, and we also prevent depression and strengthen muscles. It is obvious that for most older people it is not about intensive training in the gym.
For seniors, traditional walks, cycling and even climbing stairs are a suitable form of exercise.
A swimming pool or yoga for seniors, which does not require high physical fitness, will also be perfect. Yoga will not only improve your condition, but also relieve various stresses.
Unfortunately, the elderly are often afraid of exercise due to the risk of injury. However, they should remember that the body weakens due to lack of physical activity. Weak muscles worsen stabilization and there are back and knee pains. The mood also drops, which can often be seen in the elderly.
In addition to exercise, it is worth taking care of your health and appearance. For this purpose, you can order the Bioherba Senior Set, which includes: milk thistle oil for good liver function, Angel’s Kiss tea to improve digestion and Bioherba, a multi-purpose care and regeneration cream for children and adults, for beautiful skin.
Check: Preventive examinations for people over 70
The 3 best exercises for the elderly – outdoors
- Walks – the easiest exercise option for older people is a walk. It’s best to walk every day. Thanks to this simple activity, we will prevent muscle wasting, which is the main cause of hip problems.
- Nordic walking – it is a march with the use of special poles that activate not only the leg muscles, but also the stabilizing muscles and the arm muscles. We adjust the pace of this exercise for the elderly to the capabilities of the senior, so we can march calmly, but also very dynamically. It is an ideal option for whole body training for the elderly.
- Stairs – if an elderly person has no contraindications, he or she can climb stairs as part of the exercises. The exercise strongly engages the muscles of the knee joint, thanks to which they stabilize the joints themselves. However, for the exercise to be safe, you should keep your weight on your heels. Thanks to this, we will relieve the knee joints and additionally engage the muscles of the thighs.
It is also worth stopping the aging processes by using appropriate cosmetics, eg Bioherba soap bar for oily skin with coconut oil and rose oil.
Check out: The most common skin problems in the elderly. How to recognize and treat them?
The 3 best exercises for the elderly – at home
Exercises for the elderly can also be successfully done at home. Such exercises are neither difficult nor very complicated and, importantly, they can be performed without specialized equipment. However, you can get gums that will help you diversify even the simplest exercises.
Remember that the purpose of exercise for the elderly is to maintain mobility and improve stabilization. Below are 3 examples of exercises that you can easily do safely at home:
- wall slide – the exercise strengthens the upper back and improves mobility in the shoulder girdle. We sit with our back to the wall. The back should fit tightly to the wall. Place the arms so that the elbows are at shoulder height. We turn our hands upwards and slowly move them upwards. At the highest point, we stop our hands for a second and return to the starting position. It is very important that both the back and the entire shoulders are glued to the wall. We do 3 series of 8 repetitions;
- hip bridges – a simple way to strengthen the gluteal muscles. Lie on your back and bring your heels approx. 20-30 cm from the hips. We tighten the abdomen tightly and push the hips up. We do not force the exercises, we tighten the muscles as much as possible. The heels should remain stuck to the ground at all times. The exercise can be varied with gums, but it will then be much more difficult. We repeat the exercise in 3 series of 12 repetitions;
- shell – the exercise can also be varied with gums. We lie on our side on the floor in such a way that the back, buttocks and heels are against the wall. We put rubber on our knees. We put one hand under the head. The knees are to be joined together, then try to tilt the knee of the upper leg as far as possible to the wall. The heels should be pressed together at all times and the legs should be glued to the floor. We repeat 8 times in 3 series on each side.
Check: Senior Diet. Challenges in the nutrition of older people
The 3 best exercise for the elderly – stretching
Muscle flexibility is also very important, so you should also remember about stretching properly:
- spiderman – supports where one foot is placed behind the back and the other is placed next to the hand. For less advanced people, you can use the version of the exercise with your knees lowered to the floor. Make sure your hands touch the floor with your wrists and your chest is facing forward. In this position, we can also move our hips up-down or left-right. We keep the position for about 1 minute on each side;
- chest extension – lean forward against the wall and keep elbows straight. Put your head gently in front of your shoulders and hold this position for about 1 minute;
- stretching the shoulders – bring the left straightened arm closer to the right shoulder, with the right hand gently press the left arm behind the elbow joint. We stay in this position for 30 seconds and change the arm.
Top 3 Exercises for Older People – Rehabilitation
Older people are often unable to exercise due to their health condition. However, we should remember that they can then use rehabilitation exercises. They will help you recover from illnesses or injuries.
Rehabilitation exercises for the elderlywhich must lie down for their health, prevent hypokinesia, which is a lack of exercise. The longer a lying person remains motionless, the more this condition becomes worse. That is why rehabilitation and keeping the body in motion are so important.
Remember that exercises for the elderly lying down are always selected by a physiotherapist and depend on the cause of the patient’s immobility. However, it is worth learning about general movement exercises in the supine position. These are:
- gripping exercises – these are exercises to improve the muscles of the hand;
- bends in the shoulder joints, adduction and abduction of the arms;
- bends in the knee joints;
- abduction and adduction of the lower limbs;
- bends in the hip joints with support.