Never to Old for Exercise

No matter what your age, exercise is necessary to prevent accidents and injuries. This is especially important as people grow older and their bodies get more fragile. There are 4 categories of exercise for seniors that are important. They are endurance, strength, balance and flexibility. Before you start an exercise regiment you need to talk with your doctor. Always warm your muscles up slowly before you start exercising.

Anything that increases your heart rate and rate of breathing is good endurance exercise. Whether you walk, jog, swim or even just do yard work will increase your endurance. If you can easily talk after exercise you haven’t done enough, but if you can’t talk at all you’ve done too much.

Balance exercises are designed to help you with being able to stand easily and not be as prone to falls. One simple exercise is to stand on one foot for several seconds and then change to the other foot. Try rising from a sitting position without holding on to anything. Another one is walk heel to toe for a short distance and try to get to point where you don’t weave.

Flexibility can mean simply doing stretching exercises or some simple yoga. This can help you to tie your own shoes or be able to turn your head for backing the car out of the driveway. Strength training doesn’t have to be anything elaborate and can be combined with endurance exercises. You can start with a dumb bell that you carry and swing as you walk or you can even ride a bicycle to build strength in your legs.