Advantages of Regular Exercise & Ways to Stay Fit for Older Adults

As one grows older, maintaining an effective way of life becomes more important. This can be done with the help of daily exercise. Every day exercise can help in boosting the energy, maintaining a sense of independence and managing all the signs of pain as well as illness. Exercise can reverse some symptoms that are associated with aging. Exercise is not only good for your body but can also help in keeping your mood, mind as well as memory fresh at all times. Whether you are trying to maintain your health in general or getting rid of any diseases, there are ways through which you can lift your fitness regime.

Regular exercise will keep older adults fit as they age. Beginning or retaining a routine will be challenging as one advances through their age. One may feel disappointed at times by health problems, illness or concerns about injury as well. If you have not done any workout before, you may not have an idea about beginning to exercise. There might be times, when you think that working out is just not meant for you as you are frail or too old.

While all these reasons may seem to be good reasons and you might as well think that you should take it easy as the age is advancing. However, these might be the best reasons to keep you moving even when your bones are weak. Exercise can help in relieving stress as well as energize the mood to keep it free from all the stress. It can also help in alleviating the signs of diseases and pain, which will help in improving the overall health to a great extent. Exercising can be fun especially when you find people who love doing physical activities.

No matter what your present physical situation or you age is, exercise can be beneficial for you. You can reap maximum benefits through exercising and it does not mean that you have to hit the gym or do strenuous workout.

There are many physical and mental advantages of regular exercise for older adults. As your age advances, exercising on a regular basis becomes important to stabilize your body as well as mind. It not only adds years to life but adds life to you age.

Below mentioned are the physical health advantages of regular exercise for older adults:

• Regular Exercise Aids Older Adults Maintain Healthy Weight: The body’s capacity to metabolize reduces considerably with age, maintaining a fit body can be a challenge. Regular exercise boosts metabolism and helps in building the muscle mass. It also helps in burning more calories. When your body has more healthy mass, it helps in improving the overall health.
• Regular Exercise Shortens the Effect of Chronic Ailments: Amongst all the other benefits that are associated with exercising, people who are above 50 years of age also showed improvement in immune system. Other than this, there was improvement in blood pressure, bone density as well as digestive system. People who exercise are often at a lower risk of developing obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s disease as well.
• Regular Exercise Improves Flexibility, Balance and Mobility in Older Adults: Regular exercise helps in improving the flexibility, posture as well as strength. It also helps reduce the risks of falling. One can also alleviate the chronic conditions like arthritis.

The following are the mental health advantages of regular exercise for older adults:

• Regular Exercise Boosts your Sleep: Poor sleep cannot be considered as an inevitable result of old age and maintaining the quality of sleep is important when you have to maintain the overall health. Exercising helps in improving sleep as it renders a sound sleep as well as aids in quick sleep as well.
• Regular Exercise Pushes Good Mood and Self-Confidence: Exercise is a stress busters and it can help in producing endorphins- the feel good hormones that are mood boosters. This will also help in reducing depressive feelings, stress as well as anxiety. When you are physically strong or anxious, you will feel more confident about yourself.
• Regular Exercise is Incredibly Good for the Mind: Games like crossword puzzles or Sudoku can help in keeping your brain active. Exercising also helps in boosting the multitasking power and prevents dementia as well as short term memory loss. It also lowers down the advancement of various brain-related disorders like Alzheimer’s.

Older adults can begin exercising slowly and stay fit. Committing yourself to a physical activity or any exercising routine can be a wise decision that will be of great help to you. Before you get going, it is always better to check for safety.

• Consult Your Physician prior to beginning any exercise routine and make a note about the exercises that have to be avoided.
• Make a Note of all your Existing Conditions: Keeping in mind about the problems you are facing and how workouts can affect them. You will have to regulate the medication as well as meal plan while following an exercise routine. Above all, if something is wrong like difficulty in breathing, you should avoid doing such activities.
• Take One Step at a Time: If you have not been active in doing various physical activities, it is necessary for you take some baby steps. Try to build up the exercise routine one step at a time. Prevent any kind of injury by cooling down or warming up or by keeping a water bottle in hand.
• Consistency is the Key: Make a Commitment to a workout schedule at least for a week or so, such that your body is able to cope with the changes in the physical activities. This will help you in finding more activities that you love doing.
• Encourage Yourself by Creating Short Term Goals: Like boosting the energy levels, mood as well as stress reduction can be considered rather than weight loss as it can take more time to achieve the goals.
• Identify Problems: Exercise should never make you feel lousy or hurt your body. If you feel dizzy or experience any kind of uneasiness, it is better to call for assistance. Also, if you notice any swelling in joints, it is better to stop exercising instantly.

Staying active is not a discipline. Remember to mix and match between various routines so that you can improve your mental health as well as enjoy the workout session as well. The task lies in finding an activity that can keep you in the drive for a longer time.

• Cardio uses larger muscle groups and sets them in a specific motion to improve the functioning. It usually involves cycling, dancing, swimming or playing tennis. While doing cardio, one may also experience increase in heart rate.
• It helps in lessening fatigue as well as breathing disabilities. It makes the body independent in walking, cleaning and running errands as well.

• When you undergo strength training, it helps in building up the muscles by using external resistance like machines, body weight, elastic bands or free weights. Power training is done to increase reaction times and power, so it is performed at faster speed.
• Strength training also helps in preventing the bone mass loss, helps in improving balance as well as building muscles. It also avoids falls and helps one in staying active as well. Through these activities, you will prevent tripping and enable complete balance. Building strength and power will be easier when one undergoes power training. Building power and strength will help in making the activities much easier to perform.

• The ability of a body to move freely is improved and the flexibility is immensely improved. The range of motion is considerably improved and this involves undergoing mild stretches that will add some relief to the muscles. Yoga is known to be the best exercise for increasing the muscle flexibility.
• Helps the body in staying limber as well as increases the range of motion. This in turn affects all the physical activities like driving, shampooing the hair or playing with your grandchildren.

• Balancing helps in maintaining the stability as well as the standing postures whether you are moving or standing still. Try practicing Tai Chi, Yoga and other exercises for gaining balance as well as posture.
• Balancing exercises help in improving the walking ability as well as helps in maintaining a correct posture. This also helps in reducing the risk of fear or falling.

Even if you are chair bound or frail, exercising can render many mental as well as physical benefits. The adults who are chair-bound can gain improvement by strength training, cardio activities and flexibility. If being in a state of bed riddance has prevented you from exercising, take time to know that you can be physically active. When you do so, you will be mesmerized by the results you gain. You can also personalize the chair-bound activities and make it more fun.

If you feel anxious while thinking about working out, it is time to change the mentality. Being active may feel unnatural or awkward in the beginning but when you follow a routine, you will enjoy it more often. Once you begin reaping the benefits and notice specific changes, you will be in the drive for motivation.

Until you get motivated or feel the right vibes of exercising, do not think about it as a task that has to be completed from your to-do list. Instead, look at it like something as a part of your lifestyle just like sleeping or eating your meal. There are hosts of ways by which an older adult can make all these physical activities as a part of the daily routine. Begin taking baby steps at a time like doing exercise for ten minutes or so rather than being lousy. You can gradually move into bigger steps until exercising becomes a habit.

Also Read:

• Difference Between Cardiovascular and Aerobic Exercise
• Zumba Fitness: Improving Stamina the Zumba Way
• Benefits and Side Effects of Cycling
• Cardio Exercises for Seniors & Its Benefits
• 15 Ways to Increase Cardio Stamina