When you’re a senior citizen or an older person, your body doesn’t work as it once did. Your bones and muscles have aged and deteriorated, and while that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything, it does mean you have to go about things like exercise a little differently. Read on to learn about some exercises you should start doing when you’re a senior.
Yoga
Yoga is an excellent form of exercise that anyone can enjoy since it simply uses your body to improve muscle strength, mobility, flexibility, and balance. However, getting up and down from the yoga mat can be tricky as you get older. Thankfully, there are some alternative forms of yoga, such as chair yoga, where you can still receive all the benefits while putting less stress on your body. Some great chair yoga stretches include the seated twist, the overhead stretch, the cow and cat stretch, and the seated mountain pose. The practice of yoga also improves mental health and your quality of sleep.
Pelvic Floor Exercises
As you age, you should start doing some pelvic floor exercises. These exercises are great for getting older because they can help with incontinence. Many senior citizens struggle with incontinence brief leakages, and you can fight against this by working out your pelvic muscles, allowing you to keep everything better held in. Some exercises that you can do are heel slides or toe taps.
Some great stretches can help, such as the happy baby pose. In this stretch, you’ll bring your knees toward your belly, grab your feet, and then open your knees while bringing your feet up toward your armpits. It’s not easy to do at first. But soon, you’ll get the hang of it, and your pelvic floor will thank you.
Walking
For many people, walking isn’t an exercise. Instead, it’s how they go from point A to point B and nothing else. This perspective may be the case for many, but you should still get a good walk in your day even if you don’t necessarily have to do it. The typical healthy expectation for people is to get in about 10,000 steps a day. But as you age, this number is harder to achieve. It can be your goal but don’t fret if you can’t reach it immediately. Instead, go on a walk and be happy as you experience the sun and wind while also strengthening muscles and lowering your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
You should start doing these exercises when you’re a senior because they can make the difficulties of old age go away, or at least diminish them. Additionally, they can make each day exciting and renew your lease on life!
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