Yesterday we established that one of the keys to a happy retirement was getting out and about, socializing, and most importantly fitting some kind of exercise into your weekly game plan. As we age, it gets increasingly difficult to maintain physical fitness – but that isn’t a reason to give up on staying in shape. Read below to find out a few great exercises you or a loved one can do post-retirement.
Activities and Workouts
1 – Yoga or stretching. The positive effects that yoga has on people has been proven to be extremely beneficial to essentially anyone that engages in the activity. This kind of low tension exercise not only helps you regain some strength, it more importantly increases flexibility and versatility in your movement – which can enable you to better carry out other types of exercises and even day-to-day activities. Additionally, it can be extremely soothing and beneficial to the mind, as well.
2 – Swimming. Swimming is a great exercise for senior citizens as it provides a great environment to get all kinds of benefits from exercise – cardio stimulation for improved heart conditioning, tension reduction in the muscles, and even better posture. Since seniors are in the water, it’s also great for exercising in an environment that inherently prevents any kind of high impact physical exertion, which can be bad for bones and joints in the elderly.
3 – Jogging. Running is a great activity for individuals of any age, and this holds true for seniors as well. Slowing down the pace isn’t bad, they’re still burning off lots of calories and fatty tissue from their bodies. Jogging is also great for your heart, and it can be a wonderful activity in a social setting or by yourself to collect your thoughts.
It’s important for seniors to know that they shouldn’t push themselves too much while exercising. It’s a great to be active, but overdoing it can prove to be detrimental to the exercise if done to the extreme. Additionally, anyone of any age should always remember to warm up before working out. Getting the blood flowing getting your muscles loose will benefit your workout and help prevent any injury.
Source: SeniorFitnessSite.com