Exercise is credited with a host of benefits including improved mood, better sleep, more energy and combating chronic diseases many seniors face such as diabetes, depression, heart disease, arthritis and osteoporosis. If this weren't enough reason to get seniors exercising, staying fit and strong also helps you stay independent for longer and helps reduce your risk of a debilitating fall.
Chair Sits
Chair sits are an excellent, no-equipment-necessary exercise for toning your entire lower body. They also help you strengthen the muscles needed to perform this functional movement.
To do a chair sit, find a chair of such a height that, when you sit in it, both your knees and hips are bent at a 90-degree angle. Scoot forward so that your bottom is just barely on the chair, feet directly underneath your knees, then stand up. Keep your feet planted in place as you squat down as if you were going to sit in the chair again. Your bottom goes back toward the chair; don't be shy about sticking it out behind you. You can straighten both arms in front of you, if need be, to help you keep your balance. Squeeze your hips back underneath you and straighten your legs, all at the same time, to stand up again.
Wall Pushups
Wall push-ups help maintain strength and mobility in your chest, shoulders and arms. To do a wall push-up, stand about two feet away from a wall, then lean forward and support yourself against the wall with both hands just below shoulder height, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Bend your arms as you slowly rock forward on your toes, lowering your chest toward the wall. Squeeze your abs to keep your entire body straight from heels to head as you do this and stop your motion toward the wall when either your forehead nearly touches the wall or your shoulders are even with your bent elbows, whichever comes first. Press yourself back away from the wall by squeezing your arm and chest muscles.
Balance
According to the National Institute on Aging, more than one third of people 65 or older fall every single year. Training your balance can help reduce the risk of falling, but it doesn't have to involve acrobatics. Start by standing on one leg as you brush your teeth in the morning; stand on one leg as you brush your upper teeth, then switch to the other leg while you do your bottom teeth.
Other easy balance exercises including walking heel to toe along a straight line of tape on the floor, standing on one leg on an Airex pad or other slightly unstable surface, or ball sits. To do a ball sit, sit down on an exercise ball, both feet flat on the floor, and practice balancing your body as you shift your arms out to the side, straight overhead and finally straight in front of you. Once this is easy with both legs on the floor, try lifting one leg off the floor as you balance.
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