If you are a senior, exercise can help you stay independent, prevent or delay heart trouble and diabetes, reduce arthritis pain and reduce chances of falling. It can also help you maintain good posture, as well as cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, endurance, maintenance of body composition and flexibility, advises the AARP, or the Association for the Advancement of Retired Persons. You can improve your posture even if you are chair-bound, advises Janine Clark in “Exercise Programming for Older Adults.”
Waxing
Waxing is one good posture strengthening exercise, according to the University of California at Los Angeles. To do it, sit up straight in a chair. Place your elbows at your sides and bend them to 90 degrees. Push your shoulders together and down, and keep your palms facing the floor. Use your hands to make a circular waxing motion in the air while maintaining the start position in which your palms face the floor. As you do the exercise, keep your elbows "glued" to your sides. Wax for 20 seconds, then rest. Repeat the exercise four times.
Neck Posture
Enhance neck posture with several exercises. To start, make sure your neck is in proper alignment. Keep your chin parallel with the floor and level instead of dropping or lifting it, advises Clark. Use slow movements for all of the exercises. To do the first exercise, put your left hand on your waist and your right hand on the right side of your head. Press your head gently into your hand. Repeat four times before you do the same thing on the other side. For the second exercise, drop your left ear toward your shoulder and press your right palm down into the seat of a chair. Repeat on the other side. For the third exercise, put your hands behind your head. Move your elbows back as you pull your chin in. Move your head back into your hands, keeping your chin level. Look to the right and left. Repeat this four times.
Abdominal Exercise
Tighten your abdominals to help maintain your posture, advise the experts at UCLA. Sit in a chair that has back support. Tighten your stomach as if someone was planning to punch it. Press your fingers into your abdomen, then tighten your abdominal muscles even more to resist the pressure of your fingers. Remember to keep breathing as you do this. Hold for 15 seconds before resting. Repeat this exercise five times.
Standing Exercise
If you are not chair bound, practice sit to stands, advise the experts at UCLA. Sit on the edge of your chair, and place your feet on the floor, slightly behind your knees. Stand up ensuring that your neck and spine are erect. Do not let your back bend forward. Return to the sitting position, but do not put your full weight on your chair. Repeat the stand. Move slowly throughout this exercise. Work up to three sets of 10 repetitions.
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