There’s nothing quite like the sense of achievement and togetherness that comes with working out or playing a team sport with your friends.
However, as we get older, we become more aware and sensitive to the danger of injury, significantly as our bodies and fitness levels change.
What are the best exercises and sports for individuals over 60? You have many options open to you, but it all comes down to what you want out of life.
The Ministry of Health at the federal level has three primary suggestions for maintaining your health: eating well, being active, and resting, in that order.
- Moderate exercises – is beneficial to your heart, lungs, and blood vessels.
- Strengthening exercises – to help preserve bone strength
- Flexibility exercises — to help you move more effortlessly
- Balance exercises — to enhance your balance and prevent falls.
Always check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise routine or sports activity to ensure that it is safe for you.
Elderly adults can benefit from a wide array of different sports.
The following is a list of the top five sports activities that elderly adults should try:
Walking
Walking is a great way to strengthen your bones while also being good for your heart. Why not get a group of friends and begin walking together? You’ll get some exercise and meet new people during the day. It is advised that you spend at least 30 minutes each day, four times per week. If you’re worried about harming yourself on uneven terrain, try walking on a treadmill.
Swimming
Swimming may help you improve your cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, and ligament and tendon durability. Swimming has a low impact on your joints, making it popular among arthritis patients. Wear flippers or add weights to your legs when swimming for a more significant challenge since they create more resistance and force your muscles to work harder.
Yoga
Yoga can help you relax and reduce tension because of the meditative aspects of the different postures and stretches. It’s a low-impact workout that may help you increase your core stability, strength, respiratory flow, and muscular flexibility, especially if you do it many times each week.
Dancing
Why not workout if you’re having a good time doing something you enjoy? Dancing is one of the most pleasurable ways to work out your entire body. It may boost energy levels, reduce the risk of heart disease, improve memory and mood, and improve balance. You might attempt seat-dancing if you have poor balance or motion due to an injury or ailment.
Golf
Golf involves various actions in swinging the club in a wide range of motion, making it an ideal sport for your joints to move. Golfing also improves blood flow and circulation, helping your heart to perform more efficiently and help you gain muscle. Although golf is not a high-intensity activity, all of that swinging, putting, and walking will provide adequate exercise.
Incorporate any one of these sports, or all of them, into your weekly routine and get the advantages.
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Physical Activity and Its Health Benefits
Light activity can help you live a longer and better life by keeping you active for less time and lowering your risk of many diseases. It also aids in the maintenance of the cardiovascular system, balance, core muscle strength, cognitive function, and more. Let’s look at several medical problems that light exercise may help prevent in further detail.
Fun
Fitness has a negative reputation as something you must do until it is no longer pleasurable, but this is just not the case. Exercise should be an enjoyable, engaging, and carefree way to spend your time and socialize with others, rather than something you dread.
Maintain Muscle Mass
Working out, of course, helps you retain muscle mass as you age. As you get older, it’s more important than ever to exercise regularly since the muscle that controls your metabolism and enables you to stand straight and tall deteriorates. If you’ve kept up a regular strength and cardio program throughout your life, you’ve significantly reduced your risk of losing muscle mass and bone density.
Healthy Heart
You are maintaining a regular exercise routine that includes cardio boosts the health of your cardiovascular system, aiding in reducing blood pressure levels while increasing oxygen flow to the heart itself. As you grow older, this is extremely important since sedentary behavior can cause an irregular heartbeat or make it harder for your heart to pump blood.
Cognitive Functioning
You read that correctly – exercise can improve cognitive function and prevent dementia as you age. Exercise promotes the production of hormones and neurotransmitters, which keep your brain active, healthy, and functioning at its best. Regular physical activity combats inflammation and oxidative stress, leading to cognitive decline, memory loss and other conditions.
Physical Balance & Coordination
One of the most important aspects of aging is maintaining physical balance while performing daily tasks like washing your hair or brushing your teeth. Physical inactivity makes it harder for you to manage this fundamental movement and keep yourself steady throughout the day. Regular exercise can help you in this regard, giving the critical muscles involved with balance and coordination a chance to build up their strength.
Physical Endurance & Cardio
As your heart becomes weaker or less efficient as you age, it’s harder for it to pump blood throughout your body at its maximum capacity. It leaves you more susceptible to other health conditions, such as heart attack or stroke. It’s vital to increase your physical endurance and cardio levels so that your heart can work less hard during activities and everyday life.
Bone Density
One of the main concerns as you age is losing bone density, leading to conditions like osteoporosis. Thankfully, regular weight-bearing and resistance exercise combat bone density loss, helping to keep your bones healthy and strong.
Arthritis Management
If you have arthritis, regular exercise can help reduce inflammation and pain in the joints and improve your overall range of motion. Exercise also combats feelings of fatigue or depression that often come along with this condition.
Summary:
As you can see, there are many reasons to keep moving and stay active as you age. Whether you decide to take up one of the sports listed above or find another activity that you enjoy, make sure to stick with it and maintain your physical health for years to come. Contact us for help and learn more about supporting you with your senior care needs.