It goes without saying that seniors aren’t as physically active as the younger ones.

This is quite understandable because older adults are mostly retired and being out of the active work force is expected to take a hit on physical activity.

If you’re a senior and you’re looking to find a way to keep fit, then you’re on the right page.

In this post, we take a look at 5 Fitness Tips for Elderly

#1 Exercise

When it comes to exercise, older adults are often discouraged because most of the people in the gyms are young people and the atmosphere may seem to competitive for them. As a result, exercising in the gym can be harder for them which lead to their failure to show up.

However, there are scores of great exercises that you can do at home as a senior in order to stay fit. Once you can identify these and fit them into your schedule, it will be quite easy to commit to a workout routine.

Some of these exercises include walking or running on a treadmill, squats, arm raises, modified push ups and many others. Walking on a treadmill is an excellent cardio exercise for seniors and it is quite comfortable if you’re don’t like running in your neighborhood on a regular basis.

Generally, with these exercises, as you build up your stamina, you can increase your speed or add more time to your work out.

#2 Joining a walking group

As a senior, you can join a walking group which is an excellent way to keep fit without hitting the gym.

Typically, finding a walking group can be quite easy as walking is a popular, accessible and low-risk physical exercise.

Additionally, walking can improve your health and mitigate risk of chronic health conditions, such as arthritis, dementia, depression and Parkinson’s disease.

Also, walking groups have other benefits like increasing motivation and creating an opportunity for socializing. However, if you are unable to find a walking group in your community, you can start your own with local friends and neighbours.

#3 Gardening

As a senior, there is the tendency to sit on the couch and enjoy reruns of your favourite shows because of lack of activity. But you will need to do more than that to improve your physical activity.

Gardening is a great way to keep your physical fitness at optimal level especially during the summer months. Interestingly, you don’t have to leave your home to achieve this.

If you don’t have a garden yet, you can plant one. Also, a garden at home comes with the extra perk of providing you with fresh fruits and vegetables making it easy for you to cook healthy meals.

#4 Volunteering

Volunteer opportunities are always available especially in your local community. You can find these opportunities and request to serve as a volunteer.

If you can’t volunteer, you can simply attend events in your community in order to stay active each day. Also, you can meet people at these events and make new friends.

#5 Using a fitness tracker

Using a fitness tracker is a great way to keep fit by monitoring your level of physical activity.

Fitness trackers for seniors are easy to use and they can monitor several activities at a time. These include sleep, calories consumption, physical activity, heart rate and many more. You can wear your tracker like a wrist watch and you can connect it to fitness apps on your phone.

Anything We Missed?

Now we’d like to hear from you.

Did we miss one of your favorite elderly fitness tips?

Or maybe you have a question about something.

Either way, let us know by leaving a comment below right now.