Keeping fit helps us stay young, active and independent as we age. People need to exercise MORE not LESS as they get older, it is just about finding what is right for you. Ageing itself does not cause major problems until our later years, what you need the most is the commitment to exercise. We all know that maintaining our fitness levels is crucial for maintaining Heart Health as well as keeping us trim, improving our Immune systems and releasing "Happy Hormones" (Endorphins).
Aerobic exercise such as walking, running and cycling are by far the most beneficial types of exercise for our hearts, providing we know our limitations. However resistance exercise such as working with our own body weight, light weights or resistance bands are an equally important form of exercise, which focuses on building strength and muscle tone which helps with posture and our body confidence and also helps to increase our immune system effectiveness. Resistance exercise can be done at home quite easily just by spending a few minutes doing some or all of the following exercises:
Press-ups.
Core strength.
Plank.
Squats.
Lunges.
Just these exercises alone will work all your major muscle groups, however not everyone is able to do these particular exercises due to their own limitations such as joint problems e.g. arthritis or back problems, if you have a Heart Condition it is not ideal to keep going from floor to standing as this effects your blood pressure, therefore modifications of these basic exercises are required, for example:
Wall press-ups.
Squats (Sit to Stand or Leg Extensions).
Core strength can be achieved either sitting or standing.
Resistance bands can be used for general all round leg work.
All of these exercises are important to do as they provide Functional Strength giving us the ability to do every day tasks that often become harder as we get older e.g. getting yourself out of a chair, reaching for an item on the top shelf, bending and twisting.
Like any exercise you need to start gradually and gently build up in time or repetition and it is essential that you perform them properly with Good Technique, its not about the quantity you perform its about the quality of the movement execution.
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