Older Adults and Exercise: Improve Your Physical and Mental Health
Regular exercise is a great way to improve both your physical and mental health.
As we get older there are various age-related changes which we have to consider in relation to our health.
In fact, many of these changes start to happen in our 30s but accelerate as we get to our 50s and beyond.
However, the good news is that exercise can slow many of these changes so engaging in regular exercise is the best way to address this.
Firstly we begin to lose bone density - especially ladies – and this can make us more susceptible to bone fractures and breaks. Weight-bearing exercise helps keep our bones strong. Resistance exercise - anything with weight that loads our joints - including body weight like walking or running or exercises such as squats and press- ups can all help improve and/or maintain bone density.
As we age our balance, coordination and reaction time can all decline making trips and falls more likely.
Working on balance and in different planes of movement allows us to be able to cope with these demands better. For example, add in balance practice wherever you ca - stand on one leg while waiting for the kettle to boil!
Work in different directions too; this will help improve your strength and stability in different directions. For example, try side lunges as well as forward lunges.
Our muscle mass also declines with age but in fit, healthy and active people it can be well maintained by doing regular strength training, ideally a couple of times a week. This can slow and even prevent loss in muscle mass and support us in maintaining our bone density.
As we age it tends to take us a bit longer to warm up so allow more time for this and build up the range of movement and heart-rate gradually.
For example you could begin with some walking and then pick up the pace to a brisk walk or easy jogging to warm the muscles and joints followed by some mobility drills and exercises such as shoulder rolls, hip circles, marching on the spot with high knees, forward, side and reverse lunges.
At the end of the session allow some time for static stretching to help keep your muscles flexible.
“We don’t stop exercising because we get old, we get old because we stop exercising.”
Book a free trial or assessment and then commit to regular gym sessions and or Personal Training for support with your fitness goals.
