About exercise for seniors

Exercise for seniors is important so that they can be fit an take care of themselves without having to reply on others to take care of them.

Weight Loss Exercise for Seniors

Generally, when people are in their teenage years, we often feel that anyone above 30 was quite old. However, now that we are old (in the case of those of you who are over 30), you should realize that it’s very important to take good care of your health. It looks even more obvious when you see people about 20 years older than you who are much more fitter than you!

You can’t stop ageing

Even though you get a whole load of anti – ageing products, you just can’t stop yourself from becoming older. Things that generally happen with ageing include:

Strength – Experts say that the weight of your muscle decreases by about 4% every decade during 25-50.

Endurance – We tend to lose our aerobic capabilities when we get old, resulting in mobility falling.

Flexibility – Joints change as you age and this can stiffen them, decrease your movements and additional injuries


Balance – Hospitals report over 300,000 patients coming in for treatment for broken hips due to falling.

However, the above aren’t unavoidable, it’s just that you have to make an effort. People don’t lose their ability to do things because they age, it’s always because you tend to become less active.

Don’t worry about your age, exercises can always improve your quality of life and you don’t have to be doing exercises for long periods to feel the change. Like everybody, as seniors, you have to start doing cardio, strength training and flexibility exercises to be fit and mobile and active.

Strength Training

However, before you start doing so, you better go for a doctor’s checkup because you may have some conditions such as arthiritis, high BP or osteoporosis. This will enable you to find out what exercises you can and can’t do.

Here is a guide to the strength training you can do:

Do some weight lifting for all your muscles (chest, back, shoulders, arms) every other day

Start off with light or no weight

Do each exercise for a minimum of 1 set of 10 – 15. If possible, do more.

Try to increase the weights each week if you’re feeling comfortable.

Make sure you do some warm-ups before you start lifting weights

If you’re new to weight-lifting, hire a personal trainer who is experienced in working with seniors. You could also watch video tutorials as an alternative to a personal trainer.

Cardio Exercises

Have a checkup with your doc before you start

Do an activity that you enjoy doing, such as cycling or swimming

If it’s been a long time since you’ve exercised, start off with sets of 5-10 minutes 3 times a week, and increase it gradually

Always remember to warm-up and warm-down before and after exercises.

Flexibility and Balance exercises

It’s important to be flexible when you get old, so do some stretching after workouts or go for yoga classes. Make sure your muscles are warm before embarking on these exercises (try a hot bath or shower to warm them).

Remember, it may be unpleasant at first, but you can increase your life quality and age gracefully