Exercise for older adults

By this stage of life, most of us have learnt that if we don’t look after our bodies, they won’t continue to be there for us! We’ve accumulated a few aches/pains/niggles and can sense the importance of looking after ourselves. On the end of this scale, we also start to understand that retaining our physical capacity as we age is an important factor in securing our independence – where we live, the sorts of activities we can enjoy, the holidays we can take, involvement with the grandkids, etc

Now is the time to invest in exercise if you haven’t already……

The priority for your exercise sessions should be building/retaining strength, mobility and balance. Cardiovascular fitness is important to a degree but probably sits behind these other areas.

Doing weights 1 – 2 times per week is critical for strength, bone density and general well being. Performed with good technique, weights are also a very controlled and safe way to exercise.

High impact exercise (jumping, running, etc) tends to be unsuitable for most in this stage of life. Instead exercise should be low impact to look after joints/minimise injury risk and controlled.

Doing some ‘high intensity’ cardiovascular exercise is still really helpful and definitely not something that should be avoided in this stage of life. Seeking professional input becomes more important to make sure it is right for you and takes into account your personal medical situation.

Bottom line for this stage of life – ‘move it or lose it’. This provides great motivation to keep involved in regular exercise!

-Kristin Lewis