3 Anti-Aging Activities That Will Help You Stay Fit As You Age

There’s no way around it: exercise is an essential part of healthy aging. But you can’t enter your golden years looking good with a little exercise. You should focus on anti-aging exercises that will help you improve your muscle strength, balance and mobility. Also, this can help you develop good habits and independence as you grow. You can’t ignore exercise as a way to help keep your brain healthy.

Regular exercise can prevent you from relying on others to help you with your daily activities. However, your exercise routine should change to suit your needs. To find out which anti-aging sports seniors should focus on to stay healthy, we spoke to experts.

Is exercise good for older adults?

A common misconception among the elderly is that exercise is unhealthy and should be avoided. This is not true and goes against the desire of adults to achieve and maintain good health. Exercise is critical to healthy aging, even when it comes to brain development.

Unfortunately, aging increases the risk of many diseases, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Regular exercise helps to reduce the risk of the same diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer and dementia.

Exercise is safe for seniors when done properly and is essential for a healthy lifestyle. The benefits of physical activity among the elderly are widely supported by the CDC, exercise advocates and public educators around the world.

Kevin Robinson, MD and professor of orthopedics and kinesiology, shared some tips for safe exercise for seniors:

• Focus on low-impact activities, such as water sports, stationary bikes and cycles.
• Join SilverSneakers programs, often offered at local health clubs. These are usually covered by insurance and are designed for seniors. One of the benefits of these programs is that you can also make friends, which will help you stay present.
• Focus on other muscle groups such as gluteals (butt), quadriceps (thighs), biceps and abdominals, and know your limits.
• Make stretching and balancing exercises part of your regular exercise program.

Best anti aging exercises for adults

The best exercise program for you depends on factors such as your current health and fitness level. It’s never too late to start a good exercise program.

The CDC recommends weekly physical activity for adults age 65 and older:

• At least 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of moderate exercise, such as running.
• Two days a week of no physical activity, such as lifting weights.
• Exercise, such as balancing on one foot.

Here are some examples of what exercise might look like for adults.

1. Cardio workout

The CDC defines physical activity, also known as cardio, as a 5 or 6 on a scale of 10 (resting) to 10 (active). Some activities that are light for one person may be strenuous for another.

Walking is a common form of regular cardio, which is very popular with older people. “Traveling can be a great activity,” Robinson said. “But many people with arthritis cannot tolerate walking long distances. This is because the force of the foot that passes through the knee is 1.2 to 1.5 times the weight of the person’s body. Therefore, what seems like a very little activity can be a lot.”

Robinson recommends water exercise for people with arthritis in their legs or feet. “This reduces the force through the knee by 50% to 75% compared to walking on land,” he said.

Other forms of cardio exercise include hiking, jogging or other activities (such as walking), some forms of yoga, cycling and using the elliptical.

2. Light physical activity

Erin Stimac, a personal trainer and fitness instructor, says functional movement is the foundation for maintaining independence, reducing the risk of injury and improving your overall quality of life. Erin recommends incorporating exercises that involve key movements:

• Sleep (sitting and standing): Physical activity is essential to daily life and helps maintain balance and stability.
• Hinging: Required for tasks such as picking things up, this exercise strengthens the spine and promotes flexibility.
• Pushing (body weight or objects): Pushing increases the strength of the upper body and helps with tasks such as getting up from the ground or carrying objects.
• Pull-up (to the body): This strengthens the back muscles and is important for good posture and balance.
• Carrying: Life often requires you to carry things from one place to another. Reduced grip strength is strongly associated with mortality, predicting the risk of early death more than high blood pressure.

Some of the CDC-recommended exercises that can include good walking include lifting weights, using resistance bands, working in the garden, exercises such as pull-ups or push-ups, and various yoga poses.

3. Exercise to help you feel better

Elderly people often have problems with balance. Good balance, however, reduces the risk of falling.

“To get the most out of it,” says Robinson, “you need to do small amounts of exercise throughout the day, rather than 10 to 15 minutes once a day. She recommends the following activities, which are often best done at home:

• Stand with both feet in front of the counter. Let’s see how long you can save without touching the counter. Repeat this three to five times throughout the day until you have done three rounds of 45 seconds. Once you have achieved this, move on to other exercises.
• Repeat the above, but this time close your eyes.

Yoga is a popular form of exercise that is known to improve overall health, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Exercise adults should avoid

Are there any exercises that adults should avoid? According to Stimac, the answer is usually no.

“Contrary to popular belief, there is no reason for older adults to avoid any movement at all,” Stimac said. “Fear of injury should not stop them from participating in strength training. Instead of focusing on failure, we need to find out what is going on that is right for each person.”

If you have a disease, condition or injury that involves physical limitations, you must always follow your doctor’s instructions. With the right guidance and modifications, you can still find ways to get a stronger body.

Stimac says there is no one-size-fits-all approach and that every senior should have a program that maximizes energy and skills based on individual needs. “Using our imagination and fantasy, we inspire adults to lead active and fulfilling lives,” he said.