5 Low-Impact Exercises for Seniors
Finding a low-impact routine that is good for your mind, body, and soul is important as you age. According to NHS (National Health Service United Kingdom), adults over 65 should aim to be physically active every day, and focus on strength, balance, and flexibility. But, with many workouts having a lot of impact on your joints, it is essential to fill your routine with low-impact and effective workouts. Today, we want to highlight a few of our favorite low-impact exercises for seniors.
1 | Swimming
Water exercises of all sorts are fantastic for seniors. Swimming allows for a full-body, calorie-burning, low-impact cardio activity for seniors that is gentle on joints to help steer away from any joint pain, improve strength, and is a fun way to stay active. Whether you have been swimming since you were a child, or are wanting to start today, it is fun to learn new ways to lap swim, use new muscles, and try something new.
2 | Cycling
Similar to swimming, cycling is something many of us start when we are young. Hopping on a bike could lead to some great nostalgic memories and help make your workout something you look forward to. But, what’s even better is that there are several types of indoor and outdoor bikes for seniors to use. The traditional indoor bike requires riders to hold themselves upright and lean forward to grab the armrests. That can cause a lot of strain on your lower back and body if you become injured or are a senior. But, many gyms also have recumbent bikes. These recumbent bikes have seats that assist you in sitting up straight and still give the wonderful benefits of cycling.
3 | Walking
Many moons ago, walking was how we got around. There were no planes, trains, and automobiles, and our ability to walk upright is one of those things that makes us, us. Walking is one of the best low-impact cardio exercises for seniors. The cardiovascular exercise benefits help to improve heart health, boost mental health, allow time for introspection and is a way for seniors to be social. What’s better? Everyone has access to somewhere to walk. Whether you step around your home, your neighborhood, your gym, or wherever you can, it is free to get started and a great way to boost your fitness levels.
4 | Water Aerobics
Swimming laps not your thing? You can still splash around and experience the low-impact benefits of being in the water without swimming. Water aerobics allows you to enhance your heart health, strength training, and mobility in water aerobics exercise classes. But, the benefits of a small group class like this reach far beyond the physical health benefits. Water aerobics allows you to get to know more people in your community. What’s better than building strength and friendships all at once? Plus, you will have an instructor right alongside you to guide you through the workout and make sure that you are pushing yourselves at your own fitness level.
5 | Group Exercise
But, there are group exercise benefits for seniors out of the water as well. You can hop into a class in your gym’s Group X room. Your gym may offer Silver Sneakers, which will help reduce the burden of paying for your gym membership and sometimes includes specialized classes. Or, like us, they may offer their very own classes as well. At Chuze, we have Chuze Gold, which provides a fantastic low-impact workout for seniors. In this class, our instructors help you stretch, build strength, stability, and even low-impact cardio for seniors, all surrounded by like-minded individuals working towards the same goals as you. Our Chuze Gold instructor, Mark Darwell, says,
“Strength is vital to maintaining stability, flexibility, and anatomical positioning. When these aspects are compromised, all sorts of muscular imbalances can develop, making life more difficult. It becomes challenging to overcome, and many end up in the medical hamster wheel, becoming more and more imbalanced. This class will help to prevent this from happening and slow down the degeneration process.”
If you are a senior looking to start or add to your low-impact workout routine, we would love to have you in our gyms. We have equipment for low-impact workouts at all of our locations. Stop by, say hello, and ask questions. We are here to help you and cannot wait to be a part of your health and fitness journey.
If you are new to working out or want to see which workout is best for you, contact your physician for advice.