If your elderly family member is ready to start exercising, there are some specific categories of movement that she might want to look into. It’s always a good idea for your senior to talk to her doctor about exercise before she starts a new movement practice, because some of the things she might want to do may not be activities that are safe for her at her current health level.
Exercises for Strength
Your elderly family member may find that as she’s grown older, she’s lost more and more muscle tone. That’s all too easy for older adults to experience. Exercises that help her to retain and to build her strength give her a chance to slow that down a bit. Your senior doesn’t have to lift any super heavy weights, either. It’s mostly about moving her muscles to keep them working.
Activities that Build Balance
Your elderly family member’s balance is what can help her to avoid a fall. What she does isn’t nearly as important as consistency. Exercises like yoga or tai chi are incredibly helpful for balance, and they’re easy for your senior to do. As your elderly family member’s balance becomes better, she’s also more likely to feel more confident as she’s walking and that’s important for safety, too.
Flexibility and Stretching Exercises
Stretching and flexibility exercises seem related to balance, and they are often built into the same activities. Yoga and tai chi are great balance movements, but they can also be incredibly helpful in retaining flexibility, too. Your senior needs to be flexible so that she’s able to move it the way she needs to for mobility and for comfort.
Cardiovascular Activities
For most people cardiovascular activities are among the most important ones. These are the activities that work your senior’s heart and lungs. They’re also activities that can be a lot of fun for your senior. Dancing to music she loves is a great cardio activity, for example, and it’s a lot of fun even if you’re not tracking heart rate levels.
One of the ways you can make sure your senior is safe when she’s exercising is to have elderly care providers there when she’s planning to do so. That gives her someone who can make sure she’s okay, without making her feel pressured to move more. Also, having someone to help her with other daily activities can help your senior to have the energy she needs to start exercising.
If you or an aging loved one is considering hiring elderly care in Los Gatos, CA, please contact the caring staff at Home Helpers today (408) 317-4969.