Benefits of Exercise for Seniors and How to Start: 3 Tips

It is no secret that exercise has long been known to improve overall physical and mental health, but as we get older we tend to spend less time at the gym. However, there are numerous health benefits of exercise for seniors.

30 minutes of regular moderate exercise has been shown to lower blood pressure, risk of stroke, and other risk factors associated with heart disease. It has also been shown to boost mental health and possibly even help prevent dementia. It’s never too late to start enjoying the benefits of exercise.

Especially for seniors, you don’t need to start with high-intensity training or anything too strenuous that could increase the chances of injury. Simply getting your heart rate up with a light intensity workout is enough to improve your health. Many retirement communities have on-site fitness centers to make healthy living easy, see what our community offers here.

Here Are 3 Things to Help Get You Started:

1.) Start small. If regular exercise isn’t part of your routine, start with 10 minutes a day of light intensity activity and work your way up to half an hour.

2.) Find something you enjoy. You won’t stick with the exercise if you don’t like what you’re doing. Find an activity you enjoy, whether it’s walking, swimming, yoga, cycling, or something else. 

3.) Set a Schedule. Even if you’re only exercising for a short period of time, put it in your calendar. This will help remind you and make it more difficult to put off. 

Read more about easing into exercise here.