Staying Active and Healthy- 8 Best Workout Tips For Seniors

If the young athlete in you is still alive, you probably know old age cannot become a barrier to your fitness routine. 

But, we understand that things can be different, especially if you’ve started exercising after a long break.

So, do you need some tips?

Don’t worry. We have a whole list of workout tips for seniors ready for you!

With these tips, you can get back to your fitness routine, without the hassle of weak bones making you prone to diseases. We also know that exercising can help in better sleep.

So, let’s discuss all the workout tips for seniors that we’ve planned for you.

1. Know the importance of exercise

Understanding the importance of exercise in living your best life is the first step to motivating yourself.

When you know about the outcome of working out, you will eventually be motivated to get up and exercise.

Out of the many benefits of exercising for older people, some of them are:

• Makes your bones strong. In this way, you stay active and can perform your daily chores yourself.
• Decreases depression and anxiety that may be associated with old age.
• Provides energy and improves your sleep patterns.
• Decreasing the risk of developing some chronic diseases.

These are just some of the benefits of working out for seniors. Once you step into this field, you’ll realize how relaxing and soothing this experience is. After all, an active body leads to an active mind, which helps you stay happy and motivated in life.

2. Do things you enjoy

Especially if you’ve just started exercise, you need to add fun elements into your workout routine to keep yourself motivated. 

Doing things you enjoy will make you happy, instead of forcing you to push yourself from bed and get up for exercise.

Now, the definition of fun will be different for everyone here. For example, if you like dressing up, you can buy new outfits for your gym class and wear new ones every day.

You can also take your neighborhood dogs for a walk and take pictures.

In this case, dressing up and taking pictures will spark a sense of motivation in you, and you will be productive enough to pick yourself up.

3. Set manageable goals

To keep things consistent, setting manageable goals is important.

In this case, we emphasize the word “manageable”. It’s because due to your age or some health issues, you might not be able to perform your best at exercise every day. 

So, it’s better to stay lenient on yourself and set goals you can actually achieve. 

You can also start with small goals, like working out for 20 minutes. Gradually, you can add more exercises and increase them.

4. Make it social

It’s always recommended to go with someone familiar. 

So, you can ask your friend to join a gym with you. If you plan to start with walking or running, you should go with people living in your area.

One great thing is that such partners can provide friendly competition, and it’s always so much fun than going on a walk alone. Going to the gym with a friend will also help you overcome gym anxiety.

However, another idea is to join a nearby gym or classes where they teach multiple people at the same time. In this case, you can always make a new friend!

5. Switch it up

Isn’t it boring to do the same exercise daily?

Well, it definitely is.

But we have a solution. 

To get rid of this boring routine, you can always switch up exercises. If you’re tired of walking daily, you can switch it to another exercise like swimming.

People who get bored of doing one exercise also eventually end up leaving their workout routine altogether. Don’t let it happen to you.

You can always add fun elements to your workout routine to keep yourself engaged in the process.

So, make sure you have new exercises planned every few weeks to prevent the monotonous routine that eventually makes you bored.

For example, if you’re bored of exercising, you can switch to yoga classes. You can also add new exercises to your routine to enjoy new experiences. 

6. Include rest days

In old age, you should be fine with the fact that you will need rest days. However, it’s good to realize the magic of rest days instead of feeling guilty about missing your workout.

In fact, on these rest days, you’re giving your body time to heal and repair. In older citizens, these rest days might be different than those of young individuals. So, use these rest days to gear yourself up for the next week.

7. Listen to your body

While workouts should be an integral part of your routine, you need to listen to your body about any signs.

Especially in senior citizens, the chances of physical injury are higher due to weak bones. So, you shouldn’t avoid any symptoms or signs.

If you experience symptoms like shortness of breath, consistent joint pain, etc., you should visit the doctor. If you’re already suffering from a disease or health condition, it can become a barrier between strength training or endurance exercise.

8. Celebrate your successes

Even if you’ve achieved the first milestone of walking 10 minutes daily for a week, you should reward yourself.

Celebrating these little successes can keep you motivated to try new things and gear yourself for better experiences. 

Take-away message

Now, we hope you’ve realized that just because you’re getting old, doesn’t mean you should give up on training.

In fact, working out is the key to staying active and preventing the risk of several chronic diseases.

With our workout tips for seniors, you can have an edge and enjoy exercising without blaming your weak bones.

However, it’s important to note that your body might not be able to bear strength training and endurance exercises. So, you should listen to your body and check the symptoms.

Otherwise, working out is an excellent idea for seniors to keep their mind and body active.