If you want to enjoy an active, fulfilled life as you age, then maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important. To do this, focus on habits like staying socially active, proper nutrition, and regular exercise.
Keep in Touch with Your Family and Friends
It is extremely important to remain socially connected as you get older because it will help you maintain your physical and mental health. Healthy people are usually engaged in more social interactions. Social interactions decrease stress and bring positive feelings. That is why there are lower rates of Alzheimer’s in elderly people who are more socially active.
Participating in group activities is one of the best ways of staying active socially. The fantastic ways of maintaining friendships and connections are to take a walk with your friend and get out of your house to enjoy a healthy meal. Use small group exercises to create a sense of camaraderie and stick to an exercise program.
Use Regular Exercise to Stay Physically Active
The main cause of weight gain is a sedentary lifestyle. Too much sitting can be bad for your waistline and your overall health. This is according to several new studies. It is stated on the website of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that “physical activity can help you lower your blood pressure and maintain a healthy weight.”
It is important to exercise as you age because it decreases your risk of heart disease. Regular exercise decreases the risk of developing high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It also decreases shortness of breath and decreases fatigue, and it helps you keep doing the activities that you enjoy in your daily life. Exercise not only decreases the risk of heart disease. It also improves the quality of your life. Staying active can help you prevent age related heart changes, such as insulin sensitivity, lipid profile changes, and arrhythmias, from occurring. Also, you can use exercise to reduce the stress that is connected to an increased risk of heart issues.
Start a Routine
A gentle aerobic exercise or a walking routine is a good place to start for anyone who wants to start an exercise program. Why? They increase the heart rate and they do not induce too much strain. The American Heart Association recommends 75 minutes of high intensity aerobic physical exercises, like running, jogging, or a combination of both, every week or around 150 minutes of moderate to high intensity aerobic physical exercises, like brisk walking, every week.
Try Cardio-Based Activities
The most important thing for calorie burning and cardiac health is cardio. However, more than just a cardio workout is needed. Add flexibility exercises, strength training, and cardio if you want your exercise plan to be effective. Strength training decreases body fat and increases bone density and muscle mass. It can also reverse sarcopenia.
Add Strength Exercise
Resistance training or strength training comes with several health benefits. It can also lead to longer lasting blood pressure control. Resistance training increases muscle mass, which is good for weight control. Add exercises that strengthen all major muscle groups in your strength training or resistance training program. Here are some of the exercises you can add; several core-strengthening exercises, planks, push-ups, leg lifts, lunges, and squats.
Avoid Injuries
Ensure you are exercising to stay healthy and not to get injured. Your body undergoes certain degenerative changes and elasticity changes as you age. That is why you will be more prone to injuries during exercises as you age. The medications that you are on can also affect your exercise performance, and your balance can deteriorate as you age. Therefore, avoid high-risk exercises and use light weights for delicate body parts, such as shoulders. To avoid overuse injuries, do not do the same movement too often. Also, do not do military-like exercise training.
Get Better Balance
Add balance exercises if you are an older adult struggling with balance. Balance exercises will improve your coordination. Strengthen the muscles around your spine if you suffer from back pain. Strength training improves posture, decreases the risk of osteoporosis, and decreases the effects of sarcopenia.
Start Swimming
One of the best exercises for seniors is swimming. Swimming is gentle on an arthritic body and it gets the heart rate up. It wards off depression, so it is a good mood-booster, especially if it is an outside pool and the sun is out.
Slower Metabolism
Decreased muscle mass, hormonal changes, and a slowed metabolism can lead to weight gain as you age. It is slow to lose weight due to medical conditions. It is even more challenging to lose weight if you are taking medications like corticosteroids or antidepressants.
You may not lose weight since you do not exercise frequently and your exercises are not intense. You can add simple changes to your exercise routine, especially if you are not losing weight and you want to take the necessary steps to achieve your goals. For instance, you can try a dance class, running speeds or alternate walking, or add an incline when using the treadmill.