Exercise is an effective way to combat the physical effects of aging and it is never too late to start. Being a senior is no reason to avoid exercise, says Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois. In fact, any physical activity such as walking, even if it requires walking sticks, will benefit health. It’s important to “choose an activity that you’re going to do,” whatever that is, the professor said. “It is actually less important what exactly you do than it is important not to sit down completely.” A 1996 report from the U.S. Surgeon General found that only about 15 percent of adults over age 65 achieve the recommended level of physical activity and up to a third do not exercise at all, Chodzko-Zajko noted in an article that he wrote for Quest magazine. Chodzko-Zajko suggests that some people might benefit from strategies such as keeping a diary of all their physical activities, including short walks to the store with their walking sticks, housework or gardening. By tracking your activities, you can motivate people to exercise because they want to avoid days when they have nothing to write about. Another trick to encourage more walks is to get a dog.
The dog will insist on a walk even if the owner may not be in the mood. “Part of the problem may be that we’ve adopted a medical model of exercise, where exercise is kind of a bitter pill and you get a prescription and you’re expected to stick to it,” says Chodzko-Zajko. “But the bottom line is that it takes time to change behavior, and I personally think that the more broadly you can define your activity program, the less likely you are to become demoralized.” Seated exercise is also helpful People who need mobility chairs can still benefit from exercise, even though they may have to do it in a sitting position. Many people who use mobility chairs use their limbs, but they use the chairs because they get tired easily. Walking may not be a good exercise choice in this case. Instead, you can try lifting your legs while sitting. Start by lifting one leg at a time to a horizontal position and then bring the leg back to vertical. Do this 10 times with each leg to start, working up to three sets of 15 leg raises per leg. Once this becomes easy, lift both legs at the same time, start again with 10 lifts and work your way up to three sets of 15 leg lifts. To increase the load on the leg muscles, ankle weights can be added. Start with one pound per leg and begin with the lowest number of lifts. Training your upper body is also important. This can also be done from a sitting position. Do different arm exercises. Start with one-pound weights for 10 reps per exercise. If you don’t have weights, a can of peas from the kitchen is a good substitute. Many websites and exercise bands show upper body exercises that can be done while seated.
Filed under: Exercise
Tagged with: Aging, Sitting exercise, Walking for exercise
Published by May Healthy Lifestyle
