Once you’ve reached old age, whether you consider that to be 60, 80, or 100 years old, you might believe that your days of being active are at an end. However, recent health advice suggests that the best way to stay healthy as you age is to remain active. Instead of giving in to the urge to sit down in a recliner and never get back up again, it’s important to keep moving. Here are a few ways to stay fit as you age that won’t cause you to break a hip.
Start Early
This tip refers to the time of day when you want to start exercising, although it’s obviously beneficial to start exercising early in life, as well! It’s important to get moving as close to the time you woke up as possible, especially if you’re someone who runs out of steam towards the afternoon. Instead of risking that energy crash occurring before you’ve managed to get in some exercise, get the activity out of the way first thing. Whether you’re taking a walk or a tennis lesson, get your momentum going early and see how far it can take you.
Take a Class
Many older folks are wary of new forms of exercise, and rightfully so. There’s a lot of potential for injury if you’re doing new kinds of movement without any instruction or guidance. Taking a class is a great way to try out something new while ensuring that an experienced instructor will be nearby to help you avoid drastic errors. If you can afford a couple of pickleball paddles, the up-and-coming nature of Pickleball means that there are probably some lessons going on near you. Water fitness classes and walking groups are also great ways to participate in group fitness.
Achieve Balance and Flexibility
As you age, your ability to stabilize yourself can dramatically deteriorate. A great way to improve and maintain your fitness as you get older is by working on your balance. Practices like Tai Chi and Yoga are great ways to work on flexibility and stabilizing muscles and are easily accessible online or in live classes. Just a few sessions a week could help you prevent or eliminate your fear of falling and help you stay strong and stable for years to come.
Flexibility will also help you avoid injury as you get older. You may not realize it yet, but everyday actions like tying shoelaces or scratching an itch on your back require flexibility. Without it, you can be injured just by overreaching a bit too much. Staying limber will help you participate in all the activities you love for your whole life.
Pump Iron
People associate weightlifting with muscular, veiny young men, but in reality, everyone can benefit from strength training. Getting older means that your muscle mass and bone density will degrade, but you can control the pace by lifting weights. If you have access to the gym, dumbbells and barbells are great tools, but body weight and bands are also great ways to build strength. If you’ve never lifted weights before and feel intimidated, you can always hire a trainer to build a program for you, or just follow along for your first few sessions to ensure you have proper form.
Listen To Your Body
A very important component of fitness is learning how to listen to your body. It’s frequently the norm in fitness communities to push past the point of discomfort and ignore physical cues that it’s time to stop. As you age, your body will be less and less forgiving of you pushing past that point. If you ever start to feel chest pain, dizziness, or any of these other symptoms, it’s time to take a break and maybe call your healthcare provider. As always, check with your doctor before starting a new regimen. Getting and staying fit as you age can be both easy and enjoyable.
