Four Types of Exercise Your Senior Can Do at Home

If your senior’s idea of exercise is complicated and takes her to a gym every day, she might not be too excited about sticking with a plan. But she can get a great workout at home without having to get too elaborate. Talk to your senior’s doctor before she starts any exercise plan, just to be on the safe side.

Strength Training Exercises

It’s a lot easier to do strength training exercises than most people think. Strength training helps with building and maintaining muscle, of course, but it can also help with range of motion and with supporting joints. Weights, like small dumbbells, can be an easy way to get started with strength training. But an easier tool might be resistance bands. These don’t involve lifting or storing weights, but instead use elasticized bands that offer different levels of resistance to build your senior’s muscles. This can be really effective.

Stretching Exercises

Daily stretching is a good idea no matter what else your elderly family member is doing. A proper stretching routine warms up your senior’s muscles and joints. It also helps to loosen up tight muscles and can help with building balance, too. Stretching is usually recommended before and after workouts, because it’s a great way to both warm up and cool down.

Exercises Using Home Equipment

Home equipment, like a treadmill or an exercise bike, make exercising really easy. Your senior simply has to go to the workout equipment and use it as intended. Your elderly family member still needs to wear shoes that support her if she plans to walk on a treadmill. Sneakers with a sturdy base and that lace up securely give her feet the support she needs to walk for as long as she wants. It’s important that she doesn’t overdo it when she uses home exercise equipment, too.

Swimming and Other Water Exercises

If your elderly family member has a pool at home or if she has access to a pool in her neighborhood, she might enjoy swimming or trying out other water exercises. This is a great low-impact way to exercise that helps to build endurance and muscle tone, both of which might be part of your senior’s exercise goals.

Helping your elderly family member to get the exercise that she needs is an important part of being her caregiver. There are other options, too, like streaming workouts from the Internet or trying out exercise videos.

If you are considering caregivers in Bellbrook, OH, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Touching Hearts At Home of Dayton today at 937-558-9394.

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