When we age, everything seems to progressively slow down, including the ability to move with agility and carry out basic everyday tasks. Whether it’s the ability to stand firmly on two feet or the inability to rise from the seat without letting out that accompanying groan, it could be time to incorporate some resistant training to improve your health as a senior.
When we age, we naturally lose the strength in our bones. They become fragile and brittle and can more easily break. Additionally, our muscle mass begins to shrink, so those muscles that once allowed you to rise and shine with little effort become weak and less helpful in protecting those joints and bones.
For this reason, it is important that, in our senior years, we continue to maintain and develop the strength of our bones and muscles in order to reduce the potential for injuries.
What’s Involved in Resistance Training?
This type of training is a form of strength building. It can be tailored to a variety of body types and can be done just about anywhere. Weight lifting, resistance bands, exercise balls, even household items such as cans of soup can act as resistance. For seniors, the use of light, gentle resistance, combined with more repetitions, are key to developing strength without injury.
Why is This Important for Seniors?
When you incorporate resistance training as a routine practice, the benefits are undeniable. Aside from muscle mass, within a matter of weeks of applying simple strength training techniques, you will notice improved agility, balance and stamina.
Simple tasks such as buying groceries, climbing stairs, or walking around the neighbourhood can have lasting impacts that go beyond the ability of strength and help foster a sense of ability and independence.
How to Get Started with Resistance Training?
To start off your strength training routine, it is always important to consult with your doctor first in order to ensure that it is a safe. You can find different routines online, speak with a personal trainer for an individualized circuit, or talk to your personal caregiver for recommendations based on your particular needs and limitations.
Incorporating exercise into daily routines can have many benefits physically and mentally for the health of our seniors.
The sedentary lifestyle becomes all too common as we begin to age, and along with the sedentary lifestyle is a variety of accompanying ailments and health effects. Therefore, it is imperative to build and maintain the strength and endurance to perform daily tasks in order to maintain good health and foster a positive, independent mindset – and resistance training is the perfect way to achieve this.