HEALTH AND FITNESS | AGING

Ten Best Exercises You Should Be Doing As You Get Older

Get active to stay active

As we age it is crucial to maintain fitness. I am not a personal trainer but I am writing from my own experience, what has worked for me, and what I need to work harder at, especially now that I am over sixty.

People find a lot of excuses not to exercise but “not having enough time” shouldn’t be one of them. If you find your day is just too busy and you don’t have 30 minutes or an hour for a workout, do just a few of these exercises each day to improve your physical health, your mental health, and keep you on your feet into your old age.

You don’t have to work out for hours, go to a gym, or even have access to weights (although a couple of ten-pound dumbbells will help).

Always check with your doctor before embarking on an exercise program. If you have specific limitations because of pain or illness, find out what you should and shouldn’t be doing.

Technique is everything.

If you’re not sure about how to exercise properly, to avoid injury consider hiring a personal trainer. You don’t need to pay someone a lot of money for a long-term program. Even if it is just once a week for a couple of weeks to make sure you have your technique down. The wrong technique will do more harm than good.

Exercise shouldn’t hurt. There’s a difference between muscle fatigue and injury, if you’re feeling pain or your muscles and tendons are straining STOP. You are doing the exercise wrong.

1 — Walking

Yes walking. Not jogging or running, although those are great cardio exercises. Many people don’t realize what a great exercise walking can be. Why do you think those fitness-tracker watches count your steps each day?

If you do nothing else, go for a thirty-minute or longer walk every day. It will even help with weight control. An hour-long brisk walk can burn 500 calories or more.

Start out slow. Ease into it. I’ve made the mistake of going on a two-hour brisk walk after not doing anything for months. My feet, knees, and hips always remind me about the importance of building up to it. Start out with a five or ten-minute walk, the brisker the better but don’t push yourself too hard at first. Gradually increase the time and distance and your speed. And change up your walking routine by adding hills to the mix.

A walk is also a great way to warm up your muscles before a workout.

Stretching before and after a long walk or any workout is almost as important as exercise. And the older you get the more you are going to need flexibility, unfortunately, it’s something I have always neglected.

2- Planks

Everyone talks about abs for the aesthetic of the muscle group but abdominals also serve a very important purpose. Strong abs mean a strong core that protects against back injuries, helps maintain good posture, and helps us to move around in our day-to-day lives.

Planks are a great exercise targeting the abs but they also boost the rest of your core, the pelvis, lower back, and hips as well as work your arms and legs.

Lie on the ground, face down, and put your forearms on the floor with the elbow lined up with the shoulder. You can clasp your hands for better stability. Knees and toes should be on the floor. Raise your body off the floor, keeping your back straight and your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle. Make sure there is no strain on your neck.

If you are a beginner keep your knees on the floor, like the “easy” pushup position.

You want to hold it for thirty seconds to a minute. You can do sets of three or increase your hold time.

3 — Pushups

Some people hate doing pushups and avoid them. Others will do pushups thinking that’s all they need to maintain good fitness. It isn’t. Pushups will work your core and your upper body, namely your chest, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. It’s also a great strengthening exercise.

Start in the plank position, face down on the floor, legs extended with toes on the floor, and your back straight. Elbows should be bent at the shoulder with hands flat on the floor. Push up until your elbows lock. Do not push your butt in the air, your back and butt should be in a straight line.

For beginners, keep your knees on the floor. Or if you are having trouble with that, try doing pushups with your hands on a counter so you are at a 45-degree angle. Eventually use a chair, getting lower, until you can get onto the floor.

When you have mastered the pushup, try doing them with one arm to the side, without rotating your hips. I haven’t been able to do one of those for several years.

You are trying for three sets of ten repetitions, but work yourself up to that.

4 — Lunges

Lunges will work the quadriceps and hamstrings in your legs and will stretch the muscles in your legs, glutes, and hips.

Your feet should be shoulder-length apart with arms at your side. Step forward with one foot, bending your knee and making sure your knee doesn’t extend beyond your foot. Lower yourself down until your thigh is parallel to the floor, keeping your weight on your back toes, NOT the bent knee.

Try for three sets of ten repetitions each. If you are just starting out, try to do a full set of ten. A variation on this is the walking lunge. It’s just like it sounds, but be careful to maintain proper form and technique.

5 — Squats

Similar to a lunge, it will work your core and your lower body, glutes, quads, and hamstrings, and as your biggest muscle groups get stronger, you will burn a lot more calories. It’s considered one of the best exercises for seniors to improve, strength, balance, and flexibility. It’s also the best exercise to get a tighter butt.

Stand straight with your feet apart in line with your shoulders or slightly wider. Look straight ahead and sit back like you are going to sit down on a chair. As you lower yourself, put your hands out in front of you for balance. Don’t round out your back. Keep lowering yourself until your thighs are parallel to the floor and your knees should remain over your ankles. Hold it for a couple of seconds and then push back up to a standing position.

You want to feel like you are sitting back in a chair. And for beginners, you can even use a chair to feel the right body position. Just don’t sit your butt down.

Try for three sets of ten and gradually increase the number of repetitions to twenty for each set. When you’ve mastered this, there are variations including the sumo squat or the barbell squat.

6 — Side Planks

Side planks will work your obliques, the muscles on the sides of your abs. That means they will help you to get rid of love handles.

Lie on your side with your legs straight and together, one foot on top of the other. Your elbow should be under your shoulder and your forearm flat on the floor. Push up to make a straight line with your body, push your other arm up to the ceiling. Hold for about 30 seconds, and lower your body back to the floor. And then do the other side.

Repeat this for three sets.

7 - Crunches

Forget the sit-ups you used to do in gym class. They can do more harm than good. Crunches are similar but don’t put as much strain on your back.

Crunches will work your entire core, front and back. Just don’t expect to get a six-pack from them. To have those rippling abs, you have to become extremely lean. And for that, you have to burn belly fat which really comes down to more calories burned than consumed.

Lie down on your back with your feet flat on the floor. Bring your arms back to support your head with your fingertips. Pressing your lower back into the floor contract your abs raising your head with your chin slightly tucked down. Raise your head and neck, shoulders, and upper back. Be careful that you don’t stick your chin out and put a strain on your neck. Have your arms out to the side as you curl up. You can also twist slightly to one side at the waist as you are coming up, to work your obliques.

8 — Glute Bridge

This is another great exercise to work your ass, I mean your gluteus maximus.

Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor with knees bent and arms at your side with palms down. Push down on your heels to raise your hips off the floor, with your upper back still maintaining contact with the ground. Hold it for a couple of seconds and lower your hips back down.

Do three sets of ten.

9 — Bent Over Row

I’m including this one because it is such a great exercise for your back. But you will need a dumbbell weight or two eventually.

When standing, keep your feet shoulder length apart, knees bent, and lean forward at your hips. Holding two dumbbells below your shoulders pull back bending at the elbow and squeezing your shoulder blades together. Make sure to push your butt back and your back straight. Do not round out your back.

Beginners should start without using any weight until they have mastered the form, to avoid injury.

It also works well, especially for beginners, to use a bench or even a coffee table. Kneel with one knee and one hand on the bench, stretched out, keeping your back straight and your other foot on the floor and not too close to the bench. The other arm, bent at a 90-degree angle, will be holding a weight. Pull straight back with that arm making sure that your elbow doesn’t flare out and do not round out your back.

You want to do three sets of ten repetitions each.

10 — Burpees

I saved the best for last, although most people would say it is the worst. It is not easy but it is also a perfect exercise to provide a great cardio workout while working many different muscle groups.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and arms at your sides. Bring your hands in front of you and squat down. When your hands touch the floor, kick your legs out behind you into a pushup position and lower yourself to do a pushup. Jump your feet up near your hands in a single fluid motion. Stand up straight and jump up clapping your hands above your head. (Just a couple of inches, you are not leaping into the air.) Each of these moves should feel deliberate and smooth.

I’m going to suggest three sets of ten repetitions as your eventual goal, but if you can do ten repetitions on your first attempt, even if you have to split it into two sets, then you are doing well. These days I would be glad to do ten reps.

Good luck with these exercises. Don’t do more than you are comfortable with. You can always add more to your routine once you have mastered these. One more reminder, if something hurts, stop. Exercise should not hurt.

Thanks for reading. Check out this article I wrote about how to stay fit as our bodies age.

Dr. Michael Hunter has written a lot of articles with great information about fitness, like this one about why walking is a great exercise.