Strength Training For The Home Stretch

Lifting weights may not be the first activity that comes to mind when you think of exercise options to pursue later in life. However, strength training is beneficial for seniors, too.

How Strength Training Helps

Strength training involves any exercise that causes your muscles to resist some kind of force. Those exercises can involve your body weight, as with squats and pushups, or tools such as dumbbells, elastic resistance bands or medicine balls ( heavy, weighted balls that look like basketballs).

The exercises, when done regularly, may boost bone as well as muscle strength and increase energy levels. Additionally, strength training can help improve your reaction time, saving you from possible injuries in the event of a slip and possible fall.

Getting Started

Start slow, with simple exercises such as arm and leg raises. Try 10 to 15 repetitions of each and increase the number of repetitions as you build strength. You can also try lifting weights and more advanced bodyweight exercises, such as squats and lunges, with a trainer or physical therapist, which is a great way to slow the aging process and burn calories.

If you’ve never tried strength training, ask your doctor if there are any specific exercises you should avoid based on your current health. He or she might even be able to recommend some exercises or a personal trainer who works with older adults.

Weight Train With Walking

To add weight- bearing exercise to your fitness routine, you do not need to hit the gym or invest in fancy weights for your home. Walking around your neighborhood checks all of the boxes. It forces your body to work against gravity, helping you build and maintain muscle mass, and also benefits your cardiovascular health, according to the NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center.

Begin your walking workout by setting a goal to walk several days a week. As with any other exercise routine, start with a warm-up. Walking slowly for about five minutes is a good place to begin. Gradually increase your pace until you can feel your heart rate and breathing increase, but make sure that you could also carry on a conversation while you move. Finish with a cool down for about five minutes, going at about the same pace as your warm-up.

Did You Know?

• Regular exercise, such as a daily walk, can improve your memory and ability to learn, according to a study from the University of British Columbia. • Weightlifting has been practiced since the time of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. The activity was introduced as a competitive sport at the 1896 Olympic games in Athens, Greece. • Need some motivation to get moving? Turning up your favorite tunes can improve your athletic endurance by as much as 15 percent.