Exercising is the best medicine especially for the older folks as long as precautions are taken into account. Many health conditions in the elderly improve when they exercise regularly. Conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes improve tremendously with exercises with doctor’s recommendation. When preparing to go for exercises, its vital to wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing and good work out shoes with cushioned heels for shock absorption. Start off with some warm up exercises to prepare you for the more strenuous exercises and to avoid soreness. Walking is an excellent exercise to start of with and then intensify your exercises as your body loosens up. There are several types of exercise that are ideal for the elderly. Most of the best exercises include; walking, swimming, bicycling and aerobics. It’s advisable to exercises only when in good health. When you have had a long period without exercise, you should start slowly and intensify gradually. While exercising, make sure you are not in any kind of pain or pressure. When you feel chest pain or breathlessness, stop and talk to you doctor or exercise at low intensity. Apart from the fitness exercises one gets from walking, or swimming, there are several simple strength exercises that can be done at home. Some of the basic ones include: 1. Chair squats: Get a firm chair, then start by sitting on the chair slightly leaning forward and then stand up without using your hands or leaning sideways. Do this several times for effect. 2. Wall push ups: Stand at arms length from the wall with your hands firmly placed on the wall. Slowly lower your body to the wall and then push your body away from the wall back to the starting position. 3. Shoulder shrug: With weights equally balanced in each hand sidewise, shrug your shoulders upwards towards your ears, and then lower them back to the original position. To have the maximum effect do it several times and increasing the weights accordingly.
This article was published on Tuesday 09 May, 2006.
