Wellness and Fitness Tips For Seniors in 2023
Introduction
Are you a senior looking for fitness and wellness tips in 2023
? If you are, then this is the blog for you. As we age, a holistic approach to your wellness and fitness is important.
Don’t forget that fitness, especially at older ages, means different things than it does when we are younger. In general fitness means cardio fitness, strengthen training fitness, flexibility fitness, and muscle endurance fitness. It also means being able to perform daily tasks such as carrying groceries from your car to your home without trouble!
Activities That Promote Flexibility and Joint Range of Motion:
Yoga: Yoga is a great fitness activity as it has been shown to increase flexibility, muscle strength, balance and endurance. In addition to these fitness benefits, yoga also increases wellness thanks to its stress relieving quality! If you have never tried yoga before of if you aren’t sure where to start, at the bottom of this article we have links to resources.
Pilates: Similar to yoga, pilates is a fitness activity that enhances fitness through strength training and stretching.
Tai Chi: This Chinese fitness activity has been shown to increase both cardiovascular fitness as well as endurance. It also makes seniors feel younger physically and mentally!
Get Moving
Walking: While walking is an important activity for your heart-health, it also helps seniors gain strength in their legs, core muscles, and back In addition, walking has been shown to help reduce stress levels! If you’re interested in adding walking to your fitness routine, consider buying a pedometer or fitness tracker.
Stretching: Stretching is essential to maintaining flexibility fitness. When we age our muscles shorten making them more susceptible to injury if they are not stretched regularly. A fitness goal when you hit your 50s and 60s is to add at least one stretching activity per day in order to maintain the flexibility fitness you have worked so hard for over the years!
Moving: In addition to fitness activities, it is important for seniors to keep moving as much as possible throughout the day. Even small fitness activities such as gardening count! This keeps you muscles from atrophying and keeps your body functioning well even if you haven’t been exercising daily.
Wellness
In addition to fitness there is wellness. Wellness refers to how happy you are with all aspects of your life: physically, emotionally, pyschologically, socially, and spiritually. In order to achieve wellness fitness, you need a healthy diet fitness as well as a fitness routine.
Wellness Lifestyle Steps
Adopt a positive mindset: There will be ups and downs in your fitness journey but remember that negative thoughts lead only to more negative thoughts. Try to adopt a positive attitude about all fitness activity, even the ones you don’t like! For example, if walking is something you dislike try focusing on how it is good for your heart health. Which leads to …..
Eat less processed food: Processed foods are often high in sodium and cheap ingredients which leads to water retention. Cheap is not good for your heart. Eat balanced meals which means cooking at home and using fresh ingredients.
Get enough sleep: Adequate sleep is important for wellness and even for your appearance. When you are exhausted, it can be hard to eat well let alone workout! Give yourself the best shot by getting an average of eight hours per night!.
Get Outside and Journal It
Get Outside: Simply put – getting outside is good for your wellness. Not only does it help you stay social, but also provides vitamin D which can be hard to get when you are cooped up indoors all day. Make time in your week to go for a walk, play with the kids/grandkids in the yard, or even just sit on the porch and enjoy nature! Just make sure to not overdo it.
Journal Fitness: It is important to keep track of your progress whether you goal is good sleeps or weight loss. Keeping track of your activities will be motivation and help you make adjustments as you progress. Keep track in a fitness journal or in your mobile device or find a template online and print it out. Remember baby steps to get to your ulimate goal!
Optimize Your Fitness: As fitness get harder with age, it is important to find ways to optimize fitness. Using gadgets lit Fitbits or watches that can help you monitor your goals and make sure you are reaching them.
Conclusion
As seniors age, fitness and wellness become more important. Above were some ideas and tips that seniors can use to start their fitness journey whether starting at the new year or any time of the year. Starting slowly and methodically is key as even a small injury can stop your progress dead in its tracks. Always consult your doctor before starting any fitness regiment. Staying active isn’t just good for you, it is good for your families too!
CAUTION NOTICE: Before starting any fitness or exercise regiment, it is highly recommended that one consults with your medical practitioner for advice. They will be able to guide you as to what regimes that might be the most beneficial to your situation.
Al of Al Murray Travel & Photography: From the time in my youth, when I would lay on our garage roof watching planes traverse the skies above me, I knew I wanted to see the world.
My passion grew after spending a semester of my university days in Barcelona. I spent more time on trains and buses than I did in class.
After earning my BA from Carleton University, life got in the way. It wasn’t until my “middle age” did I start exploring the world again. First, transversing the US and Canada to take part in tennis tournaments. Then later to complete my spectator “grand slam” of tennis.
I accomplished this while earning my certificate in photography from Toronto Metropolitan University. I am now combining the two passions and now sharing with you my many lessons learned.