Outdoor Activities

How to Stay Active as You Get Older

Staying active is important across all life stages, but especially as you get older. Health problems start to arise at a faster rate, and being sedentary will only contribute to those health problems. Staying active is a simple thing you can do to help yourself move better, feel better, and keep yourself healthy no matter your age.  

Incorporate Activity into Your Day

The best thing you can do as you get older is to stay moving. Many overcomplicate this and think that only structured exercise sessions count, but really you can benefit from any kind of movement. YouAreUNLTD recommends taking small walks throughout the day, which can help you incorporate movement. You can park farther from the store to walk more, do some house chores, or start gardening. You can practice standing up from a seated position a few times a day, using only your leg muscles. It may help to start by extending activities you are already doing and doing activities you enjoy.

Swimming

According to SwimJim, swimming is great for older adults because it is easy on your joints. This activity also decreases the risk of falling. There are many places offering swimming lessons or water aerobics classes that are a great way to learn and be active. Swimming will help to strengthen muscles as well as increase your cardiovascular fitness, which helps to reduce risks of cardiovascular diseases. Another bonus of swimming is it is a great way to socialize!

Resistance Training

Resistance training is a great way to get you active and help you stay active as you get older. There are so many benefits to resistance training such as maintaining a healthy weight, maintaining your bone density (especially important for women, who have a higher risk of osteoporosis), and improved balance to reduce the risk of falling. According to Help Guide, resistance training can be done at home or in a gym and can be as simple as using your own body weight or can be done with weights. If you are nervous about trying it out yourself, it may be a good idea to reach out to a professional, such as a personal trainer, who can help you.

Active aging does not need to be complicated. If you haven’t started, do so now, but ease into it. Find one simple way you can be more active and then add more activity as you start to improve. This is the best way you can help yourself feel your best as you age!

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