Which type of exercise do you tend to focus on mostly? Most of us tend to focus on only one activity or exercise and think we are doing enough. Researchers and health expert has recommended everyone to do the four essential types of exercises which are: balance, flexibility, endurance and strength. Each of them comes with a different package of benefits. When you do one, it can help you improve your ability to do the others. Having a variety of them will help reduce the risk of injuries boredom. It does not matter your age since there are exercises that fit your level and needs.
Older adults endurance exercise
Endurance exercises are also called aerobic. They help one’s heart rate and increase the breathing rate. These exercises help you carry out your daily tasks every day without complications, boost your health, and improve your fitness. Your circulatory system, heart, and lungs are kept healthy by endurance activities. These exercises can prevent or delay many diseases that affect people at their older age. These diseases include cancers, diabetes, heart attacks, and others.
Endurance physical activities include jogging or brisk walking, yard walk, swimming, dancing, riding bicycles, using stairs instead of lifts, and playing different games.
You can try to be active throughout the day and at parties to enable you to practice these exercises. You should at least have three hours a week where you take exercise and breathe hard. Avoid sitting down when you are inactive for a long time.
What you need to observe when exercising
Before and after endurance exercises, you need to do light activities such as walking to cool down and warm up to prevent burn out. These body exercises should not make you dizzy, feel heartburn, increase your pressure, or cause chest pain.
Activities make you sweat a lot. Take a lot of water before and after endurance activities to prevent dehydration. If you have a medical problem that requires you to watch your fluids intake, be keen before taking more water while exercising.
Be careful while exercising outdoors and take care of the environment around you.
Dress well or in layers so that you can adapt to the weather changes. Don’t forget to use safety equipment like a helmet when cycling.
Older adults Muscular strength exercises
Having a muscular strength makes a huge difference. You can feel independent, and your daily activities like using stairs or making daily walks will become easy. If your muscles are strong, you will not suffer from injuries related to minor falls since you have a balance.
You need to train your muscles to be strong and resistant. You can lift weights to help strengthening your muscles. Start lifting small weights to avoid muscle cramps then you can gradually add more. You can also use elastic bands with different strengths. Keep increasing the strength you can lift or stretch till your muscle becomes used to it.
Besides lifting weights, you can do arm curls, push-ups among others.
Be careful when doing strength exercises, and you should not hold your breath. You should breathe, out when you are pushing or lifting and breathe in when you relax.
Older adults balanced exercises.
These balanced activities prevent you from falling. Falling is very common in adults and can cause serious injuries. This can be achieved by practicing moving meditation, taking lower body exercises, standing on one foot, taking a balanced walk, and many more. It is good to have a person near you to help you when you are unsteady.
Older adults flexibility activities
Flexibility can be improved by stretching. This will help you touch your toes easily and look over your shoulder easily. Flexibility exercises which you can do are ankle stretch, back of leg stretch, inner thigh stretch, and back stretch exercise.
Be careful when stretching, stretch when your muscles are warmed up, after strength or endurance activities, breath normally, and avoid hurting yourself.
These are the four types of exercises that can help improve your health and keep you fit. You can search videos on you tube for each exercise. Remember always to talk with your doctor if you are unsure for certain activity.
