Resistance training or strength training are a group of exercises for seniors that enhance their muscular strength and endurance. Resistance training forces your muscles to move against tension. Your body weight, dumbbells, gravity, machines, and resistance bands are all good ways to provide resistance. Our assisted living homes in Mesa, Goodyear and Surprise, Arizona use personal trainers to do various resistance band exercises for seniors. The resistance band workouts for seniors we do have yielded great results in terms of getting people out of bed and out of wheelchairs.
Incorporating strength training into daily resistance band workouts for seniors can greatly improve their muscle strength, balance, coordination, flexibility and range of motion. Resistance training also helps fight bone loss and the symptoms of arthritis pain.
Unfortunately, a lot of seniors are not enjoying these benefits because many adults over the age of 70 do not exercise at all. Even if you work out daily, you probably omit strength training and go straight to walking or another form of cardio. The best form of exercise for seniors (and everyone else) is a combination of both cardio exercises as well as balance, flexibility and strength training.
Being a senior does not excuse you from the fact that you need resistance exercises. In fact, according to The American College of Sports Medicine and American Heart Association, seniors (65 and above) should aim to exercise at least 150 minutes or 2 and a half hours per week and should also incorporate resistance training at least twice a week.
There are many tools to help you get started on resistance training. Resistance bands are perfect for seniors since they are lightweight, easy to carry, and do not cost much.
Resistance bands are strong, elastic bands that you can utilize to exercise all parts of the body. Some resistance bands have handles at the end and some do not. They also come in different ranges of resistances depending on your level of fitness. You opt to choose one that works best for you and switch it up as you increase your fitness level.
You can do a lot of strength exercises with the use of your resistance bands such as chest presses, rows, shoulder press, bicep curls, and tricep extensions.
You can see our residents working with our trainer and their resistance bands here. Here is one example:
The benefits you get from using resistance bands are immense if used correctly. These are some of the benefits when you incorporate resistance bands to your workout routine.
Here are some great exercises for seniors as demonstrated by our assisted living personal trainer, James.
This exercise can be done while seated or standing.
You can move your feet wider to increase the intensity or move your feet closer to make it easier for you.
You can either do this while seated or standing.
You can do this exercise while seated or standing.
Resistance band exercises for seniors can make a huge difference in people’s lives. They can help prevent the loss of bone quality and density, and they can also help prevent dementia with its brain-boosting side effects!
Although it is generally safe to use resistance bands, it is better to have supervision when you’re doing resistance band workouts for seniors. The personal trainers in our assisted living homes can ensure your safety when you train using resistance bands or any exercise for that matter.
Before starting an exercise, it is best to consult your doctor especially when you have health issues or concerns.
Source: APFP
The next time you're around someone with Dementia or one of it's various forms, look at their teeth. Chances are…
Many elderly people have a lot of trouble with mobility. They rely on others to help them out of bed…
We're guessing by the fact you came to this article that you're worried you (or a friend or family member)…
Do you or a loved one suffer from Vascular Dementia? If so, we may have good news for you! Some…
There's a new drug on the market to treat Alzheimer's disease. It's marketed under the name Leqembi but a lot…
We did some research to see if we wanted to bring red light therapy into our assisted living homes. Every…
This website uses cookies.
Read More