Our staff at Bethesda Gardens Arlington loves helping seniors find joy while living vibrantly. Check out our eight favorite ways to have fun exercising below, and be sure to ask us and your doctor if they'd be a good fit for you.
Add a fun twist to your exercise goals with chair fitness bingo. Simple movements and stretches spread throughout the day can help you remain active and slowly build up your strength and endurance over time.
Doing something you enjoy can help you make exercising off and on throughout the day a habit. With bingo, instead of playing the entire game in one session, you can draw numbers once an hour, for example, and keep the game going all day.
DIY mini golf courses let golfing enthusiasts tap into their creativity to transform their assisted living apartments into chances to play.
By moving your start and stop points around the room, you can make the most of a small area. Furniture, books, canned goods and cardboard boxes can serve as boundaries or obstacles. You can add to the difficulty by adding ramps or designating rules for certain items, such as rugs being water features and costing you a stroke.
The Wham-O Hula-Hoop was released in 1958 after its creators saw children in Australia using bamboo hoops in gym class. Although they've gained worldwide recognition as a popular toy, Hula-Hoops have also stayed true to their exercise-based origin. Weighted versions are sold as aerobic tools, and the activity has been shown to help you burn more calories per minute than advanced Pilates.
Osteoporosis is a concern for many seniors. For this reason, water aerobics and other forms of low-impact exercises tend to be popular among older adults.
However, some studies suggest that high-impact exercises such as jumping rope can actually help build bone strength and potentially prevent fractures. To learn more, talk with your doctor about the potential benefits and drawbacks of adding a jump rope to your workouts.
Cameras, motion sensors and virtual reality technologies have opened the door for electronic games that allow players to swing for a home run or throw a strike in the comfort of their living room. This is great for days when poor weather conditions make outside exercise undesirable.
From sports tournaments to dance competitions, there's a wide range of games designed to get you moving. Additionally, many fitness-themed games add rewards and achievements to increase the fun. These benefits may include earning a new outfit for your in-game avatar or gaining a new title for completing a challenge.
Learning how to play an instrument offers multiple cognitive benefits to older adults, including improving memory, speech and the ability to plan. However, the rewards you can reap from taking music lessons also extend to your physical health as well. The number of calories burned while playing musical instruments has been shown to be comparable to walking your dog, preparing dinner or playing catch with your grandchildren.
Whether you prefer to call it table tennis or Ping-Pong, the sport is a great way to get moving and practice hand-eye coordination. It's typically played in pairs but can be practiced alone.
If you want to improve your swings between games with your friends, try working on your serve or engage in shadow practice. In shadow practice, you play without a ball, allowing you to continue improving your strokes and footwork when a partner or table isn't available.
Dancing is one of the best ways to get your feet moving and your heart pumping. Besides helping to manage your weight, it can improve your coordination and balance, lowering your risk of falls.
Posture is vital when practicing ballet, which makes it an excellent way to improve your stance and flexibility. A tutu and fancy shoes are optional but not required. In fact, many of the positions used in ballet only require a small space and a chair to help you balance.
Line dancing has many simple moves that are good for beginners. These moves also blend smoothly into exercise routines, making it easy to find many fun workout options online.
Tap dance is highly versatile. Dancers can move slowly or rapidly, and the steps can include simple heel taps or complex combinations of shuffles and ball changes. The variety of moves and the ability to perform them while seated makes it accessible to individuals and groups of seniors with varying mobility and energy levels.
If you're growing bored with your current exercise regimen, you may want to switch things up with a dance workout. The combination of upbeat music and movements helps improve your physical fitness and can give your emotions a boost.
