Essentially, physical activity no longer plays the same part in everyday life that it did for previous generations. Technology has made our lives easier, and nowadays fewer people have manual jobs. However, research suggests that people who partake in regular physical activity have a 50 percent lower risk of developing chronic conditions including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. Evidence also suggests that exercise can boost self-esteem, mood, energy and sleep quality. Faced with such overwhelming evidence, there is little choice—it’s time to get moving!
GET A SWEAT ON
Aerobic activity is any kind of exercise that increases your heart rate. To stay healthy, older adults should aim to do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week. One way to tell if you are working moderately hard is to see if you can still talk while exercising, but are too breathless to sing the words to a song. For older adults, the following are good examples of moderate-intensity aerobic activity:
• Fast walking
• Water aerobics
• Riding a bike
• Playing doubles tennis
• Volleyball
See also: Preventing Dementia
MR MUSCLE
Older adults should perform muscle-strengthening exercises on two or more days a week to work all major muscle groups, including legs, hips, abdomen, back, chest, shoulders and arms. Muscle strengthening is necessary to maintain strong bones and reduce the risk of falling, and is counted in repetitions and sets. A repetition is one complete movement of an activity e.g. one bicep curl, and a set is a group of repetitions. For each activity, try to do 8-12 repetitions in each set. Good muscle-strengthening activities include:
• Carrying/ moving heavy loads
• Heavy gardening e.g. digging or shovelling
• Exercises that use your body weight for resistance e.g. pushups, sit-ups
• Yoga
• Weight lifting
Dr Hilary Says…
Older at adults with an increased risk of falls due to week legs or poor balance should aim to do balance and co-ordination exercises at least two times a week. Yoga, tai chi and dancing are all examples of such exercises, and with many gyms offering regular classes it’s a great excuse to get out of the house and socialise.
See Also:
