Introduction
Regular exercise and physical activity are essential regimes to stay fit and healthy. They have the potential to delay or prevent health-related diseases at a later stage of life. For example, older adults should do physical exercise every day to reduce the risk of stroke or heart disease. Participating in various physical activities can help to reduce the risk of anxiety and depression. The key to staying active is to choose an activity that is enjoyable and can be accommodated into the daily routine. Exercise helps to enhance flexibility, mobility, and balance in an individual life. It often boosts mood and increases the self-confidence of a person.
What Is Exercise?
Exercise is any activity that maintains and enhances an individual's physical fitness, wellness, and overall health. It improves growth, strength, health, muscle tone, weight management, and enjoyment. The amount of exercise depends upon the goal and age of a person. The exercise consists of various activities that are structured and planned that improve or maintain physical functioning.
What Is the Classification of Exercise?
Physical exercises are grouped into two categories such as:
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Aerobic Exercise: It is the activity that uses muscle groups and causes the body to use oxygen when in resting form. It aims to increase the cardiovascular endurance of an individual. Examples of aerobic exercise involve cycling, swimming, running, brisk walking, hiking, dancing, and skipping rope.
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Anaerobic Exercise: Includes resistance training, strength, increased muscle mass, improved balance, density, and coordination. Examples of anaerobic exercise involve functional training, weight training, eccentric exercises, sprinting, and high-intensity interval training.
How Much Exercise Is Required by Older Adults?
Adults aged 60 and above should be physically active every day, even from light activity. Activities that improve balance, strength, and flexibility at least two days per week. One hundred fifty minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity or a combination of both, can be performed. Older adults should reduce the time spent lying down, sitting, and long periods of not moving with any activity.
What Are Different Categories of Physical Activities?
The different categories of physical activities are:
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Light Activity: It is moving instead of lying down or sitting. Examples of light activities involve standing up, getting up to make a cup of coffee or tea, walking slowly, cleaning and dusting.
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Moderate Intensity Activity: Helps to raise the heart rate and increases the breathing rate. Examples of moderate-intensity activities are riding a bike, water aerobics, dancing, tennis, and hiking.
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Vigorous Intensity Activity: Makes the breathing and heart rate faster. Examples of vigorous activity involve running, playing football, swimming, martial arts, and riding bike uphills.
What Activities Strengthen the Muscle Tone?
There are various ways to strengthen muscle tone, as follows:
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Yoga.
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Pilates (a physical activity that involves specific breathing techniques and precise moves).
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Tai chi (a type of Chinese martial art for training and health benefits).
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Lifting weights.
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Carrying heavy bags.
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Working with resistance bands.
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Heavy gardening, such as shoveling and digging.
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Doing exercise that uses body weight, such as sit-ups and push-ups.
How Can Older People Exercise?
Physical activity and exercise are great for physical and mental health. To exercise safely and reduce the risk of injury, the following things can be done:
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First, begin the exercise slowly and with low-intensity activity.
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Warm-up is necessary before exercising.
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Water should be consumed before exercise and after workout sessions.
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Wearing appropriate clothing and shoes for different exercises.
Why Is Exercise Important?
Exercise is very important at growing age as well as older age. Physical activity can potentially reduce health concerns related to aging, decreased muscle tone, and reduced bone density. Exercise can reduce the risk of hypertension, heart disease, depression, diabetes, stroke, and breast cancer. Exercise is considered safe for almost everyone.
What Are Safety Considerations of Doing Exercise?
Safety considerations of doing exercise are as follows:
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Patients with chronic diseases should consult the healthcare provider about the exercises most suitable to their body and health conditions.
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Exercise should be immediately stopped if the person experiences any discomfort, pain, dizziness, cramping, numbness, sudden weakness, or nausea while exercising.
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When exercising, ensure someone is around or nearby in case of injury or fall, especially in the older age group.
What Types of Exercise Should Older People Do?
The various types of exercise important for older adult people:
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Cardiovascular Fitness Activities: Helps to keep lungs and heart healthy. The activity includes cycling, swimming, tennis, golf, aerobic classes, and dance.
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Strength Activities: Helps bones and muscles stay strong. They are helpful in increasing bone density and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. The strength exercises include weight training, lifting weights, climbing stairs, and gardening.
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Flexibility Activities: Involves bending and stretching exercises. Examples include dancing, yoga, gardening, lawn bowls, and mopping.
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Balancing Activities: Helps to improve balance. They include half squats, heel raises, and side leg raises.
What Are the Benefits of Exercise?
Exercise helps to reduce the risk of various non-communicable diseases. Exercise has resulted and shown to provide benefits such as:
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Reduce the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and certain types of other cancers.
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Prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis (a condition where bone becomes brittle and weak).
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Exercise reduces the complication of immobility.
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It reduces the risk of accidental falls.
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It improves mental function and reduces stress and anxiety.
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It helps to improve strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance.
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It helps in weight management.
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It improves the sleep cycle and quality.
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It helps to improve bone health.
Conclusion
Older adults should target to exercise for 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical exercise per day. Incorporating different types of exercise can make physical activity exciting and enjoyable. Physical activity for older adults is a medicine to treat health-related problems. The role of exercise in older adults acts as a therapeutic strategy for the prevention and decline of disease. Older adults can set an exercise timeline to achieve health benefits that include a lower risk of diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and various other cancers. Many communities offer free exercise programs for senior citizens in local parks and fitness centers.
