Falling is a major cause of injuries to seniors, so exercising to improve your balance may save you one day from serious injury.
Even if your balance is already excellent, including balance exercises in your senior workouts is sure to improve your overall fitness.
The New York Times Company’s Senior Living page recommends some great exercises to help improve your balance.
Here are a few recommended exercises:
1. Stand on one foot. It doesn’t get much simpler than that, does it? Alternate feet. At first, you may want to do this near a table or chair.
2. Walk head-to-toe. Start with this exercise and one day you may get the urge to try walking a high wire.
3. Stand straight, holding a table or chair for balance, and bend one knee toward your chest. Don’t bend your waist or hips. Try 8-15 repetitions before switching legs. Try for several sets of 8-15 repetitions on each leg.
4. You can do variations of the same exercise (in 3. above) by moving your raised leg to the side or to other positions. When you’re confident enough, you can 2012 MedicareMa do variations of this exercise without holding a table or chair.
5. A swimming pool is a great place for balance workouts. You can try hopping across the pool on two feet or one. It may not be easy, but it’s a great balance, cardio, and strength exercise, and the water will absorb almost all the impact.
Include balance exercises in your senior fitness regimen, and before you know it you’ll be as sure-footed as a gazelle. Take other sensible steps like sticking to a healthy senior diet and engaging in regular senior cardio and endurance workouts, and you’re likely to make the most of your golden years. It’s also advisable to minimize worry and stress, and many people do so in part by investing in Medicare supplement or Medicare Advantage plans so their nest eggs won’t be in jeopardy if they ever have a senior health issue to address. Nothing in life is absolutely certain–but it nearly always pays to be fit and to be prepared.
Do you have any balance exercises or fitness tips to share? If so, please leave a comment below!
Contact MedicareMall now and we’ll make it our priority to see you get the health care coverage you need.
Senior Fitness – Balance Training © 2012 MedicareMall.com