There are many Senior Fitness opportunities available to you
In the realm of exercise and fitness, there are dozens of programs that offer the next “big fix”, catching our eyes with promises of weight loss, longevity, or better health. While keeping these goals in mind is always a good thing, it’s important to be able to separate good fitness programs from others that can’t quite deliver on the promises they make. Because of this, there are a few important rules that I like to remember when it comes to looking into a new fitness program or routine. Once we explore these guidelines, we can delve into some examples of some great fitness programs available to everyone.
So, let’s start off with Fitness Guideline Number One:
Fitness is a lifestyle change. Because of this, change isn’t going to happen overnight. The overall goal with becoming healthier or starting a new fitness ritual should be to feel better about your health. Remembering this benefit of exercise can help to keep you on track. Furthermore, remembering that fitness is a lifestyle can keep you from becoming too bored with the same-old fitness routine.
Fitness Should Be Fun
Because of the endless variety of work-outs and programs available, there’s no reason to slave away at a program that is simply no fun for you. Incorporating a variety of routines, classes, and exercises can not only help to keep you motivated, it can also have a better effect on your overall health and fitness.
Now that we’ve established our fitness guidelines, let’s look at some of the fitness programs available to seniors! To help organize this a little better, I’ll separate it up into three main categories — Independent, Gym, and Assisted. We’ll look at these categories in more detail as we continue.
Let’s start off with “Independent” fitness routines.
Independent routines have several benefits. They are done from the comfort of your own home, and done on your own time. It is the cheapest form of exercise you will find. Independent exercises can be done with large or small hand weights or anything that you find around the house that will offer some resistance. I’m a big fan of independent exercises simply because they offer a lot of variety. For these exercises, you simply make your own work-out routine each day and stick to it. This can mean strength training, cardio, or a combination of the two. You are your own fitness coach! I like to design my own fitness routine using work-outs such as BeachBody, and a variety of tools from books and online resources. Michael Fekete’s book: Strength Training for Seniors, available on Amazon.com, is just one example of a book tailored toward exercises for seniors.