More than ‘just’ Personal Alarms, Bora Health’s series on Independent Living advice for Seniors. This week – exercise and fitness over 65, Part 7.

Community interest company, Bora Health, is the exclusive Australian distributer of the SureSafe Personal Alarm. As part of its continued commitment to elderly Australians in their quest to maintain independent living, Bora Health is launching a series of articles aimed at promoting the health and wellbeing of the baby boomers as they look to make the most of their hard earned retirement years. This week we talk about exercise and fitness over 65, part 7.

As you grow older, an active lifestyle is more important than ever. Regular exercise can help boost energy, maintain your independence, and manage symptoms of illness or pain. Exercise can even reverse some of the symptoms of aging. And not only is exercise good for your body, it’s also good for your mind, mood, and memory. Whether you are generally healthy or are managing an illness, there are plenty of ways to get more active, improve confidence, and boost your fitness.

Exercise and Fitness over 65: Tips for getting more active—and liking it

If you dread working out, it’s time for a mental makeover. Consider physical activity part of your lifestyle instead of a bothersome task to check off your “to do” list. There are plenty of ways for seniors to make exercise a pleasurable part of everyday life—here are just a few.

Choose activities and exercises you enjoy

Think about activities that you enjoy and how you can incorporate them into an exercise routine.

• Listen to music while lifting weights
• Window shop while walking laps at the mall
• Get competitive while playing tennis
• Take photographs on a nature hike
• Meet new people at a yoga class
• Watch a favorite movie while on the treadmill
• Chat with a friend while walking, stretching, or strength training

Find easy ways to add more physical activity to your day

Being active doesn’t have to be limited to your workout times. There are plenty of ways to become more active as you go about your day.

• Active on the go: Always choose stairs over the elevator, park at the far end of the parking lot when arriving at appointments and meetings, walk down every isle of the grocery store while shopping, practice balancing skills while standing in line, do neck rolls while waiting at a stoplight.
• Active at home: Do a set of wall pushups while waiting for water to boil, vigorously vacuum, tend to the garden, sweep the sidewalk, rake leaves, lift weights while watching the news, try toe-raises while talking on the phone, do knee bends after sitting for a long period of time.

Focus on the benefits in your daily life

The most rewarding part of beginning a fitness routine is noticing the difference it makes in the rest of your life. Even if you begin exercising with a few simple stretches while seated or a short walk around the block, you’ll notice an improvement in how you feel as you go about your day.

• House cleaning, gardening, shopping, and errands. Want to feel less winded while vacuuming or rushing to and from appointments? Doing just 15 to 20 minutes of heart-healthy cardio each day, such as walking, biking, swimming, or water aerobics will help give you the stamina you need.
• Lifting grandchildren, carrying groceries, household chores. Building muscle mass a few times each week through weight lifting, resistance exercises, and weight machines will help give you more strength.
• Crossing the street before the lights change, catching yourself before you fall. Power exercises such as tricep dips, chair stands, or other strength exercises performed quickly, can improve strength, speed, and reaction times.
• Tying shoes, looking behind you while driving, navigating steps. Incorporating basic stretching—even while seated—into your fitness routine will make the most ordinary movements easier. Try yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, or Qi Gong to limber up.

Exercise doesn’t have to break the bank

An exercise plan does not depend on costly gym memberships and fancy exercise equipment. Like the best things in life, staying fit can be completely free. Work out the wallet-friendly way:

• Do neck rolls and light stretching while watching TV
• No weights? Use food cans or water bottles
• Rent exercise videos from the library

• Mow the lawn, rake leaves, and weed
• Climb stairs
• Enjoy a walk in a new park or neighborhood

Who is Bora Health?

Bora Health is an Australian, British and American owned and operated community focused company, providing elderly Australians and their families with access to the information, products and services necessary to support affordable independent living. It is the exclusive authorised distributor of the SureSafe Personal Emergency Call System; a non-monitored personal alarm (otherwise known as an auto-dialer or smart-dialer medical alert), telephone based medical alarm system for Seniors.

Please visit our UK website at www.personalalarms.org and our US website at www.suresafemedicalalerts.com.

Click here to buy a SureSafe Personal Emergency Call System for only $229 (including GST and Express Postage). Peace of mind for you, safety and security for your loved one.