With the shock of the coronavirus pandemic, many seniors must figure out how to live their lives with the threat of sickness still present. While navigating who to see and whether certain activities are viable now, getting adequate exercise is also a challenge. To help you as you consider what’s safe or a good alternative to your regularly scheduled exercise, here are some exercise tips for seniors during the pandemic.
Resist Sitting
The first round of advice focuses on something to avoid rather than an exercise to implement. While your state may recommend you stay indoors as much as possible, this can too easily turn into prolonged periods of lounging in a chair. Some sources even liken sitting’s negative health effects to smoking.
Though many house-bound activities likely involve sitting, resist this urge. If you can, watch TV, do a puzzle, or read a book while standing up for a time to break up your sitting time. That said, if you cannot stand for very long, consider incorporating some upper-body exercises while you’re seated.
Put Your Muscles to Work
Also, for your own bodily stability and other health benefits, exercise your muscles. There are plenty of adapted exercises to strengthen your back, neck, hip, and other muscles that you can easily do in the safety of your home and with your body’s own weight or resistance. Here are some examples of exercises you can do at home:
- Squats
- Wall Push-Ups
- Stationary Lunges
- Toe Stands
Additionally, instituting Kegel core muscle exercises into your day is one of several exercise strategies to help seniors improve bladder function. These simply involve tensing and releasing your pelvic muscles to strengthen your urinary control, and you can do them anywhere.
Dig Into Gardening
Another exercise tip for seniors during the pandemic is to take up an active and productive hobby. For many, gardening fits this bill. As you build your garden space and go out daily to plant, weed, and water, you get both exercise and fresh air without leaving your property. Better yet, this is a great option for those that want to spend as little time in the grocery store as possible by supplementing their produce with their garden crop.
