Exercises for Seniors: Balance Exercises are a Key to Senior Fitness
Talk to your aging parents about exercises for seniors. To improve balance will work to prevent falls, and maintain the center of gravity while lifting and performing other daily tasks. Begin with this very simple exercise to build a sense of balance.
Focus on a Wall for Balance
"As for balance, you can begin with something as simple as standing on both feet and focusing on a point on the wall, trying not to move your body to keep steady, says Joseph Scott, an athletic trainer who is outpatient team leader for orthopedics at Southcoast Hospital Group and Rehabilitation Services in North Dartmouth, Mass.
"That can progress to doing the same thing for 30 seconds with closed eyes, then balancing on one foot for 30 seconds, first with eyes open, then with them closed. "You're getting the body to be aware of itself in space," he says. Both he and Shumway-Cook add that cardiovascular exercise helps people stay and feel stronger; Shumway-Cook recommends the standard prescription for health: working up to 30 minutes of brisk walking most days a week."
More Balance Exercises
This video has additional exercises for balance. The trainer has a strange sense of humor, but the excercises are great. Watch the video and try them out yourself before sharing with your elderly parents. The last two exercises may be a bit too advanced to start out with.
[Click on the "Triangle" to start the Video below.]
The recommendation is to do these as part of a
lower body routine
three times a week to reduce the risk of falling.
