It’s never too late to get the benefits of exercise for older adults!
Recently, a new resident in one of my nursing home classes said to me, “This is great, you’re never too old to start exercising” and it got me thinking about how refreshing it was to hear a positive attitude towards exercise for older adults.
Often people assume that once you reach a certain age or once you enter the age of retirement that you need to take it easy, look after yourself more and to do far less than you were doing before and for a lot of people, that means less exercise.
Often the issue when people approach the idea of exercise is that they believe there is a one size fits all approach and unless you’re running the roads or lifting big weights in the gym, you won’t benefit from exercising. This is not the case!
As you age, what you are looking to accomplish through exercise will more than likely change. Your idea of exercise may no longer be to run the Dublin City Marathon, but there are plenty of physical benefits to be achieved, for example:
- Increased mobility
- Increased flexibility
- Improved circulation
- Improve your general health
- Feel more energised
- Stronger bones
The list goes on and that’s before mentioning the psychological benefits:
- Improved mood state
- Reduced stress levels
- Improved self-esteem
- Pride in physical achievements
- Reduced symptoms associated with depression
It’s so important that an individual, no matter what age recognises what they are looking to achieve from exercise. Once you know what you want to work on, you can then set objectives that you want to accomplish. Typically in a Siel Bleu class, us Physical Trainers will discuss your goals with you, then idetify the type of exercises that are are going to help you reach those goals and how long it’s going to take. People’s goals are very personal to them; we’ve seen everything from being able to put on your own socks again or being able to walk to your local shop without having to take a break.
Never in life are you too old to feel the many benefits of exercising.
Why not contact Siel Bleu to try a class out for yourself or your care establishment.
