As an older adult, regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health. It can prevent many of the health problems that seem to come with age. It also helps your muscles grow stronger so you can keep doing your day-to-day activities without becoming dependent on others.
Not doing any physical activity can be bad for you, no matter your age or health condition. Keep in mind, some physical activity is better than none at all. Your health benefits will also increase with the more physical activity that you do.
If you’re 65 years of age or older, are generally fit, and have no limiting health conditions here are some things that the Center for Disease Control says are healthy and helpful.
Do some aerobic exercise each week. Walking is the easiest way. At a moderate pace, 250 minutes a week is the reccomendation. That is a little over 35 minutes a day. At a vigorous pace only 75 minutes a week is needed. And you can do as little as 10 minutes at a time and still get the aerobic effect. The point is to get the heart rate up.
In addition to aerobic work, muscle work is also needed each week. This could be weight lifting, resistance bands, heavy gardening or yoga. To keep our muscles strong we need to place enough resistance on the muscles so that the next movement is hard.
The point is to have active bodies as we age. You can find a wide variety of ways to stay active and still enjoy the process. For more information on this subject go to http://cdc.gov.