05 Feb Great Exercises for Seniors during the pandemic

We have all been living in a world dominated by the Coronavirus Covid-19 for the best part of an entire year now. We’ve been cooped up in our homes and sometimes our single daily walks aren’t quite enough to give us the exercise we all need.

So, we’ve been scouring the web for some brilliant exercises that you can do from the comfort of your own home to keep you mobile and help improve your balance. Regular exercise is great for maintaining muscle and bone strength, as well as helping your coordination and keeping your heart healthy. Physical activity also releases endorphins which help your emotional well-being; basically, exercise makes you feel good.

So, if you can’t get out in the fresh air due to the weather or quarantine, try some of these exercises from Nuffield Health in your home.

Remember, if you are unsure about anything regarding the coronavirus, make sure you follow the Government guidelines, and our very own James Sumner has been publishing updates specifically aimed at our residents.

You will need

A towel, a clear space where you are not going to slip or fall, a wall space and a bottle of water. Other things which might come in handy would be a chair (with arms if needed), a stable surface for support during balance exercises and a broom handle or similar – this is optional.

Chair Squats

This is a fantastic exercise to help strengthen the lower back, joints and bones.

1. Stand in front of your chair with your feet hip width apart
2. Keeping your back and shoulders upright, slowly lower yourself into the chair
3. Once seated, slowly return to standing position
4. Try to avoid using your hands, but use if you feel unstable
5. Repeat this 5-10 times or for 20-60 seconds.

Stork Balance

This simple exercise improves balance and bone strength

1. Stand facing a solid surface for support (could be a chair)
2. As a warm up, march slowly for a minute
3. With your arms by your side, lift your left foot slowly and balance on your right for 10 seconds.
4. Lower your left foot and repeat the exercise with your right foot
5. To increase difficulty, try raising your hand above your head on the same side?
6. As you feel more comfortable you can increase your balance time
7. Repeat this 3-5 times on each leg

Rotations

This exercise helps to improve upper body and back mobility

1. Hold a stick or broom horizontally behind your head, stand with your feet hip width apart and your knees slightly bent
2. If you don’t have a broom, put your hands on your shoulders keeping your arms at 90 degrees
3. Keeping the broom straight, turn to your right as far as comfortable, twisting through your hips
4. Then slowly turn to the other side, building up your range of movement
5. Repeat 10-20 times

Perform this 2-5 times, take a break for 40-60 seconds before repeating again.

Wall Push Ups

This simple exercise will help you to maintain upper body strength and bone mineral density

1. Stand at arm’s length in front of a wall which is safe
2. Lean forward slightly and put your palms flat on the wall at shoulder height
3. If you are just starting out have your feet closer to the wall
4. If you want more of a challenge have your feet further back from the wall
5. Keep your feet planted as you slowly bring your body towards the wall, aiming to keep your body straight
6. Gently push yourself back so that your arms are straight again
7. Aim for 5-10 slow repetitions
8. Perform this 2-5 times, take a break for 40-60 seconds before repeating again.

Exercise is an important part of living a balance lifestyle, we hope that these exercises can be useful in helping you to stay fit and healthy.

Get in Touch

Remember, if you would like to know more about living in Warfield Park or would like to write an article for our blog you can call us on 01344 884666 or email us. If you would like to keep up with all the park news, make sure you follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Stay up to date on COVID-19

If you would like to know more about Coronavirus (COVID-19) please only refer to reputable sources such as the Government website. We have also been posting regular updates from James Sumner – you can see the latest update here. Should you need to contact us, you can call us on 01344 884666 or email us.

Info & imagery: AgeUK