Muscles are involved in our everyday activities like laundry, walking and even carrying your grand kids.
So there is a need for seniors to increase their muscle strength.
Seniors turn to lose their muscles strength gradually as they get older, there is an ever growing need for an easy and simple strength training exercises to keep those muscles strong.
After some much digging, I personally recommends these 5 easy to do videos exercise on strength training for seniors who which to improve their lower and upper body strength.
Most of the exercises you will be seeing on these videos are not just limited to parks and gyms but can be done anywhere.
#1. Lower body strength exercises for older adults from Go4life
Lower body strength training exercise helps with balance, strength and endurance. Such exercises target the lower body muscles such as thigh, abdomens and abs.
In this video you see the trainer Sandy from Go4life demonstrates simple and well planned exercises targeting those specific muscles I mentioned earlier and of course the participant is a senior.
The first exercise is the Back Legs Raise that specifically works the glutes, quads, hamstrings and the lower back. It is also a balance and flexibility exercise.
What is required for this exercise is on a vertical support preferably a flat surface like a table of height waist level or any other steady object like a tree, counter top.
Sandy in her calm, gentle and encouraging voice dishes out very simple and easy to follow instructions to senior a female on how to go about this back leg raise exercise.
The second lower body exercise on this video is the Side Leg Raise, here, sandy emphasizes that this exercise specifically works the hips, the gluts and the thigh. She demonstrates this exercise with the same senior Irene.
The posture for this exercise is quite similar to that of the back leg raise.
Note: For both exercise remember to always draw your abs in for it helps with stability and balance.
With the side leg raise, Sandy instructs that you to raise your leg side ward while keeping your toes in.
The next lower body strength exercise on this video series is the Chair Stand; the trainer Sandy demonstrates this exercise with a male participant. This exercise works the abs and the thigh muscles.
This exercise involve a sitting on a chair, drawing your abs in real tight, raising your arms parallel to the flow, you breath as you stand up and in as you sit, lining backward and closing your arms.
Caution: if you happen to feel any pain while doing the chair stand exercise, the Sandy advises that you see a doctor immediately.
You can do the chair stand exercise 3 times a week.
The last lower body exercise on this video is the Toe Stand.
Sandy in her usual calm and comforting tone says this exercise can be done anywhere giving that you have a sturdy chair around.
Toe stand exercise works the toes and the ankle which helps a lot with walking.
You are required here to use the steady chair as your support without lining on the chair while standing on your toes every 10 seconds for at least 10 – 15 times.
#2. Upper body strength exercises for older adults from go4life
The first upper body strength exercise Sandy demonstrates here with a male participant is Hand Grip – purpose is to work your grip which is important if you still like maybe continue with your gardening activities.
Sandy demonstrates this exercise using balls of different strength from a tennis ball to balls of softer strength.
What you are required to do in this hand grip exercise is squeeze different balls of different strength hard for duration of 10 seconds for each ball while feeling your fingers as the work.
I will advise you start with the ball with least strength and work your way to the toughest one as you get stronger.
Sandy says this exercise can be done anywhere and anytime like walking around or watching T.V.
The second exercise of upper body strength is the Overhead Arm Raise which strengthen shoulders and arms which are important if you intend to carry out activities such as swimming, gardening and golf.
You can equally do this exercise while standing up or sitting on a chair.
With this exercise you are required to grab two evenly weighted objects in this case the Sandy uses 2 water bottles, you draw your abs in tight while standing or sitting, you place your feet and shoulders apart, and you turn your arms out and raise them up and down just like you do with weight lifting.
Sandy emphasizes on the fact that when raising the weight up, it is important to breath normal and breath-in as you bringing your hands down for a one sec interval.
I earlier wrote an article on the best way to breathe during exercise you can equally check that up.
In case the weigh is too easy for you, you can use any object around the house for additional weight. Just make sure the weight is evenly distributed for both arms.
The third exercise is Arm Curl, this exercise also quite similar to the previous as you are equally lifting weight and posing quite a similar posture.
Sandy in her usually soft tone says if the weigh gets difficult you can just drop it and do the exercise with just
your arms.
The forth upper body exercise on this video is Arm Curl with resistance bands of different strength form easy to hard to stretch.
You are required to challenge yourself by first stretching the easy to stretch hand bands and as you get stronger you then go for the tougher bands.
You will see how sandy by example shows carefully how to place the bands in your hands in other to avoid accidents and how the bands are to be use.
The fifth upper body strength work exercise in this video is the Wall-Push Up. The purpose of doing this exercise is to strengthen your arm, shoulders and chest.
This exercise is done standing in an upright position, placing your fits and shoulders apart as you breathe, abs in and breathe out as you press against a steady wall several times.
Take note for most of the exercises for upper body strength, requires that you place your abs in.
The last exercise on this series is the Chair Dip. You are required to have a strong and steady chair.
The trainer emphasizes that you don’t lock your elbows. This exercise seems to be more difficult compare to the others, but the Go life trainer Sandy says it is her favorite as it works the muscles and body a lot more.
#3. Exercise is Power_ Resistance Training for Older Adults
This video is all about explaining the important of a seniors being involve in an exercise and they important that has on the senior’s cognitive ability and general well-being.
I like the fact at a later stage in this video you can as well put on your sport suit for the trainer outline several resistance training exercises and the various areas of the body this simple and easy exercises affect areas like the core, lower body, upper back, shoulders and arms.
The exercises demonstrated in this video are;
- Squats – works the core and leg muscles.
- Leg press - works core and leg muscles.
- Reverse lunge – works the glutes, hamstrings, calves and quads.
- Standing row – works the upper back, Latissimus dorsi, and shoulder muscles.
- Lateral Pull Down – works the arms, upper back, and shoulders, which are essential for every senior to carry out their daily routines.
#4. Maximum fitness – senior strength training
Jeremy Daum, a certified personal training demonstrates the different types of exercises a senior should partake in, and the various parts of the body each exercise improves.
This video is divided in segments and you may not like the fact that there are a series of short commercial breaks in this video, but that shouldn’t bother you, as the content here is worth your time.
Danny personally shows the step by step process involve in each task. The simple and easy exercises involve in this video are:
- The kick back – works the core and the leg muscles.
- The band chess press with the kneel raise.
- Archers – works the arms and shoulders.
- Chair squad – works the arms and legs.
- Shoulder shroud – works the shoulders.
- Chair crush – works the arms, shoulders, kneels and abs muscles.
- Half jacks – works the legs and hands. Etc.
The options are not limited.
#5. Strength, Balance and flexibility Exercise for older Adult from Go4life
This first exercise on this series is the Back Stretch.
Sandy again uses her magic of words and calm style to demonstrate with a senior call Jim how this exercise works.
She start by cautioning Jim as well as you who will be watching this video that if you have had back surgery, then it is advisable to seek your doctors opinions before you engage in this exercise.
Here you can see Jim sitting on a steady chair, quite relax the same way you will be, with his heads up and abs in while he follows sandy simple and easy instructions.
Getting down on the floor and back up safely, stretching the back of your legs and getting back of the floor exercise.
Sandy stresses on the importance of this exercises for as she puts it, you will need them in your everyday life.
You may think getting up the down and up the floor is a simple task but ask most seniors they will tell you the pains and difficulties they usually face.
Just follow her are easy and simple instructions and be amazed at how simple the technique she used is.
Remember you are required to have a steady chair for support.
Conclusion
As a senior, I will advise you always get engage in an exercise with the guide of a trainer if possible.
But going solo isn’t bad as well. Health professionals say 20 – 30 minute of moderate exercising a day is essential for well being.
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