Let's extend our healthy lifespan! Care exercises to stay active and energetic forever
As we get older, it can become harder to move our bodies, and we may feel our stamina declining.
Some of you might be thinking, “I want to take preventive steps before my body becomes less mobile.”
In this article, we introduce exercise routines for elderly adults to help maintain a healthy body!
We’ll cover a wide range of exercises—from simple routines you can do while seated to slightly more challenging ones.
Use these ideas as fun ways to extend healthy life expectancy, perfect for day services or recreational activities in care facilities!
Let's extend our healthy life expectancy! Care exercises (1–10) to stay active and energetic forever
Chewing Chewing 100-Year-Old GymnasticsNEW!
These are exercises to help you chew well with your own teeth and enjoy meals up to age 100.
Start with deep breathing, then tilt your head forward, back, left, and right.
After that, gently lean your shoulders to each side to stretch.
From here, begin moving your mouth.
First, say “A” and “N,” moving your mouth clearly as you voice the sounds.
Then add “I” and “E.” Next, with your mouth closed, trace the inside of your mouth with your tongue.
Massage in front of your ears and under your jaw to stimulate the salivary glands.
After pronouncing “pa-ta-ka-ra” in sequence, swallow your saliva to train your swallowing ability, and you’re done.
Sit-to-stand rehabilitationNEW!
This is an exercise aimed at improving daily life by training the pelvic movements and leg strength needed to stand up.
While seated in a chair, you’ll mainly move your upper body, but how you sit is also important—be mindful of a posture that engages your whole body.
Then simply go through the movements in order: leaning your torso forward, extending your arms, and grasping your ankles, while paying attention to where you’re engaging your muscles.
Rather than moving with momentum, start by applying gentle, controlled effort within your comfortable range and gradually work to improve your movements.
stick exercises
While seated, you hold a stick and train your whole body by moving it.
The key points are that holding the stick helps you focus your awareness all the way to your hands and allows you to move both hands evenly.
By directing your attention to the stick, you can create a well-extended body position, so even simple bending and stretching exercises can be expected to have greater effect.
With movements like twisting the stick, this exercise strengthens large areas such as the back and lower back, while simultaneously training finer parts like the wrists and elbows, as well as your grip strength and the ability to grasp the stick.
Scapula-focused stretches
The movement of the shoulder blades is essential for maintaining good health.
When this movement deteriorates, it can reduce blood flow in the body and lead to stiff shoulders and lower back pain.
You can check whether your shoulder blades are flexible or stiff by bringing both elbows together in front of your body and then raising your arms as they are.
If you can lift them above your chin, there’s no problem; if not, they can be considered stiff.
The stretches we’re introducing can be done while seated and involve very simple movements, such as raising and lowering your shoulders and moving your arms with an awareness of the shoulder blades while keeping your elbows close to your sides.
Do a little every day and use it to support your health.
Training to prevent hunchbacked posture
It can be quite hard to make exercise a daily habit.
Still, staying active is essential for maintaining health.
Here, we introduce a back-strengthening workout you can do while seated in just two minutes.
The routine includes exercises like bowing forward with your arms crossed while seated, and raising your torso as you pull back your outstretched arms while bowing—movements that are gentle enough for older women to do without strain.
If it can be done seated and in a short time, the hurdle might feel a bit lower.
Why not try building a healthier body by turning just two minutes into a daily habit?
Knee exercises
If you do knee exercises, you can expect a preventive effect against knee pain.
These can be done while seated, including movements like extending your legs straight forward and lifting and lowering your legs with your knees bent.
In addition to stretching elements like these, it also includes massage elements such as rubbing the knees and thighs, which can help promote blood circulation.
Since the routine ends with a massage, you can finish the session with a pleasant feeling.
It’s also recommended when you want to relax.
Goo-Paa Exercise
These are exercises you can do while seated that are expected to offer various benefits, including brain training and fine motor activity.
Sit toward the front edge of the chair with good posture, and move both hands forward and backward in time with the rhythm.
When extending your hands forward, specify a hand shape and switch it as you go to add a thinking element.
By combining not only hand shapes but also more complex movements such as raising your arms and stepping your feet, you can enhance the brain-training effect while moving your body thoroughly.
Adjusting the tempo or doing the exercises to music can make the routine more enjoyable.