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!
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- [For Seniors] Let's try customizing the usual Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra exercises!
- Summary of exercises for seniors: introducing preventative care movements by body part.
- Recommended simple exercises for recreational activities for the elderly
- For Seniors: Fun and Lively Exercise Recreation
- [For Seniors] Stretching Exercises: Easy and Safe to Do
- [Today's Recommendation] Gentle Health Exercises for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Fun Exercises You Can Do While Seated
- For seniors: Enjoyable exercises done while seated, accessible for wheelchair users.
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
Let’s extend our healthy life expectancy! Care exercises to stay active forever (71–80)
Ashi-fumi A-I-U-Be exercises
Let’s do “marching in place” while practicing the “Ai-U-Be” mouth exercise.
This routine is recommended for older adults who are already comfortable moving their mouths into “A” and “I” shapes with the Ai-U-Be exercise.
By adding marching, you can also strengthen the iliopsoas at the hip and the abdominal muscles.
It can even help train the gluteal muscles.
This supports balance in older adults and helps prevent falls.
The key points are to move your mouth widely and stick out your tongue when vocalizing.
Exaggerating the movements a bit more than you would in normal conversation—within your comfortable range—can enhance the benefits.
Please make good use of this exercise.
Bound cushion
To make walking smoother, it’s important to train both the ability to lift your feet and the power to step down.
Among foot training methods, this one focuses on developing your stepping power.
By repeatedly pressing down hard with both feet on a cushion that has a springy, rebounding structure, you can build that stepping strength.
The cushion’s size, which allows both feet to be placed on it, is also key—use it to pay attention to balancing the strength between your left and right foot.
If you concentrate on the instant of the step, you can train explosive foot power; if you let the compressed cushion return slowly, you can work on strength endurance.
Oral muscle training
Training the muscles inside the mouth is really important.
Exercises that use the tongue and cheek muscles not only help you enjoy your meals, but also prevent choking.
For older adults, oral muscle training is essential for maintaining a healthy diet.
It can help prevent coughing or choking and improve swallowing strength.
To keep it fun and sustainable, try doing the exercises to music or while looking in a mirror.
Why not incorporate them into your daily routine?
Foot massage
Foot loosening exercises are easy to do because you can do them while sitting.
Simply curling your toes and stretching your feet can increase ankle flexibility.
They also help strengthen the lower limbs, which may improve walking.
You can do them on a bed as well, making them very convenient.
Continuing with foot loosening may ease muscle stiffness and make movement smoother.
It’s important to keep at it while having fun.
Be sure to incorporate it into your daily routine.
In conclusion
We introduced caregiving exercises to help seniors stay active and healthy—how did you find them? Many older adults struggle with decreased muscle strength and joint range of motion.
By incorporating a bit of these exercises into daily life, you can pave the way for a longer, healthier life.
Give them a try within a comfortable range—no need to push yourself too hard!