Summary of exercises for seniors: introducing preventative care movements by body part.
To stay healthy in both body and mind for as long as possible, preventive care is essential.
Whole-body training is effective for preventive care.
In this article, we introduce exercises for older adults, organized by body part.
Since there are exercises that work the entire body from the neck to the toes, we recommend doing different body parts on different days.
Be careful not to try doing everything at once, as it may tire you out.
Use this article to help maintain the health of older adults.
- [For Seniors] Easy and Fun Core Training
- [For Seniors] Fun Exercises You Can Do While Seated
- [For Seniors] Recommended Easy Strength Training
- For seniors: Enjoyable exercises done while seated, accessible for wheelchair users.
- For Seniors: Fun and Lively Exercise Recreation
- Energetic and Lively! Sing-and-Exercise Program for Seniors
- [Seated] Fun Health Exercises for Older Adults and Seniors
- [Recommended for seniors] Rejuvenating Rock-Paper-Scissors Exercise
- Let's extend our healthy lifespan! Care exercises to stay active and energetic forever
- [Today's Recommendation] Gentle Health Exercises for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Hand and finger play roundup: Finger exercises that lead to brain training
- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
- [For Seniors] Have Fun and Relieve Stress! Introducing Dances Everyone Can Enjoy Together
Summary of exercises for older adults: region-specific movements for preventing the need for long-term care (21–30)
Beat the summer heat: chair exercises
When it’s hot, we tend to go outside less, but let’s keep our bodies moving moderately to prevent summer fatigue and maintain our health.
Here, we’ll introduce simple exercises you can do while seated.
After loosening up by rolling your shoulders and twisting your upper body, add in marching in place and lifting your knees to touch your hands.
Finally, move your body while vocalizing to also strengthen the muscles around your mouth.
Do these within a comfortable range in a cool indoor environment, and be sure to stay well hydrated.
Hand therapy exercises
This is about moving your fingers with firm, deliberate effort so you can monitor the motion and gradually improve function.
It’s important to be mindful of performing both gripping and finger-opening movements evenly; the closer you get to evenness, the smoother your hand movements will be in daily life.
Putting strength into the movements is also a key point, as doing so not only improves finger function but also promotes circulation and activates the brain.
It’s also recommended to use this to identify any movements that aren’t smooth, then focus on improving those areas in particular.
Summary of Exercises for Older Adults: Introducing Fall-Prevention and Care-Prevention Exercises by Body Part (31–40)
Tankō Bushi danced while seated in a chair
You can also dance it as a Bon Odori to the music of “Tankō Bushi,” right? For many older adults, it may feel like a song that evokes summer.
We’ll move our bodies to the tune of “Tankō Bushi.” As they move, some seniors might remember dancing it in the past.
Since it can be done while seated, it’s safe to dance indoors even on hot days.
“Tankō Bushi” is also a representative song of the Showa era, so people might sing along as they dance.
It’s a recommended exercise for summer festival activities at facilities as well.
Heatstroke and summer fatigue prevention exercises
As July arrives, the heat really starts to set in.
Building physical stamina becomes important for preventing heatstroke.
With that in mind, here are some exercises you can do while seated.
Try making big circles with your shoulders and arms, and lifting both legs.
It’s also important to keep doing the exercises consistently.
Please make sure to exercise within a comfortable range for older adults.
Doing the exercises while speaking out loud may also help you refresh your mood.
In addition to exercise, remember that staying hydrated and getting enough sleep are also essential, so please keep those in mind.
Fireworks, swimming in the ocean, and the watermelon-splitting exercise
When you think of July, what comes to mind? Fireworks, swimming in the sea, watermelon-splitting—these may be some of the things that come to mind for older adults.
It’s said that recalling the past can help increase blood flow in the brain.
With that in mind, here’s an exercise routine that incorporates movements inspired by things associated with July.
Of course, it’s also fine to use movements based on July-related ideas provided by older participants themselves.
While doing the exercises, you can look back on childhood memories or summer episodes spent with family.
From there, conversations can naturally emerge, helping to promote communication as well.
Lower-body exercises with a rubber ball
Older adults tend to have difficulty lifting their feet while walking, so make a point of lifting your feet to help prevent falls.
This time, we’ll use a rubber ball that you can get at a 100-yen shop for some exercises.
Prepare a ball about the size of a dodgeball or volleyball.
While seated in a chair, hold the ball in front of your body and lift your thigh to touch the ball with your knee.
Another exercise is to place the ball on the floor, rest one foot on it, and rotate it in circles without letting your foot come off.
These exercises are designed to consciously practice lifting your feet.
ankle weight
It’s about adding resistance to everyday, ordinary movements and turning daily life itself into training.
Since the idea is to use a level of resistance that doesn’t interfere with your routine, the key is being able to do it casually without focusing too hard.
It’s not a training method that applies force in bursts; rather, it involves continuously adding small amounts of resistance, which can make it harder to feel immediate results—that’s the tricky part.
Because it’s done over time, advance planning is important: deciding how long to apply the resistance and how much resistance to use are both crucial.