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 seniors: Introducing preventative care exercises by body area (41–50)
You can do it standing! Pelvic floor muscle trainingNEW!
This is a standing pelvic floor exercise.
First, bring your heels together and open your toes about the width of a fist.
Then slightly open your knees, engage your thighs and bring your knees together, and raise your arms overhead while shifting your weight onto your toes.
When shifting your weight to your toes, imagine pushing your hip joints forward.
As you move your hips forward, be careful not to let your belly protrude.
Focusing on the tops of your thighs/hip creases can help.
Move slowly to avoid falling.
Summary of exercises for the elderly: introduction to preventive care exercises by body part (51–60)
Pelvic floor muscle training in a standing positionNEW!
Here’s a standing training you can try.
First, align your body as if gently drawing your navel forward, then squeeze your glutes “tightly” and hold slowly for about 10 seconds.
This helps not only the pelvic floor but also the inner thighs and deep core engage more easily.
Next, lightly hollow the belly so the ribcage feels like it’s gently lifting; this helps align your whole-body axis and gives you a sense of firm stability around the pelvis.
If you also add a bit of tension to your inner thighs and thighs, you’ll cultivate the support that works in tandem with the pelvic floor muscles, and standing posture will start to feel easier.
Don’t hold your breath—keep it comfortable and continue slowly at a relaxed pace.
Easy Handgrip Improvement ExercisesNEW!
If you want to gently improve hand movements and grip strength, try this stretch: lightly hold the back of your hand with the other hand and slowly extend your fingers.
Then, with your fingers held, repeat opening and closing them about five times.
This helps the string-like tendons that run through the fingers glide smoothly and increases joint flexibility.
As a result, making a fist and spreading your fingers becomes easier, and your gripping power naturally improves.
The movement of the carpal bones also improves, promoting blood flow so your hands may feel warmer.
By continuing this routine, you can balance overall hand movement and strength and steadily build grip strength, so give it a try.
Exercises to relieve shoulder, back, and knee painNEW!
Many older adults may suffer from painful shoulders, lower backs, and knees.
By continuing this exercise routine, you can ease that pain.
For the shoulder exercises, let your arms hang loosely and rotate your hands from side to side, and also roll your shoulders themselves.
For the lower back, gently rub your waist to relax the muscles, then place your hands on both sides of your navel and, while exhaling, say “ha, ha, ha.” Strengthening the muscles around your abdomen will help you support your lower back more firmly.
For the knees, massage them first and then work on building strength.
Arm rehabilitation exercisesNEW!
Building arm strength is important for older adults to manage daily activities such as eating and getting dressed.
Today, I’ll introduce exercises you can do in just three minutes a day to boost strength.
First, clasp your hands and press your palms against each other.
Second, hook the fingertips of both hands together and pull outward.
Third, grasp the left wrist (with the left arm bent) using the right hand; move so that the left hand bends more while the right hand works to straighten it.
You can do these while seated in a chair, so try to make them part of your daily routine.
Pelvic floor muscle training in a kneeling positionNEW!
Pelvic floor exercises performed in a kneeling position not only strengthen the muscles but also enhance stability around the pelvis and help support the entire core.
The pelvic floor supports structures like the rectum, and by engaging and tightening it firmly as shown in the video, its function can more easily normalize.
In a kneeling position, the deep muscles of the glutes and lower abdomen are also naturally stimulated, offering the benefit of improved core stability in daily life.
Another advantage is that it’s easy to continue and safe to practice.
Rather than using maximum force, gently tighten while maintaining your breath; this makes it easier to sense the pelvic floor and leads to strength gains that are useful in everyday activities.
Standing-up exercises that don’t strain the knees or lower backNEW!
When you have pain in your knees or lower back, it can be hard to stand up.
Here’s a way to stand with less strain.
First, sit in a chair and place both hands on your thighs.
Then lean your upper body forward as if you’re bowing and lift your hips slightly off the seat.
Finally, press down firmly on your thighs with your hands to raise your upper body.
In addition to this standing technique, we also introduce exercises you can do while seated.
By continuing these, you can strengthen your legs, balance, and core, which should make standing up easier.