For seniors: Enjoyable exercises done while seated, accessible for wheelchair users.
In many senior care facilities, exercise is often incorporated as a form of physical recreation.
However, doing the same activity every day can become monotonous.
In this guide, we introduce exercises that older adults can enjoy and continue without getting bored.
We’ve also gathered safe, seated exercises for peace of mind.
These can be enjoyed by people who use wheelchairs or those who feel unsteady when standing.
From easy-to-start movements to exercises that offer a thorough workout, choose and practice according to the individual’s condition and specific concerns.
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable and Healthy Chair Stretches!
- [Seated] Fun Health Exercises for Older Adults and Seniors
- [For Seniors] Easy and Fun Core Training
- [For Seniors] Fun Exercises You Can Do While Seated
- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
- [For Seniors] Enjoy the Cold Winter! Seated Activities You Can Do
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Recommended Rhythm Play and Exercises
- [Recommended for seniors] Rejuvenating Rock-Paper-Scissors Exercise
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable Indoor Activities! Recreations and Games That Engage the Mind and Body
- Cognicise you can do while seated. Simple dementia prevention.
- [For Seniors] Leg and lower-back training: Fall prevention
[For Seniors] Enjoyable Chair Exercises for Wheelchair Users: Fun Seated Workouts (91–100)
A great conversation starter! Ball exercises perfect for recreational activities
This is a recreation activity that uses a ball to facilitate smooth communication.
Decide on a topic, and the person holding the ball says a word or phrase that matches the prompt, then passes the ball to the next person.
If everyone keeps up the pace while thinking of words that fit the prompt, it can also serve as brain training.
You can make it more exciting by adding various twists, such as using quiz-style prompts to add a thinking element or getting creative with how the ball is passed.
Starting with self-introductions and gradually moving to more difficult prompts can also help build teamwork among the group.
Stretching & Strength Training
This is an exercise where you sit in a chair and carefully stretch and work each muscle group while focusing on each area.
Pay attention to sitting with correct posture with your back straight, as well as to the angles at which you stretch each part.
Starting from the upper body—such as the neck and shoulders—to the calves and gluteal muscles, stretch each area in sequence, aiming for two 10-second rounds per area.
After thorough stretching, move on to strength training.
Focus mainly on the lower body to support smooth walking.
Finish with another round of stretching; it’s also important to keep your breathing steady as you go.
[For Seniors] Enjoyable exercises done while seated: fun chair-based routines suitable for wheelchair users (101–110)
Exercises to strengthen the lower body using a towel
Introducing towel exercises that effectively strengthen the lower body, including the hips and knees! You can keep your legs moving well just around the knees by placing a towel between your knees and bending and straightening your legs, or by threading a towel under your shins and lifting.
If you want to mobilize your hip joints, hook a looped towel around your foot and rotate it, or try tossing it like a ring toward a target.
Even simply preparing a cleaning cloth and wiping the floor with your feet counts as exercise, so give these a try whenever you have a spare moment.
Foot muscle training with a towel
An exercise to strengthen the muscles of the feet using a towel.
One appealing point is how easy it is—just prepare a towel.
Sit in a chair, spread the towel at your feet, and move it using your feet.
Focus on toe movements: pulling the towel toward you with your toes and folding the towel with your toes.
By paying attention not only to the overall muscles of the feet but also to the toes, you can improve the power of your walking.
If you’re not used to it, your toes may be hard to move at first, so take your time and get used to it slowly.
Brain-training exercises with a towel and a ball
Let’s try a towel exercise that also trains your brain using a towel and a ball! Two people hold one towel together, place a ball on it, and then pass it along in a relay to the next pair holding a towel.
Start by passing gently and slowly, then increase the difficulty partway through by giving the ball a slight bounce as you pass it.
You can also change the difficulty by using different ball sizes, so give that a try.
Because you’ll interact with various people—your towel partner, the pair you pass the ball to, and others—it’s a great way to communicate and help reduce feelings of loneliness.
Tube training
Don’t overlook the rubber bands and band tubes used for tube training.
At first glance, they’re just large rubber bands, but they can be used in many ways.
For example, you can sit down, loop them around both feet, and move your legs outward; or pull them up above your knees and lift your thighs.
The great thing is that as long as you have a chair, you can do these exercises anywhere.
Inexpensive options cost under 1,000 yen, so they’re also recommended if you just want to give them a try.
Twist Exercise
By twisting your upper body to the left and right, use your abs and back muscles to train your core while improving blood circulation.
Clasp your hands in front of your body and twist as if rowing a boat.
The key is that you’re not only moving side to side, but also engaging the muscles in various directions, including up and down, so they loosen thoroughly.
Pay close attention to movements around the shoulder blades to help improve your posture as well.
Since the goal is to enhance circulation throughout the body, we also recommend adding lower-body stretches.