[For Seniors] Fun Exercises You Can Do While Seated
When it comes to recreation essential for the physical and mental health of older adults, exercise is at the top of the list.
Not only does it help prevent declines in stamina and muscle strength, but it’s also effective for preventing falls.
However, some seniors may find vigorous exercise difficult.
For those individuals, we recommend chair exercises that can be done while seated.
Moving rhythmically to music makes it enjoyable and easy to stick with.
What’s more, by stimulating the muscles and brain, these exercises can improve circulation and may help prevent conditions such as dementia.
Even those who aren’t confident about physical activity can enjoy these simple exercises, so please use them as a helpful reference.
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- Cognicise you can do while seated. Simple dementia prevention.
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[For Seniors] Fun Chair Exercises You Can Do While Seated (131–140)
oral exercises
“I want to keep enjoying delicious meals no matter how old I get.” To make that wish come true, we highly recommend oral exercises! Oral exercises involve training the tongue and the muscles around the mouth.
As we age, a decline in oral function can lead to reduced appetite and a higher risk of aspiration.
Oral exercises are very effective in preventing this.
They’re simple activities like speaking slowly and clearly, combining hand movements with vocalization, or moving the tongue inside the mouth.
Doing them while vocalizing might even help relieve stress!
Respiratory muscle training
This is a stretching routine that focuses on which muscles you use when breathing and helps you improve so you can breathe more deeply.
By improving breathing, which tends to become shallow with age, it can lead to better blood pressure and blood oxygen levels.
Start by placing your hand on your chest and taking deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth, while paying attention to your breathing and checking how your chest expands as you inhale.
Once you get a feel for deep breathing, incorporate that breath while stretching your neck and shoulders.
As your breathing improves, tense muscles will also loosen, so you can expect a relaxing effect as well.
Let’s make shapes with our feet!
While seated, lift and move your legs, focusing on your leg muscles while also adding a brain-training element.
One leg traces a triangle, and the other moves up and down in time with the rhythm.
A key point is to clearly grasp the difference in counts: one leg completes a cycle in three beats, while the other completes a cycle in two beats.
Once you get used to it, switch legs and keep your attention on how you move them.
If lifting your legs is difficult, you can keep your feet on the floor and draw the shapes there instead.
Thigh exercises
Everyone wants to keep walking on their own feet for as long as possible, right? As we get older, many people may find they stumble more easily or feel unsteady when walking.
For those people, exercises that strengthen the quadriceps are highly recommended.
The quadriceps are the muscles at the front of the thighs, and they’re used when standing up from a chair and when sitting down slowly.
By training the thigh muscles, it becomes easier to lift your feet smoothly and swing your legs forward when walking.
These exercises can be done while sitting in a chair or lying down, so try them in a way that suits your condition.
Posture Improvement! Body Balance-Boosting Exercises
By training your abs, back muscles, and waist muscles in a balanced way, you can improve your posture and overall balance.
This is a seated exercise that works the entire core evenly.
It’s important to sit correctly in the chair and engage your muscles firmly.
Perform twisting and side-bending movements slowly and deliberately, progressing while feeling which muscles you’re using.
Start with movements that don’t strain you, and gradually expand your range of motion—this is recommended.
A slightly hard full-body ball exercise
This exercise lets you thoroughly train your whole body by moving a rubber ball using not only your arms but also your legs.
Because it engages the entire body, be mindful of controlling your breathing and maintaining proper posture to avoid injury.
Alternating between upper- and lower-body movements—such as pressing the ball with your hands or gripping and lifting it with your feet—allows you to proceed while giving parts of your body brief rests.
It may also be helpful to include guidance during each segment of the program on which muscles to focus on.
Improve side-to-side wobbling! Core exercises
When you sway from side to side while walking, it not only puts a strain on your lower back but also increases the risk of falling.
So let’s strengthen your core to reduce the swaying.
The muscles of the lower back play a role like a set of supports for the upper body, so we’ll focus on training that area thoroughly.
Move your lower back muscles with exercises such as shifting your upper body horizontally while seated in a chair and lifting your legs.
The key is to proceed while checking that your lower back muscles are engaged and making sure your body doesn’t lean.