[For Seniors] Easy and Fun Core Training
The torso, excluding the head and limbs, is called the core.
Recently, core training that strengthens the torso has become popular.
In fact, core training can also help older adults by improving their daily functioning.
So this time, we’ll introduce simple core training for seniors.
These are easy exercises that even seniors with reduced muscle mass who find movement difficult can try.
Strengthening the core can help correct rounded shoulders, stabilize posture, and contribute to fall prevention and improved internal organ function.
Please use the training introduced here as a reference and incorporate it at a comfortable pace without overexertion.
- For seniors: Enjoyable exercises done while seated, accessible for wheelchair users.
- [For Seniors] Core Training: Recommended Simple Rehabilitation
- For Seniors: Strength Training You Can Do While Lying Down
- [For Seniors] Fun Exercises You Can Do While Seated
- For Seniors: How to Strengthen Your Inner Muscles. Fall Prevention
- [For Seniors] Fun and Easy! Fall-Prevention Exercises for Older Adults
- For Seniors: Fun and Lively Exercise Recreation
- [For Seniors] Strengthen Your Legs! Recommended Training Items
- [For Seniors] Recommended Easy Strength Training
- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
- [For Seniors] Recommended Rhythm Play and Exercises
- [For Seniors] Fun and Engaging Brain-Training Recreation
- [Today's Recommendation] Gentle Health Exercises for Seniors
[For Seniors] Easy and Fun Core Training (31–40)
Core training
The core is a part of the body that’s hard to train unless you consciously focus on it, and its decline can lead to a loss of overall muscle strength.
This routine is designed to train the core with awareness, while also working the transverse abdominis and the pelvic floor muscles.
From a hands-and-knees position, extend your right arm and left leg—or your left arm and right leg—and hold that posture to strengthen your core.
It may be difficult to maintain the position at first, but the key is to focus on forming the correct posture even for a short time, then gradually get used to it and extend the duration.
Exercises to improve kyphotic posture
A hunched back is commonly called a “cat back,” but the technical term is kyphosis.
When your back is rounded, it affects your whole body.
While walking, you may start shuffling your feet, increasing the risk of falls, and your chin naturally tilts upward, which can lead to aspiration.
So let’s try a simple exercise to improve kyphotic posture.
Place both hands on your ribcage and inhale.
The key point is to check that your ribs lift upward.
Then, open your arms out to the sides and raise your head and neck upward.
Keep breathing slowly and hold this position for 10 seconds.
Just this alone can help bring a rounded, backward-leaning posture back toward neutral.
Exercises using a wall to prevent slouching
A slouched posture gradually develops unconsciously as we seek a comfortable position, but recalling proper posture can help trigger improvement.
This training helps you remember what a correct back shape looks like while strengthening the muscles that support it.
First, place your arms against a wall and take one step back.
In that stance, look upward and bend and straighten your knees to arch your back properly.
For people with a hunched posture, this applies force in the opposite direction, so be sure to proceed within a comfortable range.
Just-sleep stretching
If you can incorporate training into ordinary everyday movements, you can work on it whenever you notice and easily improve your body.
This is a perfect training method for those who aren’t good at focusing on workouts: simply changing the way you lie down will benefit your back muscles.
All you do is place a pillow under your shoulder blades when you lie down, raise your arms, and gently sway them—this alone helps loosen the muscles in your back.
By directing your attention to arching your back, it also seems likely to lead to better posture and improvements in rounded shoulders.
Seated Balance Exercises
Some older adults may feel that training their balance is too challenging.
For those people, we recommend this seated balance exercise.
Because it’s done while sitting, it’s reassuring even for those who aren’t good at exercise.
Although it’s a seated workout, the key is to pay attention to your posture and how you sit.
Tilt your pelvis upright and stretch your back firmly as you perform the movements.
In addition to improving balance, it also promotes blood circulation, providing a refreshing effect for both body and mind.
Be mindful of your mental well-being as you incorporate it, too.
[For Seniors] Simple and Fun Core Training (41–50)
Balance training using a chair
For older adults, being able to maintain balance is important because it helps prevent falls.
The chair-based balance training introduced here is valuable for preventing falls and improving walking stability.
Many older adults feel uneasy about exercising while standing.
In such cases, chair-based balance training is recommended! Not only is it safe, but it also lets you strengthen your core and lower body muscles without strain.
In fact, improving core flexibility helps maintain balance more than simply walking with your feet on the ground.
Give it a try and feel the difference.
Walking balance practice
Falls are especially likely to occur while walking, and those automatic, half-conscious movements increase the risk.
This session slightly modifies and makes the act of walking more challenging, aiming to improve everyday walking balance.
You’ll place your stepping foot and bend your knee in ways different from usual, then take small steps while maintaining balance in that unstable position.
Another key point is to keep your upper body upright so the effort transfers properly to your muscles as you move forward.