Recommended simple exercises for recreational activities for the elderly
We’d like to introduce some recommended exercises perfect for recreation at care facilities such as day service centers, or any place where seniors gather!
Many older adults find it difficult to move their legs and lower back freely, and standing can be a challenge.
However, if you avoid moving your body altogether, your mobility may decline further, increasing the risk of falls and becoming bedridden.
In this article, we’ve gathered simple exercises that seniors can do with ease.
Many of them can be done while seated, so be sure to try them with friends around you to help reduce a lack of physical activity!
- For seniors: Enjoyable exercises done while seated, accessible for wheelchair users.
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- [For Seniors] Fun Exercises You Can Do While Seated
Recommended Simple Exercises for Senior Recreational Activities (61–70)
Full-body workout you can do while seated
Exercises you can do while seated are easy to start and safe since there’s no risk of falling.
This routine is designed so you can get a full-body workout while staying seated, so please give it a try.
Begin with deep breathing, then stretch the areas that tend to get stiff.
Next, loosen up your lower back and hips.
After this warm-up, the exercises proceed from the upper body down to the lower body.
By the time you finish the whole sequence, you’ll likely feel as though you’ve moved your entire body quite a bit.
Please try it and make it a habit.
10-minute full-body workout
In just 10 minutes, you can do a full-body workout while sitting in a chair.
Move your legs by lifting them while seated and spreading both legs apart.
These exercises strengthen your leg muscles and make walking easier, and they may also help prevent falls.
You can also work your upper body and abs by sliding your arms sideways at face height and leaning forward to bring your elbows and knees closer together.
It’s only a 10-minute routine, but it engages your whole body.
Since it’s done while sitting, it’s safe for older adults as well.
15-minute lunchtime exercise
In many senior care facilities, some may incorporate exercise as a daily lunchtime routine.
However, doing exercises every day can make them feel repetitive.
So here are some seated exercises you can try.
Let’s get the body moving by touching knees and elbows, lifting the hips slightly from the chair, and more.
While seated, you can move not just your hands and arms but your whole body.
Long exercise sessions can be tiring for older adults, so about 15 minutes seems manageable.
Try it while taking breaks as needed.
Winter Song Exercises
Sing-along activities are offered in many senior and welfare facilities.
Singing helps relieve stress and, because it moves the mouth, also works as an oral exercise.
Moreover, combining songs with simple exercises—song-exercise routines—stimulates the cerebrum, activates the brain, and can help prevent dementia.
If the exercises use songs people like, even seniors who feel reluctant to move might think, “Maybe I’ll give it a try.” Seasonal songs, such as winter-themed ones, can also help seniors feel the season as they exercise.
Spring Song Exercise
When we listen to songs like “Haru no Ogawa” and “Sakura Sakura,” we picture the warm, sunny weather of spring.
Let’s try doing some exercises to these spring songs.
As you sing, clap your hands and lift your legs.
Many children’s songs are likely familiar to older adults, too.
It’s said that recalling and singing the lyrics of songs you know can also serve as a workout for the brain.
For older adults who find it difficult to move their legs, just the hand motions are perfectly fine.
Please participate within the range you can manage.
Autumn Song Calisthenics
Autumn is the season when it starts to feel chilly, isn’t it? It’s also a time when older adults may feel reluctant to move their bodies.
So how about trying a singing exercise with an autumn theme? If it’s a seated singing exercise, even seniors who find standing difficult can participate.
Autumn songs include pieces like “Tsuki” (The Moon) and “Donguri Korokoro” (Acorns Rolling).
By singing them during exercise, older adults can also get a sense of the season’s atmosphere.
In addition, exercising while singing can help activate the brain and relieve stress.
If you’d like, please use this as a reference and give it a try.
One-minute exercises for urinary leakage
Here are two self-care exercises you can do in one minute to help improve frequent urination, leakage, and a lingering urge to urinate.
There are only two movements.
The first is to sit with your legs stretched out in front (long sitting) and lift both legs upward.
The key is to engage your abdominal muscles.
If it feels too hard, lower the angle of the lift.
The second movement is a standing exercise where you lift one leg backward.
Alternate legs, and be careful not to bend your knees.
If you’re worried about falling, you can hold onto the back of a chair.
Please do these within a comfortable range that suits your condition.
