[For Seniors] Refresh Your Mood! Lively, Get-Moving Games
As we get older, we tend to have fewer opportunities to be physically active.
Even in senior facilities like day services, people may end up sitting for long periods during activities like crafts.
Why not try incorporating some lively, movement-based games?
Of course, it’s fine to stay seated!
Even without strenuous movements, simply rolling your arms or marching your feet a little can loosen the body and make for good exercise.
Please be sure not to overdo it—have fun while keeping an eye on how you feel!
There are plenty of games that get everyone moving and energized.
- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
- For Seniors: Fun and Lively Exercise Recreation
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- For Seniors: Effective Recreation for Preventing Care Needs—Have Fun While Staying Healthy
- [For Seniors] Exciting Team-Based Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Enjoy safely even during the COVID-19 pandemic: Seated activities
- Recommended Indoor Exercises for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] A Fun Sports Day! Recreational Activities You Can Do Safely
- [For Seniors] Simple Tabletop Games: Fun and Engaging Recreational Activities
- [For Seniors] Recommended Dances You Can Move To and Enjoy
- [For Seniors] Recreational Activities Enjoyable in Large Groups
[For Seniors] Mood Refresh! Energetic, Body-Moving Games (91–100)
Beanbag Catch Relay
Using beanbags and a bucket, here’s a beanbag catch relay.
Have the older adults sit in chairs in a single line.
Give the bucket to the person at one end, and have each person catch the beanbag that comes their way using the bucket.
After catching the beanbag, pass the bucket to the next person.
Catching the beanbag that flies toward you is said to help train reflexes.
Even while seated, you’ll be moving your body, so you can do brain training and exercise at the same time.
Once everyone gets used to it, gradually adjust the difficulty by increasing the throwing speed of the beanbags.
It really livens things up, and attempting tasks that feel a bit challenging is also said to help activate the brain.
Beanbag Block
Let’s train our legs while having fun with a beanbag game.
Pair up and sit facing each other.
One person throws a beanbag so that it reaches the other person’s feet.
The other person blocks the incoming beanbag with their feet.
Each chair has a designated territory around it, and the person who gets more beanbags into the opponent’s territory wins.
Because you use your feet to block the beanbags, you can train your legs while seated.
Successfully blocking will make older adults feel happy, too.
It also creates opportunities to chat with those around you, which can lead to more social interaction.
Roll-roll! Plastic Bottle Rec(creation)
This is a game where you roll a plastic bottle with your foot and aim to deliver it into higher-scoring areas.
You’ll need power to get it across the line into a high-score zone, but if you build up too much momentum, your score can actually drop—so it really tests your control.
Pay close attention to how you move your foot and how that affects the bottle’s speed, and aim for precise control.
If you place obstacles or other bottles on the field, you can enjoy the added strategy of using or avoiding them, which makes it even more fun and is highly recommended.
Beach ball soccer basket toss
This is a game where players use their feet to kick a beach ball and try to get it into a basket placed in the center, making control of leg strength crucial.
Because it’s played while seated, players are also tested on how well they can pass the ball to the person next to them and judge how far their own feet can reach.
The larger the circle and the farther the basket, the more power is required, so encourage players to adjust appropriately and move their legs firmly.
To help develop more delicate control of force, it’s also recommended to adjust the size of the ball and the basket.
Tossing beanbags toward the swaying basket
Here’s a fun game using beanbags.
You throw beanbags into a hanging basket—much like the ball-toss game often played at school sports days.
Many older adults are familiar with this type of game, so it should be easy to get into.
Like the traditional ball toss, the rules are simple, but this version gets progressively more difficult.
The more beanbags you throw, the more the hanging basket swings, making it harder to land your throws.
You’ll also need to watch the basket and time your throws, so it engages the brain as well.
When the basket fills up with beanbags, older participants are likely to feel a real sense of accomplishment.
Milk Carton Soccer
It’s a game where you kick a ball made by rolling up a milk carton and try to get it into a hoop placed at a distance.
It combines elements of golf and soccer, and because the ball is light, your power application and directional control are really put to the test.
The farther the hoop is, the more strength and advanced control you’ll need, so it’s best to start at a short distance and gradually move it farther away.
Rather than just swinging your leg with maximum force, it may be more important to find a way of kicking that transfers your power effectively.
A drill where you reel in a rope with your foot
This is a game where you use back-and-forth foot movements to reel in a rope at your feet and race to pull a distant basket closer.
While the basket is being pulled in, someone throws balled-up newspaper into it, making it heavier and requiring more effort to move as more balls are added.
Once the basket reaches your feet, count how many balls are inside; the person who pulled their basket in faster with fewer balls is the winner.
Decide on your strategy—whether to make big strides or move your feet quickly in small motions—and see what works best for you.