Recommended Indoor Exercises for Seniors
Some older adults may find it difficult to exercise outdoors.
For some, going out is challenging, and weather-related reasons like heat or cold can also be factors.
When physical activity decreases, fitness declines, which can lead to falls or increased susceptibility to illness.
With that in mind, here are recommended exercises for seniors that can be done indoors.
We’ve gathered seated exercises that are easy for anyone to participate in, as well as simple routines you can start right away.
Exercising can help increase muscle strength and bone density, and it’s also said to help relieve stress.
We want older adults to continue enjoying their hobbies and favorite activities and to live vibrantly.
Please make use of indoor exercises to help address lack of physical activity.
- [For Seniors] Refresh Your Mood! Lively, Get-Moving Games
- [For Seniors] Simple Recreational Activities You Can Enjoy While Seated
- [For Seniors] A Collection of Simple Exercise Programs Suitable for Beginners
- [Seated] Fun Health Exercises for Older Adults and Seniors
- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
- [For Seniors] Balance-Training Exercises: Preventing Falls
- For seniors: Leg-strengthening exercises you can do without overexertion.
- For Seniors: Fun and Lively Exercise Recreation
- Energetic and Lively! Sing-and-Exercise Program for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Let's Enjoy Exercising with a Towel!
- [For Seniors] Build a Healthy Body Indoors! Recommended Exercise Equipment
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable While Seated! Ball Exercises and Recreation
- [For Seniors] Exercises to Walk Again. Fall Prevention
[For Seniors] Recommended Indoor Exercises (81–90)
Rock, paper, scissors with pumpkin
Goo-Choki-Pa Pumpkin is a recommended exercise for Halloween.
Dressing up in Halloween costumes while you dance will lift your spirits and make it even more fun.
Since the Goo-Choki-Pa movements are incorporated into various parts, it should help activate the brain.
You can do it standing or sitting, so please adjust it to your physical and mental condition.
The song used here is an upbeat track that I believe will also benefit the minds and bodies of older adults.
Let’s enjoy the Goo-Choki-Pa exercise along with the up-tempo music.
Goo-Paa Exercise
The “Goo-Paa” exercise involves opening and closing your palms and moving your body in various patterns.
Be sure to do a proper warm-up first and start once your body is loosened up.
While repeating the hand motions of making a fist (goo) and opening your hand (paa), move your elbows and legs at the same time.
Exercising to a steady rhythm can also serve as brain training for older adults.
It’s important to challenge yourself even if you can’t perform every movement perfectly.
Since it can be done while sitting in a chair, try incorporating it into recreation activities or morning exercise time.
Cognicise exercises and patakara exercises
It’s a program that trains the whole body while thinking, combining complex foot stomps and handclaps with the articulation of “pa-ta-ka-ra.” It starts with a simple flow of pronouncing “pa-ta-ka-ra” in time with the steps, then gradually becomes more complex by adding handclaps.
The key to adjusting difficulty is which letter of “pa-ta-ka-ra” you match the clap to.
Have participants try each letter in sequence so they can feel the increasing challenge.
It’s also important to ensure they don’t focus so much on the clap timing that they lose attention to the “pa-ta-ka-ra” articulation.
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.
Lower-body exercises with a rubber ball
Older adults tend to have difficulty lifting their feet while walking, so make a point of lifting your feet to help prevent falls.
This time, we’ll use a rubber ball that you can get at a 100-yen shop for some exercises.
Prepare a ball about the size of a dodgeball or volleyball.
While seated in a chair, hold the ball in front of your body and lift your thigh to touch the ball with your knee.
Another exercise is to place the ball on the floor, rest one foot on it, and rotate it in circles without letting your foot come off.
These exercises are designed to consciously practice lifting your feet.
Sheet Valley
Let’s play Seat Volleyball using sunshades sold at 100-yen stores.
It’s a game that many older adults can enjoy.
Connect two sunshades to make a volleyball court.
Have seated older adults hold the two connected sunshades.
Roll a beach volleyball on top of the sunshades.
Before starting, use tape or similar to mark territories on the sunshades.
When the time limit is up, the side where the ball is located loses.
With gameplay similar to real volleyball, older adults are likely to enjoy it.
Since it can be played while seated, many older participants should be able to join.
[For Seniors] Recommended Indoor Exercises (91–100)
Cognicise with steps
Cogni-size is an exercise where you step rhythmically while counting numbers.
As we age, our bodies may not move as we want, and we tend to have fewer opportunities to be active.
Lack of exercise can lead to decreased muscle strength, making movement difficult, and it also reduces stimulation to the brain.
With cogni-size, which activates the brain while moving your legs, you can train without overexertion.
Moving your legs helps strengthen muscles you don’t normally use, which can prevent falls and improve blood circulation.
It’s fine to go at the pace of older adults, so let’s work on the exercises while gradually increasing the difficulty.