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 (91–100)
Upper body loosening exercises
This is an exercise using a ball that focuses on moving the upper body.
To help you pay attention to the strength of your fingers when gripping, a smooth-surfaced ball is recommended.
In movements where you squeeze the ball from both sides or pull it to the left and right, focus on engaging the shoulders and arms.
In the movement where you grip and rotate the ball, be sure to consciously engage the shoulders.
When you place the ball on your palm and move it forward and backward, it trains your sense of balance and encourages proper posture, so starting with this exercise could be a good idea.
Enjoyable upper body training
To strengthen your upper body, try a towel exercise that gets your fingers, hands, and arms moving well.
Moving your hands and fingers thoroughly is essential for performing everyday actions smoothly.
If you want to focus on moving from the fingers to the hand, hold the towel using only your thumb and index finger and repeatedly tighten and loosen it to keep it taut, or hold it in a similar way and rotate the towel all the way around in a circle.
If you want to move from the hand to the arm, simply spinning the towel briskly is fine.
Also, if you bend your waist slightly while holding the towel and make a motion as if handing it to the person in front of you, you can engage your waist area as well.
Preventing falls by strengthening the lower abdomen
The iliopsoas is a key inner muscle that connects the spine to the hip joint.
Exercises that strengthen this important muscle—which helps support the body and lift the legs—are essential for core strengthening and maintaining health in older adults.
It’s very simple: while sitting on a chair or bed, lift your leg as high as you comfortably can.
Engage your abdominal muscles, and if you feel wobbly, place both hands on either side of your hips for support.
Focus on lifting and lowering the leg straight in front of you so it doesn’t drift to the side—this will better stimulate your core.
Gluteus medius training
As we get older, it inevitably becomes harder to maintain our balance.
For older adults who feel their balance has been declining lately, I recommend training the gluteus medius.
You can do it standing, and it’s a routine you can continue without overexertion, so it’s reassuring.
Strengthening the mid-gluteal area helps stabilize your walking and can reduce the risk of falls.
The exercises I’m introducing today can be done a little each day, so they’re easy on the body.
Hold onto a chair or something stable, and move one leg at a time.
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.
Core Rhythm Gymnastics
This is a core rhythm exercise that lets you move your body to the beat! Sit on a chair, extend one leg, lift your toes, and get ready.
In that position, alternately touch your shin with your right and left hands to stretch your hamstrings and calves! Sit with your feet shoulder-width apart, and do a crossing motion—touch your left shin with your right hand and your right shin with your left hand—to work your abs and back muscles.
To make it fun like dancing, count out loud “1, 2” or move to music, and keep it rhythmic.
Energized and lively! Easy-peasy exercises
Older adults often trip while walking because they don’t lift their feet high enough and end up shuffling, causing their toes to catch even on small steps or uneven surfaces.
It’s important to lift the toes, land on the heel, and push off the ground with the foot when walking.
This time, we’re introducing exercises to increase flexibility in the ankles and toes.
Movements such as bending the ankles forward, backward, and side to side, and pointing and lifting the toes while keeping the heels on the floor can all be done while seated, so go at your own pace without overexerting yourself.