Recommended Indoor Exercises for Seniors

Number Game! Odd and Even

Brain Training Exercise 12: Odd and Even Exercise

This is an exercise performed while seated, moving the hands and feet in two patterns in response to cues.

In the odd-number pattern, you raise your left hand and right leg; in the even-number pattern, you raise your right hand and left leg.

Participants switch based on the cue.

Start with simple cues of “odd” and “even,” then progress to having participants determine whether a spoken number is odd or even.

Moving opposite hand and foot, and quickly identifying numbers to form the correct body shape, helps activate the brain.

It’s also recommended to add variety with simple arithmetic like addition and subtraction to increase the thinking component.

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kappamaki

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Exercises related to spring

Recommended for April and May: A 35-minute spring-themed exercise routine! A collection of exercises popular at day-service centers.

Did you know that people with declining cognitive function often show signs such as lower leg muscle mass, fewer red blood cells, and reduced agility? This time, we’ll introduce exercises with a spring-themed twist that can help address these issues.

The flutter-and-stop hand movement trains agility, and the leg-raising movement strengthens everything from the legs to the abdominal muscles.

Using onomatopoeia—like “pika-pika” (sparkling) for a shiny entrance ceremony and “goku-goku” (gulping) for cherry-blossom viewing—stimulates brain activity, and expressing them with the body adds exercise benefits.

The content is bound to make you chuckle whether you do it or watch it, making it perfect for recreational activities in senior care facilities.

Balance training using a chair

Balance Training Using a Chair [Senior Exercise TV]

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.

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Nanaka

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Strengthen your core with chair Pilates

[Healthy Chair Exercises Vol. 40] Support Your Core! Senior Pilates ♫

Pilates combines strength training and stretching with deep breathing.

It’s considered effective for core training and is popular especially among young women, but by doing it while seated in a chair, even older adults can safely strengthen their core.

Tilt the pelvis back and return it, move it side to side, and hinge forward from the hips while keeping your back long—above all, move slowly and only within a range that feels comfortable.

Keep encouraging deep breathing at all times, and enjoy gentle, unhurried movements as you exercise.

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yuri

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Easy Stepper

[Magazine Freebie] Mook: Easy Health Habits from Your 60s! Seated Stepper BOOK — Unboxing Review

It’s structured so that when you press down with one foot, the other is pushed upward, and you alternate pressing with each foot.

By focusing your attention on the force of the press, you’ll learn how to move your feet and apply power during walking.

Since it’s a simple exercise you can do while seated by just moving your feet, a key point is that you can train your feet while doing something else, like reading a book.

During regular walking, you often need to pay attention to your surroundings, so there are times when you can’t fully focus on your feet.

By doing this ankle-moving exercise while engaged in another activity, your everyday walking may become smoother.

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kappamaki

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Exercises while singing

Kinta-kun Healthy Exercise: Fall-Prevention Fun Workout You Can Do While Singing

For preventing falls when elderly people walk, it’s important to make sure the toes are lifted.

If you straighten your back and take long strides, your toes naturally point upward when you land, and your heel touches the ground first.

This time, we’ll do a healthy exercise routine while singing the well-known children’s song “Tenohira ni Taiyo wo,” which was also featured on NHK’s Minna no Uta.

It’s a full-body exercise that uses the arms, shoulders, hips, and from the ankles to the toes, but it can be done while sitting in a chair, so you can take it slow and enjoy it along with the song.

Singing Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra Exercises

[Patakara Arrangement ③] Let's do oral exercises to the song

If you just keep repeating “pa-ta-ka-ra” in a simple way, you’ll eventually get bored and lose awareness of your mouth movements.

When that happens, a great option is to adapt it by pronouncing “pa-ta-ka-ra” in time with a song.

By articulating each syllable to the rhythm, you’ll naturally pay attention to the cadence of language, which helps not only with mouth exercises but also with smoother conversation.

You can choose any song, but children’s songs are often easiest because of their clear rhythm and suitable number of beats and words.

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kappamaki

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