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 (141–150)
Get pumped! Exercises to boost your reflexes and flexibility
These are exercises using a ball to develop smooth body movements and reflexes.
Before doing quick-movement exercises, loosen your joints thoroughly by moving the ball forward and backward or rotating the ball in your hands.
In the exercises where you move the ball to a rhythm, smooth movement that captures the tempo is important.
In another exercise, you toss the ball upward and add claps before it falls, which trains your reflexes and sense of balance.
By actively moving the ball and layering movements onto it, these exercises train not only your body’s motion but also your dynamic visual acuity.
Get excited! Daily movements and upper-body exercises
While seated, use a towel to actively move your upper body! Even simple actions—like folding a towel or hooking it onto something—can effectively engage your upper body.
If you turn these movements into friendly competitions with peers at a day service, it can spark communication and reduce feelings of loneliness.
You can race to see who folds towels faster, or compete to see who can grab a towel placed on the lap more quickly at the signal “Ready, go!” Another fun option is a team game where two people hold a towel together, balance a beanbag on it, and try to carry and drop it into a box.
Consider incorporating these as part of your recreation activities.
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.
[For Seniors] Recommended Indoor Exercises (151–160)
Easy! Leg Strength-Building Exercises
This is a leg-strengthening exercise you can do while lying down! Lie on your back with one knee bent and the other leg fully extended.
From there, slowly raise and lower the extended leg.
It’s important to be mindful of your breathing—exhale as you move, and make the motion as large as possible within a pain-free, comfortable range.
This exercise targets the quadriceps at the front of the thigh, which are crucial for standing up and walking.
Keep training steadily with this low-impact exercise so you can continue to walk strong for years to come.
Inner muscle training for the hip joint
The six deep hip external rotator muscles, which connect the hip joint and the pelvis, play a role in stabilizing your posture when standing on one leg.
By strengthening them, you can improve your sense of balance and build a body that is less prone to falls.
There are various ways to train these hip external rotators, but the method with the least load is to step one foot forward, place the heel down, and rotate the entire leg side to side as if turning the knee outward and inward.
Using this movement as a basic exercise, you can perform a range of trainings with different levels of load.
Choose an appropriate intensity according to your physical condition and give it a try.
Hip joint movement
Smoothing the movement of the hip joints leads to the lifting motion of the legs, which is essential for walking.
These are exercises that strengthen the hips to support healthy everyday walking.
The key is that they can be done easily while seated in a chair, making them simple to incorporate into daily life.
The movements are straightforward—such as extending the legs and bending the body forward—while maintaining clear awareness of engaging the hip joints.
It’s also important to focus on using the chair for support and moving in ways that prevent injury.
Shoulder Stiffness Relief Ball Exercise
This is an exercise that brings awareness to joint movement and how you apply force by moving a rubber ball while seated.
If you focus on holding the ball with one hand, you can train not only how you apply force but also your sense of balance.
By performing movements such as pressing the ball with both hands and throwing and catching the ball, direct your attention to the arm joints and shoulder blades to help relieve shoulder stiffness.
It’s also important to maintain proper posture so you can minimize strain on the body and apply force efficiently.
If you drop the ball and rush to pick it up, unnecessary tension can build up in your body, so it’s crucial to stay relaxed during this exercise.