[For Seniors] Leg and lower-back training: Fall prevention
As we age, the muscles in our legs and lower back can weaken, making us more prone to stumbling or falling.
However, by continuing with simple training, you can better support your lower body and aim for a body that’s less likely to fall.
Incorporating easy, low-impact exercises into your daily routine will also help you gain confidence in walking.
This time, we’ll introduce leg and lower-back strengthening exercises that are safe for older adults.
You can start them easily at home, so why not enjoy moving your body while you do them? Keep at it a little each day, and let’s keep walking energetically for years to come!
- [For Seniors] Recreational activities and games that let you have fun while strengthening your legs
- For Seniors: How to Strengthen Your Inner Muscles. Fall Prevention
- For seniors: Leg-strengthening exercises you can do without overexertion.
- [For Seniors] Fun and Easy! Fall-Prevention Exercises for Older Adults
- [For Seniors] Exercises to Walk Again. Fall Prevention
- [For Seniors] Strengthen Your Legs! Recommended Training Items
- [With Video] Lower-limb strength training for seniors that can be done in bed
- [For Seniors] Recommended Easy Strength Training
- [For Seniors] Balance-Training Exercises: Preventing Falls
- Summary of exercises for seniors: introducing preventative care movements by body part.
- [For Seniors] Core Training: Recommended Simple Rehabilitation
- [For Seniors] Easy and Fun Core Training
- [For Seniors] Improve Your Body Concerns! A Summary of Exercises for Urinary Leakage
[For Seniors] Leg and hip training. Fall prevention (1–10)
Pelvic training for people who shuffle their feet
Do any of you find yourselves accidentally scuffing your heels while walking, like during a stroll? It’s said this happens due to a decline in the muscles that lift the pelvis.
Weakness around the legs increases the risk of falls, so let’s do pelvic training to strengthen the muscles that lift the pelvis and help you walk energetically! If you don’t like strenuous exercise, don’t worry.
All you’ll do is “butt walking.” That’s it.
Start with about three round trips forward and backward.
Once you get used to it, you can increase the number.
It also engages your abdominal and back muscles, so it may help you maintain your figure as well.
Calf exercise
As we get older, it’s not uncommon for muscle strength to decline and for unsteadiness to appear.
This time, we’ll introduce a calf exercise that’s effective for preventing unsteadiness.
Hold onto a chair or table, align your posture so your back is straight, and then raise your heels.
Rather than using momentum or doing many fast repetitions, you can expect better results by moving slowly and with control.
As the muscles from your ankles to your calves—which support your body—become stronger, you’ll be less likely to lose your balance.
It’s recommended as something you can do at home while watching TV, and it’s also great for group exercise in senior care facilities.
side lunge
We will introduce exercises that strengthen the gluteal, thigh, and shin muscles to improve walking stability.
If you tend to sway from side to side when walking, please give them a try.
Hold the back of a chair with both hands and step one foot out to the side.
Bend your knee and shift your weight onto that leg.
Push off the floor with your foot and return to the starting position.
When performing this movement, be mindful to keep your knee and toes pointing in the same direction.
By continuing these exercises, you can improve walking stability and help prevent falls.
[For Seniors] Leg and hip training. Fall prevention (11–20)
front lunge
While it’s natural for muscles to weaken with age, losing the ability to walk can seriously impact daily life.
So this time, we’d like to introduce an exercise that strengthens the thigh and glute muscles, which is effective for preventing falls.
The movement is simple: take a big step forward with one foot, keep your back straight as you lower your hips, then return slowly.
Alternate legs as you repeat the movement.
If taking a large step feels uncomfortable, it’s fine to start with a smaller stride.
By continuing this exercise, you’ll strengthen the muscles that help maintain balance, which leads to more stable walking.
Try to keep it up within a comfortable range for you.
Indoor walking exercise
You probably already know that walking is good for your health, but some of you may find it a hassle to actually go outside.
So today, we’ll introduce indoor walking exercises you can do at home.
Do each move for one set of 30 seconds, but be sure not to overexert yourself and adjust to your condition.
The routine focuses on various steps: marching in place, moving forward and backward while marching, side steps, and kick-ups while marching.
It may feel challenging enough to get you breathing harder, but if possible, try to keep moving without stopping.
Because it’s aerobic exercise, it will boost the benefits of walking.
Give it a try!
Leg exercises you can do while sitting in a chair
We’d like to introduce chair exercises that make walking much easier.
Start by rubbing your legs with your hands to loosen the muscles.
There are various movements, such as lifting each knee without letting your foot touch the floor, and opening your knees to the side and bringing them back together.
When you try hard, it’s easy to lean forward, but it’s important to sit deep in the chair and keep both feet flat on the floor as you exercise.
By doing these movements, you can expect benefits such as preventing knee pain, improving leg strength, achieving a more stable gait, and reducing the risk of falls.
Until you get used to them, do the exercises within a pain-free range and don’t push yourself.
Hip joint training
The hip joint plays an essential role in walking.
This time, we’ll introduce hip-focused training to strengthen the hips and help you keep walking for life.
In addition to classic exercises like high knee lifts and swinging the leg forward and backward, we include movements you don’t usually do in daily life, such as lifting the leg inward as if sitting cross-legged and flicking the leg outward.
These may feel difficult at first, but they are important for loosening the hips, and you can expect benefits if you keep at them.