[For Seniors] Recommended Rhythm Play and Exercises
In this article, we introduce recommended rhythm games and exercises for older adults!
When people hear “exercise,” they might imagine something intense and feel it’s not for them.
Rhythm exercises involve moving your body to music, so you can use your whole body to keep the beat, or simply clap along while seated—both are great options!
Start by getting into the rhythm.
It’s important to do exercises without overexerting yourself, so prioritize what feels “fun” and try them casually at your own pace.
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- Energetic and Lively! Sing-and-Exercise Program for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Easy and fun seated activities you can do in your room
- [Today's Recommendation] Gentle Health Exercises for Seniors
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- For seniors: Enjoyable stick exercises. Easy workouts.
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- [For Seniors] Let's try customizing the usual Pa-Ta-Ka-Ra exercises!
[For Seniors] Recommended Rhythm Play and Exercises (41–50)
Ball exercises to the rhythm
We’d like to introduce “ball exercises to the rhythm,” which help you move your body with a steady beat, expand your shoulder and arm range of motion, and gently raise your heart rate.
Start with a simple move: hold the ball with both hands and extend it straight out in front of you.
As you shift it rhythmically from side to side and add elbow bends and extensions, your body will gradually loosen up.
Finally, increase the variety of movements and move your whole body in time with the rhythm, which can also help stimulate brain activity.
You can start easily with a ball from a 100-yen shop, making this a fun, refreshing exercise routine.
The Itomaki (Spool Winding) Song Using Rubber Bands
This exercise aims to make finger movements smoother by stretching a rubber band with both hands and moving it from finger to finger.
Maintaining strength is important to keep the band well stretched, so sustaining effort while moving adds complexity that also helps stimulate the brain.
If you coordinate the movement of shifting the rubber band with a song—such as the children’s song “Ito Maki”—and proceed rhythmically, it will further improve smoothness.
We also recommend starting with patterns that move the band to the same finger on both hands, then gradually shifting the positions to make the patterns more complex over time.
A-I-U-Be mouth exercise staring game
It’s an exercise that adds “staring contest” to the “A-I-U-BE mouth exercise,” so it includes lots of laughter.
It can of course be enjoyed at care facilities, and it also seems perfect to try at home with your grandchildren.
Some older adults may have limited interaction with others.
With a staring-contest version of the A-I-U-BE exercise, you can foster interaction and smiles through the activity.
It’s easy to do as a game for recreation, so it’s highly recommended.
Let’s enjoy doing mouth exercises while having fun.
Teacup Rhythm Game
It’s an activity where you imagine your clenched hand as a teacup and alternately mimic the motions of a plate and a lid with your other open hand.
Do it with your arms extended forward so the shoulders and arms move actively.
While alternating the plate and lid motions to the rhythm, switch which hand is clenched and which is open to add a brain-training effect.
It’s recommended to gradually increase the difficulty by adding various tweaks, such as adjusting the song’s tempo or increasing the frequency of the hand-switch timing.
Close It, Open It
Musunde Hiraite is famous as a children’s song.
Many seniors may remember playing it as a hand-clapping game when they were children.
The lyricist is unknown, and the composer is the French philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
The lyrics are charming, and even today it is often used for performances at kindergartens and nursery schools.
It’s also recommended as a hand game for senior recreation.
Since the motions—opening and closing the hands—are simple, seniors can learn it quickly.
It also helps train the fingertips, which can stimulate the brain.
What shall we make with rock, scissors, paper?
The “Goo-Choki-Paa de Nani Tsukurou” exercise is a song that many older adults are familiar with.
Those with children may remember singing it to them often.
This hand-play song involves moving your body while singing, which provides good stimulation for the brain.
What’s more, just by combining rock, scissors, and paper in different ways, you can create many variations.
It’s a hand-play song enjoyed by a wide range of ages, from children to seniors, so it might be nice to try it together with your grandchildren.
Let’s look up and walk with finger exercises
The song ‘Ue o Muite Arukou’ is a famous classic by Kyu Sakamoto.
It remains a beloved piece even today.
The familiar melody is wonderful, and the uplifting lyrics are lovely too.
This time, let’s do the Goo-Choki-Pa exercise while singing this song.
It’s an exercise where you have fun making rock-paper-scissors shapes with your left and right hands.
Doing it to such a soothing tune feels calming, doesn’t it? The tempo is relaxed, so it should be easy for older adults to keep the rhythm.