[Seated] Fun Health Exercises for Older Adults and Seniors
More and more people are finding their bodies tire easily and feel they’re spending longer periods sitting in a chair.
Some of you may be wondering, “Is there any training I can do while seated?” In this article, we introduce enjoyable health exercises you can do while sitting! We’ve compiled easy activities for everyday life, including strength training you can do from a seated position and brain-training exercises.
Be sure to try incorporating them as recreational activities in nursing care facilities as well!
- [For Seniors] Fun Exercises You Can Do While Seated
- For seniors: Enjoyable exercises done while seated, accessible for wheelchair users.
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable and Healthy Chair Stretches!
- [For Seniors] Easy and Fun Core Training
- [Today's Recommendation] Gentle Health Exercises for Seniors
- [For Seniors] Fun Recreational Activities Without Equipment
- Hand games that liven things up for seniors—also great brain training
- Cognicise you can do while seated. Simple dementia prevention.
- [For Seniors] Enjoyable While Seated! Ball Exercises and Recreation
- [For Seniors] Recommended Easy Strength Training
- [Brain Training for Seniors] Recommended Hand-Play Recreation for Dementia Prevention
- Recommended Indoor Exercises for Seniors
- For seniors: Leg-strengthening exercises you can do without overexertion.
[Seated] Fun Health Exercises for Older Adults and Seniors (1–10)
Grip strength exercises using a ballNEW!
Hold a soft ball in each hand.
A rolled towel works too.
First, vary the strength of your grip: on the count of 1 and 2, squeeze the ball firmly; on 3, loosen your grip.
Be careful not to relax completely and drop the ball.
Once you get used to it, match the movements to a rhythm by opening and closing the hand holding the ball.
For example, open the left hand while closing the right, then alternate in rhythm and repeat.
After each round of training, set the balls down and gently shake out your wrists to cool down.
Rehabilitation Functional Training Exercises: Standing Up Movement Improvement EditionNEW!
Let’s do a rehabilitation exercise routine that helps improve the motion of standing up.
Start with marching in place, gradually increasing the speed.
Next, put a TheraBand just above the knee joint and march in place.
From there, change the position of the TheraBand and continue with hip abductions and knee extensions.
Then add toe raises and heel raises.
Finish with deep breathing.
You can strengthen your legs and hips while sitting in a chair, so try it within a comfortable range.
Full-body health exercisesNEW!
Here is a health exercise you can do seated that moves your whole body.
First, loosen up areas that tend to get stiff—the neck, shoulders, and hands.
Then stretch your legs and hips before moving your upper body.
Next, work the lower body, and finally move all the way to your fingertips, finishing with deep breathing.
This routine helps strengthen your muscles and core, making it effective for improving stamina and preventing falls.
If you feel any pain, don’t push yourself—proceed one step at a time within your limits.
Take about 30 minutes and do it slowly.
[Seated] Fun Health Exercises for Older Adults and Seniors (11–20)
Beginner-friendly seated leg exercisesNEW!
As we get older, our muscle strength declines, and walking can become difficult.
So here’s a simple seated exercise to help strengthen your legs.
With this routine, you can build the muscle strength and balance that are important for walking.
It also helps prevent tripping and falls beyond just improving walking.
The movements themselves are very simple: lift and lower your knees, open and close them to the sides, and extend your feet forward and bring them back.
Do about 10 repetitions, alternating left and right.
Finish with a deep breath to relax your body.
Swallowing muscle trainingNEW!
Some people may choke while eating or wake up at night coughing on saliva.
How about trying swallowing muscle training? This training focuses on the larynx, which serves as a lid for the trachea, to strengthen the muscles used for swallowing.
Lie on your back, bend your ankles to 90 degrees, and slightly lift your head.
Keep looking at your toes and hold that position for 60 seconds.
There’s also a method for abdominal exercises using a towel, so give it a try if you like.
Swallowing Exercises: Cheek Training EditionNEW!
If you have trouble swallowing food, try strengthening your cheeks! First, pucker your cheeks tightly as if sticking the insides of your cheeks to your teeth.
Next, with your mouth closed, pull the corners of your mouth to the sides as if making a smile.
It might help to picture a smiley-face mouth! Finally, puff out your cheeks as if filling your mouth with air and blow them up like “poo.” Try each for about five seconds.
It’s a quick exercise you can do right away, so why not try adding it before meals?
Urinary leakage prevention: pelvic floor exercises you can do while sittingNEW!
The pelvic floor muscles are a hammock-like group of muscles that support the internal organs, including the bladder.
They play an important role in controlling urination, so let’s train them properly to prevent leakage.
In this pelvic floor exercise, while sitting in a chair, you’ll alternately lift your left and right buttocks to move your pelvis, and open/close and raise/lower your knees.
All of these are simple movements, but do them at your own pace without overexertion.
You might not notice much effect from a single session, but continuing every day should bring results.