For seniors: Enjoyable stick exercises. Easy workouts.
Maintain your health comfortably and enjoyably!
We’re introducing stick exercises recommended for seniors.
Stick exercises use simple movements to train the whole body in a balanced way and are effective for maintaining flexibility and muscle strength.
All you need is a broom handle or any stick-shaped tool you have at home.
You can even make one from newspaper.
No special preparation is required, and you can easily do them at home—that’s the appeal.
This time, we’ve gathered basic stick exercises that are safe even for beginners.
Let’s get moving and aim for vibrant days for both body and mind!
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[For Seniors] Enjoyable Stick Exercises: Simple Movements (11–20)
Balance exercises
Let’s try a balance exercise using a stick that’s also effective for preventing falls! Balance exercises are often associated with doing them while standing, but this routine can be done while seated, making it easy for a wide range of older adults to try.
While counting aloud, hold the stick and move your arms and legs in large motions.
The movements are mostly simple, so older adults can get used to them quickly.
Instead of moving your body aimlessly, focus on the areas you want to strengthen to boost the effectiveness even more.
Balance-Improvement Exercises
Unsteadiness when standing up, for example, can lead to falls.
Even a single fall can leave someone bedridden and completely change their life.
Causes of unsteadiness can include poor posture, insufficient bending and stretching of the joints, and decreased muscle strength.
Here, we introduce exercises that improve body balance using a stick.
Using a stick is said to help you perform the exercises with correct posture.
You’ll rotate the stick near your feet and do box steps.
Try the exercises in ways suitable for older adults, such as holding onto a chair or a wall.
Aerobic exercise with a plastic wrap core
Did you know that doing aerobic exercise can help activate your brain function? Regular aerobic exercise improves blood flow to the brain and leads to better cognitive function.
Incorporate simple aerobic activities to help prevent dementia! Hold a stick in each hand and move your wrists and arms.
Once you get used to it, add leg movements as well.
It’s important to move slowly but with large, deliberate motions.
If you’re doing this as a recreation activity in a senior care facility, be sure to keep enough distance from those around you.
Let’s include moderate aerobic exercise in our routines and lead a healthy life!
Brain-training exercises using a toilet paper roll core
Incorporate exercise to energize your body and brain! Hold two sticks and move them differently with your left and right hands.
Because you’ll be learning new movements each time, it also includes a brain-training element.
Doing these exercises can help prevent and improve bodily pain and enhance cognitive function.
Getting moderate physical activity can also reduce stress and improve sleep quality, among other great benefits.
All of these exercises can be done safely while seated, so please use them as a helpful reference!
Lower limb strengthening exercises
Let’s strengthen the lower body with stick-based exercises! Using a stick, you’ll perform knee lifts, leg openings, and step-over movements.
While many of these exercises can be done without a stick, using one helps you focus on lifting your knees properly, which can lead to even better results.
All the exercises introduced here can be done safely while seated, making them ideal for recreational activities in senior care facilities.
Please encourage each older adult to try them at their own pace, tailored to their physical condition, and enjoy the challenge without overexertion!
Body Loosening Exercises
Feel-good stretches! How about some whole-body loosening exercises? It’s hard to make exercise a daily habit, isn’t it? But without moderate activity, your body stiffens up, which can lead to shoulder and lower back pain.
With these exercises, you can easily loosen your body using a rolled-up newspaper stick, making them great for older adults who spend a lot of time indoors.
Hold the newspaper stick and move your arms in big motions while taking deep breaths.
Be careful not to hold your breath—doing so can raise your blood pressure and put strain on your heart and blood vessels.
Moving your arms and hands also stimulates the brain and can help prevent dementia.
Enjoy yourself and relax as you do these body-loosening exercises!
[For Seniors] Enjoyable Stick Exercises: Simple Workouts (21–30)
Fun exercises that use the whole body and head
In recreational activities and exercises for seniors, having fun is important.
Staff at senior care facilities are likely conducting creative recreational programs and exercises as well.
This time, we’ll introduce exercises and brain training that incorporate enjoyable movements using a stick.
You’ll do movements like kendo thrusts and kote strikes, and while seated you’ll also step over a stick placed on the floor.
For the brain-training part, count numbers aloud, and whenever you reach a multiple of three, extend the stick forward or lift it upward.
Speaking the numbers out loud is key.
Performing two actions at the same time is said to stimulate the brain.