One of the main concerns of anyone living with their elderly parents is how safe their parents are at home. Every minute they spend at work is shadowed with constant worry about their parents’ safety. Are they okay? Did anything happen to them? Have they slipped and fallen down, again, today?

Through science, we know that our bodies begin to slow down as we age. The repair functions start weakening, the bone density decreases, the balance declines, and the recovery after injuries seems to take forever. Then again, there are numerous stories of seniors who have aged gracefully, and if you’ve ever asked any of them how, they usually have a similar answer. They kept their bodies active.

At-Home Exercises for Elderly Parents

Keeping your elderly parents active is one of the best ways you can help them combat their aging process while giving them the strength and power to take care of themselves. It’s also a great way to keep them busy, entertained, mentally, and physically healthy, and enthusiastic about their lives. But you don’t have to sign them up for a gym or hire a caregiver to drive them around; you can help them get active in the comfort of their own homes.

Here’s a list of the top exercises that your elderly parents can benefit from, along with how you can customize their training experience at home.

1. Cardio Exercises

The effects of a sedentary life are harmful to the body in every way. As the body remains inactive, fat deposits, muscles weaken, and cardiopulmonary health plummets. One of the most effective training routines to overcome all of these problems is performing cardio exercises.

Cardio training is, generally, any kind of training that increases your heart and respiratory rate. Going for a walk is cardio, and so is running a marathon. But thanks to technology, there are dozens of machines, ranging from treadmills to bikes, adult trikes all of which you can use to fulfill your cardio needs at home.

One of the best cardio exercises for seniors is rowing, which utilizes many muscle groups while improving cardiopulmonary function, as well. There are many rowing machines available on the market, but be sure to check the Best Rowing Machines for Seniors at https://www.for-knees.com/best-rowing-machine-seniors/ to find the machines best suited to low-impact workouts. The ideal rowing machine will provide the benefits you seek from cardio training while ensuring safety on the knees, joints, and balance.

2. Balance Exercises

Some of the most common injuries suffered by seniors result from slip and fall accidents; that’s why it all comes down to how well-balanced they are. When the leg muscles become weak due to long inactivity or lack of proper training, they fail to do what they’re supposed to do best: carrying your body weight. As a result, a senior can easily lose their balance and slip down and fall, which can be catastrophic.

Balance exercises focus on strengthening the leg muscles. To start with simple and easy exercises, your parents can take up a simple routine of standing up and sitting down on a chair without using the support of their hands (or yours). They can practice standing on one foot while elevating the other, starting with a 30-second interval followed by 15 seconds of rest, and then repeat it for 3-5 sets.

Another good balancing exercise is to walk heel-to-foot in one line. If you feel they can take on more intense (and entertaining) balance exercises, then getting them started on yoga, tai chi, and posture exercises could be of great benefit to their balance.

3. Flexibility Exercises

Another physical perk that gets lost to aging is the limited range of motion that seniors suffer from. The good thing is that getting back their flexibility can easily be done through simple stretching exercises, but the catch is that it should be done regularly. As the muscles get stretched back into flexibility, not only does their range of movement become improved, but their joints also get better at movement and more immune to pain.

Yoga is generally a great routine for flexibility training, mainly because of all of the muscles stretching taking place. But flexibility training can also consist of simple stretching exercises of the legs, back, and arms. A good rule of thumb is to start any kind of workout with dynamic stretching and end every workout session with static stretches.

Stretching sessions can also take place on their own, maybe as a part of the morning routine or right before going to bed. Even a stretching break every couple of hours will help them feel more relaxed, energized, and, in the long run, flexible.

4. Strength Exercises

Now, this might sound weird, but strength exercises for seniors are so underrated. We all know how strength exercises benefit our bodies: they increase our metabolism, strengthen muscles, increase bone density, and fill our bodies with power. We usually tend to forget all of these benefits when it comes to seniors because we’re too scared that they might be injured by free weights falling over them or other exercise hazards.

While it’s true that free weights are commonly used when it comes to strength training at home, they’re not the only option. There are many machines you can get that offer much more safety, for seniors and others alike. Aside from machines, resistance training using resistance bands, body weight, and isometric contraction can still strengthen your parents’ muscles.

Leading an active life is perhaps one of the best remedies against aging. Not only does exercise battle the ugly effects of aging, but it also keeps the elderly entertained, enthusiastic, and healthy—both physically and mentally. If you’re living with your elderly parents at home, there are many easy ways to keep them actively engaged during their days.

A well-balanced active routine should include a variety of training programs, the most important of which are cardiovascular training for boosting their heart and lung functions, balance training for improving their posture and balance, flexibility training for maintaining their range of motion, and strength training to keep their muscles and bones strong and healthy.

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