Karen’s Korner: Physical activity

Karen’s Korner

I have mentioned before that one of the best ways to prolong our lives is through physical exercise. I see reports every day in my research on senior adults that continue to prove this fact to be true. For example:                                                 

“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, states that: ‘Regular exercise can help older adults stay independent and prevent many health problems that come with age. According to the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, older adults should do two types of physical activities each week to improve their health—aerobic and muscle-strengthening. These guidelines recommend that older adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week and muscle strengthening activities on two or more days a week.”

While exercise is very important for us as seniors, it is always good to check some things out before jumping into a physical fitness program. The CDC suggests the following: If you are 65 or older, you need aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and “balance activities” each week. *Since falls have become such a major issue, balance exercises are very important as well.

You can add regular physical activity into your life in a variety of ways. People benefit from physical activity throughout life, including as they age!

1. ALWAYS check with your medical professional and be sure that you are able to do physical activities! They can give factual suggestions and ideas to incorporate into your physical condition! Your doctor knows you best.
2. See what counts as aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and balance activities. Also, see how to tell if aerobic physical activity is moderate or vigorous.
3. If you have trouble meeting these recommendations, be as physically active as your abilities and conditions allow. Remember that some physical activity is better than none at all. Your health benefits will also increase with the more physical activity that you do.

Here at the Council on Aging, we have a great chair aerobics class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:30 am, conducted by Performance Therapy.

And then on Wednesday, at 11:30 am, we have a line dance class, and that is a great senior aerobic workout. We would love to see you there. Council on Aging is located at 1482 Sheppard Street here in Minden. For questions, call 318-371-3056.