4 Types of Exercises that Your Loved One Needs to Do

Senior Care in Old Bridge NJ

Exercise is really important for your elderly loved one because it helps her to strengthen her heart and lungs, helps her to build up her strength, and helps her with flexibility and balance. Always talk with your loved one’s doctor before starting an exercise program to make sure that the type and duration are alright for her health conditions.

Cardiovascular Exercises

Cardiovascular exercises are those that get your loved one’s heart beating faster and her circulation moving. Dancing, walking, and water aerobics are just a few examples of cardiovascular exercises that your loved one might enjoy. Even parking farther away when she goes to the store or taking the stairs rather than the elevator can count toward her cardiovascular exercise count.

Strength-building Exercises

These types of exercises all help your loved one to build up her strength. While weight lifting factors into this category, she doesn’t have to lift weights. Resistance bands at different resistance levels can also help your loved one to build up her strength. Start out with lighter weights and your loved one can gradually work up to greater weight or resistance as she becomes stronger.

Balance Exercises

The risk of falling is extremely great for anyone, but it can be so much worse for your elderly loved one. To counteract that risk, it’s a good idea to introduce balance exercises to your loved one’s day and week. One really good option is yoga because many of the positions involve balancing. Another option is Tai Chi, which also uses balance throughout the different movements.

Stretching Exercises

As your loved one ages, flexibility becomes more and more important. Keeping her joints flexible gives her a much greater range of motion and can help to reduce pain when doing everyday activities. Your loved one might enjoy yoga for stretching, and it can also help with balance. Pilates can also be a good choice, but your loved one may simply want to do simple stretches on her own. She might feel that she’s not very flexible at first, but if she sticks with the exercises, she’ll be able to improve her flexibility by quite a bit.

Your elderly loved one’s senior care providers can help her to stay on track with her exercise plan. Make sure that you leave them information to help determine which exercises need to be done.

If you or an aging loved one are considering senior care in Old Bridge, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Care Street Home Care of New Brunswick today. Call (732) 607-8870.