Modifying exercises for seniors

kimicrescenzo

Hello! I started a food and exercise journal due to the need to lose inches and weight. Many years ago I was active as a marathon runner-having done many shorter races as well for years. Due to the beginning of knee and hip issues running so many miles, I resorted to walking instead. I was also active in the gym to keep both upper and lower body strength. Now that I am over 60 and having gained excess inches and weight, I found that most of the exercises on your website videos I cannot do (eg planks, crunches, squats). Do you have videos or links that I can do these exercises but are modified for those with ankle, foot, or shoulder issues yet help build up strength and muscles in the body as well?

Sincerely,
Kimi

SnifterPug

Squats are a great exercise and worth persisting with. If you need help with supporting some of your body weight to make them do-able then try standing next to a kitchen counter and holding on. Or if you have a stout stair banister and a long piece of fabric or rope (or even a resistance band) then use that as if it were a suspension trainer.

Look up the bird dog exercise - that will suffice instead of planks for now. Also look up quadruped glute exercises.

Crunches are pretty grim in my humble opinion and I never bother with them. Bird dogs done properly and slowly target the abs. Glute bridges target the glutes (obviously) but also engage abs. Look up hollow holds (on your back) but don't lower legs down too far at first and keep arms forward by your sides rather than putting them behind your head. Supermans are also good.

ridiculous59

Do you live where there are aquafit type classes offerred? My main form of exercise for the first couple of years I was losing weight was a deep water running class three or four times a week. You can make the workout as intense as you like and there were people in the class because they had hip, back, or knee injuries that prevented them from enjoying regular cardio. Now that I've lost weight I do a variety of different things (run, ski, paddle, bike, etc) but I still enjoy the deep water running class a couple of times a month for the ab work (at least I did before everything was shut down for covid-19!).

Is yoga do-able for you? I know that some kneeling poses (cat/cow, for example) are too uncomfortable for some types of knee damage, but may be okay for you? In the fall I did a 30 day yoga challenge and it aggravated an old shoulder injury so for me, as much as I love yoga, I can only do it once or twice a week. Maybe check out some yoga videos on youtube and see what you think? I enjoy Yoga With Adrienn, but there are lots out there.

Can you bike? A friend of mine had knee surgery and biking was part of her rehab. It would definitely depend on your injury, of course.

You don't say how much weight you have to lose, but my hope is that every pound lost will ease some of your joint pain. BTW, I'm over 60 too, but don't consider myself "a senior" LOL

kimicrescenzo

Thank you for the great suggestions. Will start trying them out.

cesse47

You might want to check out exercise videos on YouTube. I'm 72 and have compromised lungs so aerobic exercises are nearly impossible for me. I've been very sedentary so am just beginning to put a regular program together. Right now, I do stretches every morning which really help. Then I do a chair yoga program. I also have two other chair routines that I use but can only do about 15 minutes of each at this time. Last, I am trying to do a beginner walking program by Leslie Sansone but can only do 5 minutes ... so, I try to do at least two 5 minute "chunks" a day ... and try for a third sometimes. I'd really like to be able to build up strength and stamina ... but must do so in baby steps.

My stretching program: Stretchin' to the Classics by Richard Simmons ... who does not speak a word. It's just stretching to classical music. It's about 15 minutes and I can do all of it.

The chair yoga program I do is: Self Quarantine Yoga: A Relaxing 30 Minute Chair Yoga . I am able to do the full program with only a couple of modifications. The sound on your computer must be turned way up. Just remember to turn it back down afterwards.

The other two chair programs are:
.....Chair Exercises for Seniors - Senior Fitness
.....25 Min Chair Exercises Sitting Down Workout - Seated Exercise for Seniors

Walking. Search for Leslie Sansone beginner walking. She has several. Just try a different one each day until you find the one that best suites your need.

Once you've decided which video's will work for you, you can set them to "Watch Later". There is an option on the left side of the screen and anytime you check the "watch later" button on a video it will appear there. You can go into that category and organize your choices. For example, I like to do the Stretchin' video early in the morning so I've moved it to the top of the list.

Hope that helps. Good Luck.

TickleAnn

I've found a bunch of great videos by searching on "low-impact". Maybe that's what you need? The best of luck!

mylittlerainbow

I went searching for "exercise" and "seniors" and found this thread. It's very discouraging when you go to a video and it says, "If a little old lady can do 10 reps of this, it isn't good enough for you." I am almost 72 myself and do what I can. I found many of the videos above - Leslie Sansone and also Jenny McClendon's channel for beginners and seniors. But it's hard to know what (and how much) we should do as we age when we read through the posts on this message board. I would hope this renews this thread and I can hear from more of you.

zebasschick

it seems like the issue in the first post isn't from being a senior - it's from having injuries and needing to work around them. that can happen at literally any age. i had injuries in my 40s that i've had to find workarounds for every since (i'm 63).

HeidiCooksSupper

There are a gazillion youtube videos of exercises, both seated and standing, for seniors. Just add the word seniors to your search and they will pop up.

Theoldguy1

HeidiCooksSupper wrote: »

There are a gazillion youtube videos of exercises, both seated and standing, for seniors. Just add the word seniors to your search and they will pop up.

With that said, probably should keep away from seated exercises as much as possible. A senior wants to maintain/build balance and core stability. Sitting takes most of that benefit away from the exercise.

Obviously if one can't exercise standing seated is better than none.

CeeBeeSlim

Here is one I do with my mom. It has a seated senior and a standing one.

https://youtu.be/OgqVzTWNWCs

rheddmobile

As far as planks are concerned, the same modifications used for pushups will work for planks - try “planking” against a higher surface such as a chair seat, a counter, or even a wall. Move downward as you become stronger. Stairs are also a good way of gradually working your way down an incline.

AnnPT77

mylittlerainbow wrote: »

I went searching for "exercise" and "seniors" and found this thread. It's very discouraging when you go to a video and it says, "If a little old lady can do 10 reps of this, it isn't good enough for you." I am almost 72 myself and do what I can. I found many of the videos above - Leslie Sansone and also Jenny McClendon's channel for beginners and seniors. But it's hard to know what (and how much) we should do as we age when we read through the posts on this message board. I would hope this renews this thread and I can hear from more of you.

This may not be what you were looking for, but I'm going to rant a little.

Any exercise a senior wants to do, and is able to do, is "exercise for seniors".

I think you may be referring to what I sometimes characterize as a "tyranny of low expectations" for seniors, when you're talking about stuff like "If a little old lady can . . . it's too easy.". I've had 30 year olds look me in the face in our mutual spin class, and tell me they need to take spin class now, "before they get too old". Say what, baby girl? 😆

Those of us who've been on earth for a while are, as individual humans, not much different from anyone else: We have a set of personal capabilities, and possibly some constraints or limitations. We work within that framework, and carefully, experimentally figure out what we're capable of. We can surprise ourselves.

There are young people with disabilities or other limitations (psychological or physical), and they adjust for them. There are octogenarians who compete in triathlons (sometimes even Iron Man distances). (Check these people: https://www.rickrickman.com/gallery.html?gallery=The+Wonder+Years&folio=Portfolio&vimeoUserID=&vimeoAlbumID=#/1)

I'm 64 now. I wasn't routinely active until my mid-40s, after stage III cancer & its full-bore treatment. I already had some arthritis, some connective tissue problems, and whatnot. And I was class 1 obese, and stayed obese for another decade plus, even while becoming routinely quite active, even competing in races (rowing), not always unsucessfully.

I'm far from a physical marvel now, but until the pandemic I was taking classes at my Y and rowing (on-water) alongside people decades younger (and holding my own, outworking some of them), as well as people 20+ years older (and sometimes being outworked by them). (That, too, was true even when I was obese, even though some people think obese people can't be remotely fit. That's a myth, too.) It's not age per se, it's not bodyweight per se, it's all individual.

If you have specific questions, ask them. But, based on my best reading of what you wrote here so far, I'd say we can do whatever we turn out to be able to do, all of us, any age.

If you know you have injuries or physical limitations, ask your doctor for guidelines (but don't automatically freak out if s/he has bought into that "low expectations" idea - if so, consult a trainer who's a senior working with senior athletes, or someone like that).

Then just start doing new things, starting slowly, building up gradually. This is exactly what I'd tell a younger person trying to make fitness improvements, BTW. You'll find any concerns or limitations before disaster strikes, if you sneak up toward them slowly. Start with things that seem easy and achievable, then just keep improving, and don't let anyone tell you that you can't do X purely because of age. That's silly nonsense. If you accidentally slip over into a problem area, seek a physical therapist, a trainer, an osteopath, a massage therapist, or whatever and put things back together; then go on, with a new awareness of your personal boundaries.

There's ample research showing that with the appropriate exercise stimulus, seniors can gain muscle, improve balance, increase cardiovascular fitness, and more, even quite late in life, even with super limited exercise history.

Speaking here only for myself, as I've aged, I find that I de-train a little faster when I take a break from working out, and it takes a little longer than it used to to rebuild. Seemingly, I can still develop capabilities to do pretty much anything I put my mind to (mindful of true physical limitations/pre-existing injuries, just as a young person would need to do).

It may take me a little longer to get there, and I'm a little more careful to avoid injury (because of that self-knowledge about the cost of de-training). I'm less resilient to cumulative physical stress than when I was much younger, i.e., if I'm going to do a truly challenging workout, I don't want to underfuel and precede it with a night of poor sleep, deep-fried onion rings, and craft beer, because that's trouble waiting to happen). I need to plan recovery into my workout schedule more thoughtfully than when I was much younger, for similar reasons.

I'm not saying those things will apply to you, either. That's just what I see in myself.

Here's what I've been doing lately, as maintenance mode exercise (after a period of moping and inactivity due to my rowing club being closed due to the pandemic): I'm doing a moderate steady-state rowing machine workout 6 days a week, and strength training (in an idiosyncratic way) with dumbbells 3 days a week (every other day). The rowing machine bits have been 20-50 minutes, usually topping out around 70% heart rate reserve because I'm mostly interested in aerobic base right now.

Before the pandemic, my routine for over a decade was about an hour of on-water rowing 4 days a week in season, and 2 other days of a regular all-ages spin class at my Y. In Winter, I usually do a 200km rowing maching challenge between US Thanksgiving and Christmas (200km total, around 40 minutes x 6 days a week, depending on the year) plus the spin classes, then backing off to a lighter rowing machine schedule, the spin classes, and some random other stuff: Weight training, maybe a little swimming, etc. In Spring, when weather permits, back to the on-water/spin schedule.

So, repeating myself: Start with trying something, anything, that sounds/feels manageable, whether officially "for seniors" or not. If and as that goes well, increase the challenge a little, and keep going. Rinse and repeat. Don't let people convince you that an older age is in and of itself a disability. It isn't. At most, it shifts our odds around a little.

Do you have specific questions about whether certain exercise modes can work for you? Do you have known issues you feel a need to work around? Do you have questions about what other seniors here do, or have developed a capability to do while already a senior? If so, please post, I'm sure you'll get replies.

P.S. Sorry, that was a rant, and a long one. The "low expectations for seniors" thing just sets me off, I'm afraid. 🙄😆

kshama2001

Not sure if she is back to the gym yet after her recent health issues, but inspirational octogenarian Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been serious about strength training for over 20 years. I do a modified version of her workout at home (I add some and drop some, have a bench, and a set of dumbbells from 3 - 25 pounds.)

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/20/ruth-bader-ginsburg-bodyweight-strength-training-exercises.html

https://www.amazon.com/RBG-Workout-How-Stays-Strong/dp/1328919129/

I'm not a beginner, but found several programs supposedly suitable for beginners actually weren't. I'd purchased "Strong Curves" and "Strong" and also found all the flipping around extremely annoying. I settled on RBG's little workout book a few years back and am very happy with it.

tnh2o

I'm a fan of Jessica Smith workout DVD's (She also is on youtube). I can't imagine going to an exercise class-there's no pause button! Plus I don't do well in groups.
I am not a talented athlete and have health issues too but I'm still able to do a whole lot of stuff: swim, hike, backpack, kayak, and bike. And none of it at a level that would or should impress anybody. (Although I know seniors who do that stuff at a level that is impressive) The triathlon days are behind me as is skiing.
The only thing I have going for me is endurance, I'm definitely a tortoise and not a hare.
About 10 years ago I had gotten rather inactive. I dropped something on the floor and it was a struggle to get back up after I retrieved it. To do that today is no problem.
I'm all about functionality and enjoying what I can for as long as I can.

sgt1372

I'm a SENIOR; 70 in 1 month.

Don't believe in any program supposedly designed just for seniors. Everyone is different, based on age, sex, genetics, strength, prior training and medical/physical condition.

So, each program should be targeted specifically 2 the person involved andnot just to some arbitrary group.

catmama256

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