73 years old. Haven't exercised in a long time.

It's best to start small and simple. Walk around the block, or down your sidewalk for shorter distances if a block is too much to start... figure out what level of exercise you can handle. Swimming is a great low-impact exercise and there are often classes at the YMCA or even senior centers. Slowly work your way up while keeping a close watch on how you feel while you exercise. If you have problems breathing or experience pain, take it down a notch. Best of luck to you as you start to exercise!

Good luck on your endeavor......I am 72 and am trying to get exercise and proper diet under control....it's difficult...but I am hanging in there.....!

I live in a town with a high proportion of retired people. There's only one gym in town, and lots of people my age (59) and older go there. I see them on all the machines: treadmills, ellipticals, circuit machines for various muscle groups, rowers, bicycles. You can see some are new or recovering from surgery or injury, and they take it slow. Others have been at it a while and do vigorous routines. They all seem to do well starting slow and steadily pushing themselves. Lots of gyms are free with Medicare, and have classes suitable for all ages.

I'm 73 also. Find yoga works great most of the time. Use Bowflex (increased resistance easier on joints-most machines do that) twice a week. Start ridiculously low and work up. Took 4-6 months to get to where I thought I was REALLY working out.

I have health issues that make exercise difficult but I have been trying to find ways to exercise anyway and with great results. I started on a recumbent stationary bike that I got for around $150 shipped on Amazon.com. At first, I could only do a few minutes. By the time I got to 45 min, I was getting bored. I checked the community centers in my area and found "Chair Volleyball" for seniors that goes on for 2 hours twice a week. It's great fun and a lot of upper body stretching plus standing up/sitting down as we rotate through servers. The socializing and laughs are good for my health, too. I also took water aerobics classes this summer and was able to do pretty well in "senior" classes. Check your local community or senior centers and find out what they offer in the way of exercise classes and maybe you even have Chair Volleyball there.

Best of luck on finding your thing that gets you moving. The more I push to keep moving, the better I feel and you will start feeling some benefits almost immediately. Staying on the stationary bike 15 minutes instead of five was an early victory for me -- I can't believe that it was less than two years ago when I could only do 5 minutes. I feel so much better for it, mind and body!

Walking is an excellent place to start. Biking is good as well, although if you have not done it for a while you might want to look into a 3 wheel bike to avoid balance issues.

I started with walking 3 years ago, and its very good, I've managed to get up to 20k steps in a day when on vacation, but it needs more.

Food control is the primary way to pose weight, but strength and flexibility is also required.

I'm 68 - have not been in a gym for 35 years. I've been doing weight and machine workouts 3 times a week for almost 3 months. I have a very competent trainer who can push my limits without damage. I'm lucky to be at a gym with a lot of people older than me, so I'm not inhibited. Some guys there are moving from workout to workout with a cane and need help changing weights, but they can lift like crazy.

I've got rid of a torn rotator cuff that I'd had for a year. If I fall, I can now get up from the ground without something to pull on. My posture is 75% better. My waist has dropped 6".

This is a site dedicated to the senior citizen that you might find helpful.

http://eldergym.com/exercises-for-the-elderly.html

Here is their link that lists all the exercises for various body parts. Just click on the exercise and it will give you a video on how to perform them.

http://eldergym.com/exercises.html