We gain wisdom as we age, but we also lose muscle mass and bone density.
This can lead to decreased balance and postural stability, and also to serious injuries following a fall.
Luckily, leisure walking and gentle leg exercise can help keep our senior years golden.
Your body responds naturally to fulfill its daily demands. But as activities become less vigorous, you can quickly lose strength.
If you have been too inactive, your muscles might fail when you need them most. That's why sedentary lifestyles are arguably the greatest health risk for seniors.
According to Health Canada, falls are the most common cause of injury for Canadian seniors who suffer nine times more fall injuries than younger populations.
The Public Health Agency of Canada reports that one in three seniors living in the community and approximately half of those living in institutions experience a serious fall each year. And the repercussions can be significant, as falls cause more than 95 per cent of hip fractures among seniors and 50 per cent of those individuals never regain their pre-fracture hip functioning.
Even without an injury, a fall can lead to shaken confidence and reduced activity.
But this should be avoided because maintaining mobility and stability really is a case of use it or lose it.
First and foremost, maintaining a baseline of physical demand on our bodies, especially the legs, is needed to retain mobility.
This could simply mean taking walks on quiet streets, treadmills, nature trails, in shopping malls, and at indoor or outdoor running tracks. But walking alone likely will not be enough to provide the challenge your leg muscles need to retain postural stability.
For that, you will require regular performance of at least moderately strenuous strength exercises.
To start, try these daily chair movements:
Chair Squats Stand facing away from the seat of a sturdy chair. In a controlled motion, sit in the chair and then stand back up while breathing steadily. Work toward not using your arms for support and not resting in the seat.
Start with a few repetitions and progress to 10 performed twice per day.
Chair Leg Extensions: Sitting upright in a supportive chair, slowly straighten one leg and hold it horizontal before lowering it back down.
Work toward holding for 10 seconds while breathing normally. Start with a few repetitions and progress to 10 performed three times per day.
Chair Hamstring Curls: Holding firmly to the back of a chair, stand tall with your eyes forward and bend one knee so your heel rises as far up toward your lower back as is comfortable.
Start with a few repetitions and progress to 10 performed three times per day.
If needed, the difficulty of either of the last two exercises can be gently increased with the addition of light ankle weights.
Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer. 604-420-7800 karpfitness.com
