Senior Health & Fitness Exercise Safety Tips

Series Summary

Staying fit is important for people of every age. For seniors, it can be especially important during rehabilitation after strokes, heart attacks, falls and other injuries. Active seniors worldwide have begun to exercise daily to improve their mobility and fitness level. Exercising for seniors targets specific muscle groups and needs to involve cardiac and mobility safety. Benefits of fitness include lower chances of injury, improved mood and health, and lower chances of chronic disease.

In this series of video clips, you will get expert advice on senior fitness. Get tips on keeping the exercises simple and safe. Squats are safer when supported by balls and chest presses are made safer by performing them while seated. Other seated exercises include the seated row, and the seated quadriceps extension. Standing exercises such as the standing knee lift can be done with or without steadying support. Strengthen your arms with a bicep curl, lateral raises, and a tri-cep extension. Challenge yourself with a standing adductor lift with an opposing arm lift and many other senior exercises in these video clips.

Video Transcript

"Hi my name is Ricki Butler and I’m an exercise professional. I’ve been in the fitness industry for the past 10 and a half years. I’m certified through AFA and AAAI. I am a personal trainer, group fitness coordinator and a group fitness instructor. On behalf of ExpertVillage.com today I will be demonstrating exercises for senior adults. Before I begin, let me just go over a little bit of safety here. Before training senior adult you must completely screen them. You must know the health risks that they have, what medications they’re taking and how these can affect their exercise program. Once you’ve gotten this information, you can develop an adequate fitness program for that person. Keep in mind that circuit training with high reps and low weights are the most effective for senior adults. You must also incorporate balance and flexibility in their exercise program, this is important for them so that they don’t injure themselves. With that being said, keep in mind that seniors are individuals, so they’re not all the same, one senior may be able to do something another senior can’t. For the most part, seniors can do exercises that everyone else can do, just at a lower intensity level. With that being said, we’re going to go ahead and get started. "