‘Use it or Lose it’ Home Exercise for Seniors

Maintaining power, strength, balance and mobility

You probably know that staying strong and functional into your 60s, 70s and beyond means you will have a much greater chance of continuing to do the activities and pastimes that you enjoy. But it may surprise you to know that the type of training athletes are doing these days is the same sort of training most beneficial to older adults.

Granted, most of us aged over 65 don’t need the stamina or endurance our younger counterparts do when playing their sport, but when it comes to power training the two groups have a lot in common.

We’ve always been aware that aging brings with it a decline in muscle mass and strength. But what is now emerging is that power also declines – at a rate of up to three times faster than strength –  after the age of 60.

Having more power allows an athlete to move faster and more explosively and it therefore follows that muscles becoming less powerful will compromise movements requiring you to move your body at speed against gravity.

For an older person this applies to many normal daily activities. Some examples being:

– Braking quickly when driving

– Stepping back to regain your balance if you stumble

– Lifting loads from a low level to high or vice versa

– Getting in and out of chairs, sofas and cars (especially if the seat is low)

– Climbing stairs and negotiating uneven ground and curbs

The Super Senior Programme is a programme that can be done in the comfort of your own home. It involves six simple exercises that particularly important to older adults; namely power, balance and mobility.

It is available for purchase online and comes with an easy-to-use stretchy band with soft handles (which are kind to arthritic hands) and user guides on how to follow the programme. Taking around 20-30 minutes to complete, older adults will see improvements if they are able to follow the programme 2-3 times a week.

Click here for more information on the programme including a short video.