Ways to be Physically Active No Matter Your Age
Lauren Gallant, March 24nd 2021
While remaining physically active is important regardless of how old you are, it becomes especially crucial as you get older. Building a foundation of exercise and regular physical activity at a young age can be helpful to remaining active for life, but it is never too late to improve your physical health.
Lifetime sports are low-impact activities that do not involve physical contact with other individuals. Additionally, you can continue the mastery of the skill as you age! These sports include:
1. Swimming
Exercise in the water does not put as much strain on your body. However, it still provides natural resistance to build and maintain muscles that are not used in many other workouts.
2. Tennis
Tennis is great for both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. It builds leg muscle and improves coordination, agility, and balance. You do not need to play at a highly competitive level, just find a friend and hit the ball around.
3. Cycling
Whether you are outdoors or indoors on a stationary bike, cycling puts little stress on the body and won’t wear down your cartilage and ligaments. It strengthens your core and the lower muscles of your body. Additionally, cycling is a great cardiovascular workout that will improve lung and heart function.
4. Rowing/Kayaking/Canoeing
You don’t need to be on a crew team to reap the benefits of rowing! Kayaking around a local body of water or using the rowing machine in a gym uses all the big muscle groups (core, back, arms and legs). This activity can be done solo or with a friend and is a great way to get outside.
5. Golf
While the physical action of swinging a golf club may not be physically demanding, walking 18 holes on a golf course is equivalent to almost 5 miles of walking!
Other lifetime sports include but are not limited to – badminton, frisbee, bocce ball, yoga, cross country skiing and pickleball.
There are so many benefits to staying physically active throughout your lifetime. There is no age where you should stop being active, and it is never too late to get started! Engaging in some type of lifetime sport or physical activity is known to decrease the risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as improve mental health, decrease the risk of falling, improve cognitive function, and help adults maintain strong social ties throughout their life. There is always something you can do! How will you maintain your physical health?
Transformer Lauren 🙂
The Transform Lifestyle Medicine Alliance Team
Transformer – Lauren Gallant
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39