Summer Fitness for Older Adults

The Summer Olympics kick off on July 26, as the world’s best athletes gather in Paris to compete for gold medals.

As you root on Team USA, perhaps you can draw inspiration from them as you think about your own fitness goals, or the goals of a loved one.

For older adults, gathering with friends for various activities can be rewarding. While pole vaulting and wrestling might not be ideal at this stage in life, there are still plenty of options to have fun, engage in friendly competition, and stay active with others.

Activity examples include:

• Beanbag baseball/ corn-hole

• Bocce

• Mini golf

• Frisbee golf

• Croquet

• Badminton

• Horseshoes

• Fly swatter tennis (using fly swatters to hit a balloon back and forth)

• Pickleball

• Ladder Ball

Staying active and engaging in these activities is vital to health and longevity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes per week of physical activity for older adults. While that number may seem daunting, it breaks down to 30 minutes, five days a week.

Working Out with Others

No matter your age, starting a new fitness program is always easier if you have a partner. Whether it’s a spouse, family member, friend or just new people at a gym, exercising with a partner or partners, helps build accountability. After all, it’s harder to quit if you know it will impact someone else. Having a partner also gives you someone to celebrate triumphs with, and you can help each other through challenges.

Also, working out with others is great for an older adult’s social life. Loneliness and isolation are all too common for older adults, but if you’re able to get out and get moving with others, it builds friendships and camaraderie. And hey, maybe you can carry on a conversation after the workout at Starbucks or at lunch!

Fitness and Cognitive Health

In addition to all the physical benefits, exercise can also help you maintain your cognitive health.

A growing body of research is overwhelmingly showing that physical fitness has a strong correlation to cognitive health.

According to the New York Times, “Active people who are middle-aged or older also tend to perform better on tests of memory and thinking skills than people of the same age who rarely exercise, and are nearly half as likely eventually to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Almost as heartening, active people who do develop dementia usually show their first symptoms years later than inactive people do.”

This article is courtesy of Prestige Assisted Living at Visalia. To learn more about their wellness programming or community, or to book a tour, visit prestigecare.com/Visalia or call (559) 735-0828.