5 Tips for Making Time to Exercise

Shared blog post from United Zion Retirement Community

Regular exercise improves mood; helps prevents chronic diseases; boost immune function; aids long-term cognitive function; protects against bone loss; decreases pain; maintains strength and range of motion; and reduces risk of injury. The CDC recommends a 150 minutes of moderate endurance activity a week for adults 65 years of age or older. This includes aerobic, stretching and strength-building activities. Even just carving out 15-20 minutes each day to do these activities can keep you healthier and help improve your lifestyle.

Here are 5 ideas to help incorporate exercise into your day:

1. Sign up for a gym: many insurance plans include Silver and Fit or Silver Sneakers, which gets you free memberships to local gyms like the Lititz Rec.
2. Recruit a friend to join you – research shows that having an exercise buddy can help you stick with an exercise routine. It doesn’t have to be complicated, you can just go for a walk or visit a park.
3. Try a new activity – see what your friends are up to and check out a new dance class, yoga class, Aquacise or new sport like Pickleball. Or, take a look at the classes that are offered at your local Senior Center.
4. Take time to stretch – flexibility helps with balance and reduces stiffness. Take 5 minutes in the morning to stretch, maybe with a new yoga pose. Check out some of these stretches.
5. Try some balance exercises – Better balance will decrease your risk of falling. Here are 6 exercises from Silver Sneakers complete with videos.

To learn more about United Zion Retirement Community, see their FindContinuingCare.com listing.