At Home Exercises For Seniors

Eric Leckie, PT

Published on April 28, 2020 Updated on September 16, 2020

So, you’re stuck indoors and can’t access your local gym, community pool or favourite exercise class? This is a great opportunity to mix up your exercise routine and continue to stay fit and healthy- especially as you continue to age.

Here we go through six exercises that you can complete at home, without any workout equipment so that you can continue to age successfully. Remember to check with your doctor or physical therapist before starting a new exercise routine.

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Chair Squats

As someone starts to age past their 60’s they’ll start to notice that the strength in their thighs and lower body isn’t what it used to be. This can make getting out of cars, off low sitting chairs and even off the floor quite difficult. Choose a high sitting chair from the dining room or kitchen and try out some chair squats to build up lean muscle and strength in the muscles surrounding your legs.

Start by sitting on a chair with your feet spaced out evenly on the ground in front of you. Leaning forward and using the muscles on the front of your thighs and buttocks, stand up from the chair and then slowly lower back down.

Counter Push-Ups

Have you noticed that your upper body strength is starting to decrease? Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean that this can’t be turned around. Head over to your countertop and perform counter top push ups. This will help strengthen the muscles on the back of your arms, as well as the muscles in your chest, making for a great strength training exercise.

Start with your hands braced against the countertop and your feet 2- to 3-feet away from the counter. Slowly lower your body towards the countertop and then press your body back up towards the starting position.

Source: SheKnows

Heel Raises

If you’re someone who would like to walk a little faster to keep up with the grandchildren, be sure to add in some standing heel raises into routine. These are a great exercise to build strength in the calf muscles on the back of your lower leg. These muscles will help put some spring back into your step!

Stand with your feet close together, hold on the wall for support and slowly raise onto your toes and then lower back down.

Marching on the Spot

Worried about tripping and falling? Worry not! Complete some marching on the spot exercises to help train up the muscles on the front of your thighs which are responsible for lifting your feet off the ground while walking. Not only is this exercise great for building strength it is also an excellent cardiovascular exercise helping to burn calories and improve heart health.

Start by making sure there are no tripping hazards on the floor around you. Stand close to a wall for support and then slowly lift one knee as high as you can while maintaining your balance. Switch legs and repeat.

Bridging

The muscles on your back side (buttocks region) work hard when you’re climbing up a flight of stairs or when bending down to lift something up off the floor such as a laundry basket or bag of groceries. Strengthen your backside with adding in bridges into your exercise routine.

If you’re worried about getting down onto the floor, you can perform these on a firm couch or even in bed. Lying flat on your back with your feet firmly on the floor and slowly lift your hips off the floor until perfectly straight and then lower back to the floor.

Soup Curls and Shoulder Press

Maintaining good upper body strength is essential to healthy aging and staying independent. Strengthen your arms and shoulder muscles by grabbing a couple cans of your favourite soup and completing repetitions of a bicep curl and shoulder press combination. Make sure your cans of soup are the same weight and get to it!

Standing with your feet planted shoulder width apart on the floor, start by holding the soup cans by your side and then slowly bring them up to shoulder height and then press them straight above your head towards the ceiling. Lower them back down by your side and repeat.

Exercise is Essential

Whether you’re stuck inside or not, maintaining your strength and endurance is essential for aging successfully. You don’t need any fancy exercise equipment to get a good workout in at home and you’ll be able to complete a strength building and calorie burning workout in 2o-minutes.

We recommend completing the exercises listed above as a circuit whereas, you complete one set of 10 repetitions of each exercise in order and rest for 2-minutes at the very end. Complete this circuit two time to complete your “at home” workout.

Eric Leckie, PT

Eric Leckie is a men's health Physiotherapist specializing in prostate cancer treatment. He completed his studies in Australia earning his Doctor of Physiotherapy from the University of Melbourne. He currently works in a private practice, in addition to owning his own Telehealth Physiotherapy clinic which focuses on treating men with prostate cancer.