How To Start Exercising Again After 60 When You’ve Been Inactive For Years

It is understandable to feel apprehensive about beginning an exercise routine after many years of inactivity.

As you get older, you may lose the range of motion in your joints and have less natural balance and coordination.

You might feel nervous about the potential risk of injury and about not being able to meet the demands of the exercise.

You are not too old to begin an exercise routine.

You do not have to be extreme about it and dedicate yourself to daily workouts to gain the benefits of exercise.

If you have not routinely participated in physical activity for a long time, you should gradually work to incorporate activity into your daily lifestyle.

According to the CDC, if you are 65 or older, you should participate in different types of activities that enhance the health of your heart and blood vessels, help you maintain and build your muscle strength, and help you improve your balance.

When you begin, the goal should be to develop a habit of physical activity and to incorporate movement into your day.

Start Smaller Than You Think You Need To

Many people think they have to compensate for decades of inactivity in a few short months. This is not the case.

If you have spent a large part of the last few decades of your life spending a large part of your days being sedentary, it is reasonable to begin by spending a fraction of your day being active. You can begin by moving around your house or by doing chair exercises.

The CDC advises starting from a place of less activity and slowly increasing. Every little bit helps.

An example of this is as follows:

• Monday: 10-minute easy walk
• Tuesday: 5-10 minute mobility work
• Wednesday: 10-minute walk
• Thursday: Rest or easy household activity
• Friday: 10-minute walk with a few chair exercises
• Saturday: Mobility work
• Sunday: Rest or easy walk

Most people are not used to seeing this as a workout, and that’s the point. The focus should be more on developing the behavior.

Forget the Idea That You Are “Too Old”

If you find yourself thinking, “I should have started years ago,” switch your thinking to “what can I do this day?”

The fact of the matter is, if you are thinking about starting to be more active, there are plenty of positive changes that you can and likely will see for yourself.

• Fall risk is reduced.
• Bone density is improved.
• Muscle is maintained

If you are just starting, compare yourself to no one. It is completely okay and normal to not be active for a long time and expect to be very active right away. Fitness should be thought of on an individual basis.

Choose Activities You Actually Enjoy

If you don’t enjoy what you are doing, you aren’t as likely to want to keep doing it. How you are active is completely up to you, as long as you are being active.

Walking is the most popular option on this list, but other activities can work as well. If walking isn’t for you, try:

• Water exercise
• Stationary cycling
• Dancing
• Gardening
• Tai chi
• Gentle yoga
• Light resistance exercise

Build Strength With Simple Exercises

Walking will definitely help, but there are other challenging exercises that will help you in the long run.

Older adults need to challenge their muscles and work them. The CDC recommends muscle-strengthening exercises for adults 65 and over.

When you are first starting, you don’t necessarily need to use heavy weights to strengthen your muscles. Use your body weight or household objects to get a resistance workout.

Beginning with simple exercises like sit-to-stand will challenge your muscles to do everyday tasks.

1. Sit-to-Stand

• Sit on a chair and support yourself by holding the back of the chair (only use your hands and arms for support if you need to).
• Bend your knees and walk your feet out in front of you until your seat is against the chair.
• Engage your abs and lift yourself up until you are sitting up straight.
• Slowly go back down and repeat.
• Try to do 5-10 reps.

Sit-ups are a great way to work your abs from the comfort of a chair.

2. Wall Push-Ups

• Face a wall and place your hands at around chest height.
• Bend your arms and bring your chest to the wall.
• Push yourself back up to the starting position and repeat.

Wall push-ups work the same muscles as traditional push-ups and are great for people who are just starting to work out.

3. Supported Heel Raises

• Stand and place your hands on a sturdy object for support.
• Bend your ankles and come onto the balls of your feet.
• Lower your heels and repeat.

Heel raises are a simple exercise for the lower leg muscles.

Do Not Ignore Mobility and Balance

Stiff joints slow down daily activities.

Strengthening and cardio workouts disregard the full picture. Mobility and balance work should take center stage.

There are a variety of movements to help improve full-body mobility. These include rotations and movements of the ankles, shoulders, trunk, and legs.

Balance is critical for the elderly. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that Elderly people, and especially those with mobility issues, should engage in activities that improve balance and help to prevent falls.

A fall, or lack thereof, is dependent on a number of factors. To improve balance, one simple activity is to support weight shift.

To perform this activity, find a survey council and use it for support. Slowly shift your body weight from one leg to the other. Keep your feet slightly apart and make controlled movements.

To improve your balance and confidence, you should perform other activities of this nature. However, if you are not used to this, do not attempt activities that require you to be on one leg support.

Increase Activity Gradually

You can improve your physical activity by modifying your current activities or adding new ones. Don’t increase the activity load too abruptly. Gradually increase duration and/or frequency.

The same is true with strength training. Start with an appropriate resistance and end by performing the activity.

If an activity becomes too easy, increase the load, or add more repetitions.

No one is going to give you a prize for how quickly you improve your strength or activity endurance. The goal should be improving your activity and strength training endurance.

It is suggested that a week should include at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, as well as the inclusion of muscle and strength-building activities, and exercises to enhance balance.

Persons who are unable to perform these activities due to limiting health conditions or issues should perform as much physical activity as their ability permits.

Make Exercise Easier to Stick With

Motivation can be fleeting. Habits are more reliable.

Try connecting new exercise habits to existing daily or weekly routines.

For example, you could:

• Walk for 10 minutes after eating breakfast.
• Do sit-to-stands while waiting for water to boil.
• Work on your mobility for 10 minutes after watching the news.
• Take a short walk with a friend or relative.
• Always keep your walking/ exercising shoes/ clothes where they will be a regular part of your daily routine.

Walking with a friend or family member is also a good way to incorporate new exercise habits and stick with them. The CDC stated that a good way to make exercise habits more enjoyable is to exercise with family members or friends.

If you need more ideas, see the resources available through this module. Be positive and understand that exercising for 10 minutes is better than not exercising at all.

When Should You Talk to a Healthcare Professional?

Medically, it’s better to check with your health care team before increasing exercise levels, especially if you have significant limitations. They can help you make the best decision for your situation, and recommend safe levels of physical activity.

The CDC suggests that individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities make an individualized activity plan with their health care team. They suggest gradually increasing your activity if you’ve previously been inactive.

Activity plans don’t require a perfect health status to be created. Discussing activity plans with your health care team can help you define safe activities that you can incorporate into your everyday life.

It Is Never Too Late to Start Moving

Exercising begins at the age of 60 to improve the quality of life and overall wellness. There’s no need to overhaul your lifestyle, spend money on gym memberships and equipment, or feel the need to punish your body. You just need to do a bit more than you did the day prior.

Walking a few blocks more than you did yesterday is progress. Working on functional movement and balance is key. It’s better to work on movement by a counter to help you stand and take support to improve balance, rather than doing nothing at all.

The goal is not to regain your youth, but rather to offer your body chances to fortify and uphold your capacity and independence for as long as possible.

There’s no better time to begin taking care of your body than now. You’ll likely succeed more if you aim for reasonable and achievable goals rather than striving to overhaul your body and reshape your lifestyle.