Most of you fellow Confident Living members want to stay active as you age. However, as you reach further into your senior years, your body may need more care and maintenance to avoid injury. 

Stay Active As You Age

Keep Moving to Stay Active

Movement as medicine is a core belief for staying active as you age. Basically, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. If you want to stay active and mobile, you need to move as much as possible. However, it’s common for individuals in the 50-plus community to move less due to things like arthritis that can make movement painful. 

Fortunately, research has shown that activities like running and walking can actually prevent arthritis in the knees. Consistent movement like walking can build up your strength around certain joints, helping you maintain endurance as you age. Additionally, if you walk or run outside, you’ll get both exercise and vitamin D, which is beneficial to your immune system.

Eat a Healthy Diet

What you eat also affects your ability to stay active and mobile. If you aren’t keeping your body and bones healthy, it’s going to make it pretty hard to exercise. Foods like spinach, kale, arugula, and other leafy greens are great for your bones. Combine those with fresh fruits, fish, and nuts to help your bones stay strong as you age. 

Stay Balanced

Balance is one of the first things to deteriorate as you get older, and it is a critical factor in preventing falls and injury. Falls and slips due to bad balance can lead to bumps, bruises, and broken bones. These types of injuries are typically more difficult to heal from as you get older. But if you keep exercising with the intent of strengthening important muscles to maintain balance, you can improve it far into your senior years.

Focus on Your Core

A strong core will benefit you at any age, but especially in your senior years. Strong abs, hips, and glutes help you in daily activities like standing, sitting, staying upright, and preventing pain. Working on your core strength will help you feel stronger and usually more confident. A great way to start strengthening your core is to do Pilates. This type of exercise is especially good for people over 50 because it’s low impact and easy on joints.

Educate Yourself

It’s true that knowledge is power and the more you know about staying active and mobile as you age the more likely you will be to ensure it happens. It’s true that your joints may start hurting and you may have balance issues that make exercise a chore, but the more you do it, the less likely you’ll be to have those issues.

Now that you’ve gotten in the right mindset for healthier living, how about keeping the positivity going? Download our eBook on how to Improve Your Fitness Over 60!

Confident Living is a continuing care at home membership program, focused on helping you remain active and independent as you age in your own home. We serve the greater Cincinnati area. For more information, contact us online or call (513) 719-3522.