Leg exercises for seniors enable you to maintain the muscle mass in your legs, which account for roughly a third of your body weight. Choosing the right active routines for older adults helps keep your metabolism strong.
Are you getting the exercise you need to stay active and healthy in your older age? According to the CDC, seniors need about 150 minutes of light aerobic exercise per week. But how does that impact senior strength building and more intense exercises?
Hillsborough, NC, is the perfect city to spend your golden years in. It’s flush with historic charm, stunning natural beauty, and a thriving arts scene. Whether you’re here for the museums or the award-winning restaurants, there’s always something waiting for you here.
If you’re interested in metabolism and aging, we’re here to help. Read on to learn more about building movement in assisted living and how you can keep your metabolism strong.
What Is Your Metabolism?
Your metabolism is a measure of how well your body converts food to energy, to oversimplify. According to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB), metabolism is a series of biochemical reactions that occur when you eat food.
But that’s a bit too complex, isn’t it? The simple version is that metabolism is the process of us eating food and then getting energy. You are what you eat, after all.
What Decides Our Metabolism
People don’t all have the same metabolism. You may have known someone in your youth who could eat thousands of calories without ever putting on a pound.
As we age, our metabolism slows and loses efficiency. These changes affect us all differently, and can have impacts from:
- Our age
- Our gender
- Our nationality and ethnicity
- Our dietary history
- Our medical history
Reduced physical activity also plays a large role. Hormonal shifts and some dietary disabilities will cause changes to your metabolism as well. Keeping a healthy and wholesome diet will help your metabolism stay strong.
In short, your metabolism is the process that your body undergoes to convert food to energy. Your metabolism slows as you age due to a variety of factors that are sometimes out of your control.
What You Can Do
One factor that is within your control is your exercise and muscle mass. Keeping your body in the best shape will help your metabolism stay strong.
Of these muscles, arguably the most important is your leg muscles. Your legs house some of the largest muscles in your body, which means that strengthening them has a larger net gain than your arms or core. According to MIKOLO, just one of your legs generally accounts for about 18% of your body weight!
That’s all to say that building leg muscle is the most effective way to keep more muscle on your body. The more muscle on your body, the more your metabolism works to feed those muscles.
Senior Strength Building: Leg Exercises for Seniors
Now that we know what we can do to help our metabolism, how do we do it? Here are some of the best leg exercises for building muscle.
But first: Keep in mind what amenities your community offers. These amenities may include health and fitness equipment that helps you on your road to good health.
Standing Heel Raises
Also called Calf Raises, standing heel raises are an easy exercise for anyone who’s comfortable standing. If you’re concerned with balance issues, though, just do these near a wall or a handrail!
For these muscles, you’ll raise yourself up on your toes as high as you comfortably can. Once there, hold the position for a second or two before lowering it. Repeat for as many reps as is necessary.
Seated Marches
Did you know that one in every four Americans aged 65 or older falls every year? According to the National Council on Aging, the tally reaches more than 14 million annual falls.
One great way to make sure you don’t add to that number is by doing your exercises seated. Seated exercises aren’t less effective, but they are much safer. These exercises let you do your workout from the comfort of your chair.
One of our favorites is the seated march. For this exercise, sit toward the edge of the chair with your back upright and straightened.
Begin to lift your legs as if you were marching in place. While it feels simple — and perhaps even slightly silly — it’s an excellent workout for your hips, legs, and abs. It’ll also build your stability to keep you further away from possible falls!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Exercise in Assisted Living?
Yes, the vast majority of assisted living communities will allow you to exercise. In fact, most will encourage you to! The health benefits are simply too important to overlook.
That said, it’s important to focus on safety above all else. A fall can become a medical emergency.
Is It Safe to Exercise Alone?
Some exercises are safe to do alone, but you shouldn’t get used to this.
If you’re exercising alone, it’s important to focus on exercises that you’ve already mastered. Otherwise, you might make mistakes that nobody is around to catch. As a result, you’ll find yourself practicing incorrectly, ingraining bad habits into your mind without realizing it.
More dangerous is that nobody is there to help if there’s a medical emergency, injury, or fall.That can make it much worse, especially for senior strength-building exercises.
When doing leg exercises for seniors, it’s also effective to look for community programs. These programs often include classes.
Understanding Lower-Body Strength for Seniors
Finding the right leg exercises for seniors means understanding why we need muscle mass. Your favorite exercises will increase your muscle mass, improve your stability, and keep your metabolism steady.
Here at TerraBella Hillsborough, we know that it takes more than a gym session to make your day shine. Our community is near the Eno River and Occoneechee Mountain, as well as dozens of other beautiful attractions to help fill your days with beauty. Contact us today to see your new home.
