Fun Exercises for Seniors

Physical activity, through the health benefits it provides, can reduce many of the fall risks and other challenges facing seniors. According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), exercise should focus on endurance, strength, balance and flexibility. Exercise for seniors should be fun and coordinated with activities that ideally help the senior complete everyday tasks such as dressing or bathing.

Endurance

• Endurance exercises increase breathing and heart rate. A simple endurance exercise for seniors is walking. To make the walk fun, go geocaching--a treasure hunting game using a GPS. The goal of the walk is to find the treasure, known as a "cache." Geocaching.com lists all caches available in an area, and the website Handicaching.com provides accessibility reviews relevant to senior wheelchair users.

Strength

• Small improvements in muscle strength can improve a senior's ability to stay independent. With decreased muscle strength, even getting out of a chair can be difficult. The "reverse musical chairs" game improves leg strength and is fun played with a group of seniors. Each senior should sit on the front edge of a sturdy, armless chair with his or her feet flat on the floor, shoulder-width apart, and arms extended so they are parallel to the floor. Start the music, and when the caller says "stop," the music stops and each senior slowly stands up and then slowly sits back down. Emphasize that speed is not the goal, but rather slow and controlled movements. Repeat 10 to15 times, giving different seniors a chance to be the caller. Rest and then repeat an additional 10 to 15 times.

Balance

• Balance exercises aid in fall prevention by improving a senior's ability to recover her balance when she walks on uneven surfaces. The Wii Balance Board looks much like a home weight scale, and according to a 2010 article in "Gait and Posture" is very efficient at assessing balance. In 2009, the University of Nebraska began a study to assess the Wii Balance Board's ability to improve balance in Alzheimer's patients. "Wii Balance Board Tetris" is a game that has the senior shift her weight left, right, forward and back to move the falling Tetris blocks. Seniors with poor balance should hold on to a support when playing Wii Tetris until balance improves.

Flexibility

• The "Wall of Fortune" game increases flexibility in the arms, chest and shoulders. Create "Fortunes" on folded pieces of paper and tack them to the wall at varying heights. The fortunes should be amusing and over the top, such as "You will receive the Nobel Peace prize for finally getting your children to stop fighting." Have the senior stand slightly more than arm's length from the wall with feet shoulder-width apart. He should lean forward and put his palms flat on the wall, and while keeping his back straight,"walk" his hands up the wall until his arms are as high as they can comfortably go. Have him hold his arms overhead for 10-30 seconds and then walk his hands back down. A spotter should stay nearby in case he loses his balance. The senior should do the exercise three to five times, finally receiving the highest fortune he could reach in all his attempts. The goal of the exercise is to reach higher as they progress, so the better fortunes should be higher on the wall. Have a senior writing group create the fortunes for added amusement.