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As an exercise physiologist at a hospital-based
health club, I have the unique opportunity to observe the exercise
habits of hundreds of senior citizens. Over the years, I have noticed
that many people seem to make the same mistakes. Here’s five of the
most common.
#1 – No Variety I have talked to many people who have been doing the exact same exercises at the same intensity for years. We are all creatures of habit, and certainly it is mentally easier to do the same exercises all the time, but this lack of variety is really a bad idea. After you do an exercise for a while, your body adapts to it. That is how you get in better shape. However, after the body adapts to a certain exercise at a certain intensity, if you keep doing the same thing day in and day out, your body has no incentive to keep improving. Meanwhile, as you do the same motions over and over again, you set yourself up for repetitive motion injuries like tendonitis. To avoid this, all you have to do is change your workout routine slightly every couple months. You can do new machines, new exercises, or new classes. Or you can do the same exercises and machines but for a different amount of time or reps. You can also do the same exercises in a different order. Either way, every couple of months something has to change. #2 – Inconsistency To see real health benefits, you need to be exercising three to five times a week every week. It is very easy to come up with an excuse not to exercise one day. Maybe the weather isn’t right, or you have an appointment, or you have to run errands. Next thing you know, a week has gone by, and you haven’t exercised. If you usually exercise at 10 a.m., and you have an appointment at 10, then obviously you can’t exercise at that time. How about exercising in the afternoon? Don’t write off the whole day because you can’t work out at the time you usually do. If you usually exercise Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and it is snowing on Monday, can you exercise on Tuesday instead? If you get back home from vacation on a Tuesday, can you get in a couple days of exercise that week, or do you just decide to start up again the following Monday? It only takes a couple weeks without exercise for your body’s fitness levels to begin declining. And then when you resume exercise, everything suddenly seems really difficult. The longer you go without exercise, the harder it is both mentally and physically to get back on the wagon, so to speak. The best thing to do is to not fall off the wagon in the first place, not even for a few days. But if you do fall off, you better get back on as soon as possible, because it’s only going to be that much harder next week or next month or next year.  Senior Fitness Mistakes - Part 2 Senior Exercise back to Balance Exercises for Seniors page go to Senior Fitness Articles Click here to order
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