The recommended exercise time for seniors everyday is 2-3 hours. That’s 2-3 hours every single day, 14-21 hours a week, in order to get fit—and yes, there should be no cheating on time! That’s only the time spent on a chosen exercise however, your exercising need not end just there since there are some ways to still improve your routines and get the most out of your exercises!
• Alternate routines. You need to do moderate cardio exercises such as jogging or brisk walking 2 hours everyday. To enhance your daily exercise routine, why not do resistance training twice a week in addition to your daily cardio stint? This way you’ll also train your muscles on top of burning calories which is by the way, a very effective combination.
• Do variations. Cardio exercises don’t necessarily mean you should jog all your might along trails every single day. You can also do cardio training using an elliptical or a stationary bike if you think it is not safe for you to go outside or you simply don’t have the time.
• Take advantage of your energy spurts. Energy spurts are packets of energy which can be felt when doing a repetitively slow, monotonous movement such as walking. Put your energy spurts to work by increasing intensity when you feel like it then going back to low intensity when it’s gone.
• Go for free weights. While it is recommended for beginners to use machines since they are supportive and has less chances of getting your injured, free weights such as dumbbells and barbells allow natural movement of the body, thus training your body the way nature intend it to be.
• Train the body in alternates. Not the “split routine” mind you as it doesn’t work for everybody. I’m talking about alternating between upper body and lower body with each workout session. Of course, you do this under a professional trainer’s supervision.
• Get proper warm up and cool down times. It is important that your body is made prepared before doing exercises and giving it time to recover afterwards. The whole idea behind these things is to just give time for your body to adjust to the activity that you’re about to do which of course, lessen the possibility of an injury.
• Train with a buddy. Training is fun when you do it with a buddy. Shared experiences like this not only strengthen the bond between friends but also strengthen your body. It can’t get better than that.
• Walk your way. Walking is still the best and easiest form of exercise plus it will save you a couple of pennies. Walk around your neighborhood, instead of driving.
