Reduce Risk of a Heart Attack or Stroke with Senior Fitness

Recently there has been a rise of interest in Senior Fitness, and there is a good reason for it.

Exercise and nutrition go hand in hand in building strong bones, muscles and immune system. Together they help in lowering high blood pressure and blood-clots in arteries. Since we have done a number of blogs on nutrition, we would like to talk about exercise as well. Exercises increase bone flexibility and have an effect of reducing depression due to the fact that endorphins are produced in the body during exercising.

There are many ways of measuring the success of fitness. For example it can be measured in BMI (body mass index), blood pressure and heart rate during exercise. However, we often do not realize that some of the fitness activities that we do, cannot be measured, and some of those activities, we do not even recognize as a work out. Fitness is carrying a bag of groceries up a flight of stairs without your heart bursting into a million pieces. Fitness is falling down those stairs and not having to wear a body cast for the next six weeks because your bone density is excellent. Fitness is the ability to hold yourself up straight and tall without the aid of a steel bar in your spine.

Most of us have engaged in a fitness program at one time or another, but gave up the moment we started. One of the most common reasons for not continuing with the fitness program is simple: it just doesn't fit our lifestyles. A good fitness program is one that you will continue for the rest of your life. It's not something you do for a couple of months to lose a few pounds, and spot eventually. It's something that you do because it makes you feel good. It's something that you do because it is fun and you want to do it. Finding the right fitness program and making it a lifestyle is something that is accomplished in baby steps. It just doesn't happen overnight.

The first step on the road to successful fitness is to talk to your doctor about your physical limitations, if you have any. Then do your homework and find out what programs are available in your area. Check the local community centers, senior centers, which have a wide variety of fitness programs. Also, if you have elderly home care company, ask them to provide a specially trained home health aid or certified nursing assistant, who would be able to develop a special fitness routine. If you don’t like the first or the second thing that you’ve tried, our advice is not to stop. Keep trying different programs until you find the right fit. In time you will develop the ideal fitness program for you. The one that you want to continue on a daily basis, the program that doesn't make you feel like you are in boot camp.