Senior Fitness - The Key to a wonderful Retirement
For a wonderful retirement, the trick is senior fitness. Many Gerontologists, who study physical, mental and social changes in people as they age, say that the common senior is happier and healthier should they maintain a steady physical activity program.
Most seniors understand that aerobic activity is essential for heart health however they neglect the point that even at advanced age strength training is still needed. Along with that, many seniors who do regularly perform aerobic activity don't take time to stretch before each workout resulting in increased injuries.
A fit and active 75 year old can be as strong and athletic being an unfit 35 year old. According to one report, a dynamic person will physically decline by only about �% a year in comparison to a sedimentary person who will decline by almost a full 2%. Simply because we lose 3% - 5% of our muscle tissue every decade, after about our 40th birthday, we are able to still continue steadily to increase muscle strength and speed with regular physical exercise.
Being a fit senior may also enhance your mood. Research has shown that 14% -18% of seniors are depressed. It's been shown that a regular fitness activity can even give near to the same effect as antidepressant medication, minus the negative side-effects.
Even check here of walking can greatly increase your happiness during retirement. In a Honolulu Heart Program study the death rate of men who walked one mile or less was almost twice that of seniors who walked more than two miles each day. Another study conducted between 1990 and 2001 showed that senior's who walked over half an hour each day had few deaths at that time frame than those who did not.
Even if you're currently out of a shape or haven't exercised in years, a custom program could be designed for you by a senior physical fitness expert. Don't try to make up for years of not exercising in a single day. Start slowly and work the right path up, for instance: Begin walking and build your time up 5 minutes each day one week, 10 minutes a day another so on etc, and when you get bored walking start speed walking utilizing the same time frames. Walk, Speed walk, Jog, Run - Don't just start running. Starting quick can injure you as well as ensure it is so you're burned out and no longer want to workout.
Remember you're "only as old as you are feeling" and being truly a fit senior will allow you to feel young.