Building regular exercise into later life

Written by Darlène Mazeau , Wellbeing Manager at Wallacea Living

According to The Centre For Ageing Better, physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for poor health and disability in later life. Additionally, research from the British Heart Foundation has linked keeping active in later life with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis and even better brain function. Both highlight the significance of physical activity, including exercise, in promoting a healthy and high-quality life for older individuals, emphasising its role in preventing diseases and improving overall wellbeing.

At Wallacea Living, we firmly believe that your later years should be your best years, and, instead of slowing down as we age, we should be spending more time doing the things we really love.

We know that as we age, our body undergoes many changes, but keeping active can help to delay, or avoid, some common health problems. It can facilitate recovery from injury and slows, or even improves, the progress of certain health conditions. The truth is, being physically and regularly active has many benefits for older adults. It improves mental health and helps to regulate mood, through the production of endorphins – the feel-good hormones – which act as a stress reliever and leave you feeling happy.

Exercise improves your quality of life and wellbeing, including emotional, psychological and social engagement, and helps to create a sense of purpose through the uptake of new hobbies and interests, which can in turn increase confidence and self-esteem.?

Being physically active goes a long way to improving our abilities and fitness, which is crucial for maintaining independence as we age. Regular exercise increases mobility, strengthens bones and muscles, and improves flexibility, balance and coordination, which has a direct impact on reducing the risk of falling and injury – two of the most common causes of hospital admission amongst older people.

Exercise enhances cognitive function, reducing the risk of dementia and other cognitive disorders, as well as reducing the risk of noncommunicable diseases including heart disease, stroke and diabetes by improving overall immune function. This is because the body becomes more efficient at getting oxygen into the bloodstream and transporting it when exercising. It also helps the body’s immune system cells (white blood cells) to circulate more rapidly, allowing them to detect illnesses earlier.?

Moreover, by being physically active you can greatly improve sleep quality, which is proven to reduce the likelihood of poor mental health conditions, including anxiety, stress and general fatigue. Regular exercise helps to improve rest quality and duration, and by boosting deep sleep cycles your body releases growth hormones to improve recovery by repairing tissue, bones and muscles.

There’s no denying there are endless benefits to taking regular exercise, so how do you build this successfully and safely into your later years?

1. Take it gradually

Absolutely key to being safe and successful when introducing an exercise routine is to build gradually on your current fitness level. Steady progress is the best approach to avoid injury and be sure to go at your own pace. Remember, doing an activity, no matter how intense or short, is better than doing none at all.

2. Warm up before exercising

To prepare your body and muscles for exercise, you should take at least five minutes to warm up, with the intensity increasing slowly. This will help to reduce the risk of injuries and enable you to get the maximum benefit from your exercise. Warming-up helps to build a routine around exercise and should include stretches to prepare the muscles, movement to prepare your heart for the intensity of the exercise, and activity to prepare your mind for what’s ahead.?

3. Choose the right type of exercise

It’s important to consider what would work best for your body when choosing your physical activity and remember that if you enjoy doing it, you are much more likely to stick at it. Start with what you’re comfortable doing.

If you have a specific health condition, it’s important to discuss your physical activity plan with your doctor or health expert.

Staying active during the colder months can be hard, so a combination of both indoor and outdoor exercises is a good idea. As an ideal combination, choose an aerobic activity (an endurance exercise such as walking, jogging, dancing, swimming or cycling), alongside a muscle-strengthening activity (such as lifting weights, using resistance bands, doing body-weight exercising), as well as an activity to help maintain flexibility and balance (including yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, or other stretching or balance exercises).

According to the World Health Organisation, the recommended amount of aerobic exercise for adults over 65 years is 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic exercise weekly, which could be 30 minutes, five times a week, or 1 hour 15 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. You should also do strength training at least twice a week, and work on balance and flexibility every day.

4. Regularity

Put simply, taking exercise on a regular basis is one of the most important tools to help maintain or improve your health, and it can prevent many more serious health problems. As I’ve outlined previously, it helps to strengthen the body and maintain muscle growth and balance, so you can still accomplish daily activities without becoming dependent on others.

Write up an exercise schedule, detailing what type of activity you intend to do and when – this will help you stick to your plan and achieve the desired results.

5. Listen to your body

Remember that everyone’s body is different, and therefore everyone’s capabilities will be different. Moreover, your body will change over time, so be kind to yourself and go at your own pace.

If you feel an unusual feeling in your body, it isn’t necessarily a bad sign, however if you feel pain or have trouble breathing, feel light-headed, dizzy or nauseous, stop immediately and seek medical advice.

6. Cool down afterwards

In the same way that the warm-up is crucial, so too is the cool down moment where you allow your body to return to normal, lowering the heart rate and blood pressure. Taking five minutes to gently stretch afterwards will reduce muscle soreness and stiffness, and doing so while the muscles are still warm will help to improve flexibility. The cool down should be a moment of relaxation and reflection, where you can be proud of what you have accomplished and take a moment to yourself before you continue with your day.

Exercising regularly is fun and, even if you find it hard to return to exercise after a long absence, you will soon enjoy the progress as your fitness and mobility levels improve.

At Wallacea Living, we are here to support homeowners with their exercise plans, whether that includes yoga, Zumba, lifting weights, cycling or something entirely different. Within our debut community, we will have a dedicated gym with state-of-the-art equipment, a fantastic pool and an in-house personal trainer. In addition, our location in central London means there are many beautiful parks and great walks close by. Our on-site team of dedicated health and wellbeing experts are here to help build regular exercise into our owners’ daily lives, enabling them to stay fit, healthy and independent for longer, so that they can have the time of their later lives.

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