23 Jan Five great fitness ideas for senior citizens

If you are old enough to remember working out when Jane Fonda helped usher in the golden age of fitness, leg warmers were all the rage and Jazzercise classes popped up everywhere, chances are that you’re now a senior citizen or approaching that age.
Hopefully fitness is not a forgotten memory for you now.
People should keep moving as much as they can for as long as they can, but need to be smart about how they exercise at each stage of life.
The Baby Boomer generation needs exercise more than ever to keep muscles from stiffening and weakening. Exercise can also be a great way for people of all ages to feel better about themselves and fight off depression or anxiety.
Here are five fitness tips for senior citizens.
1. Explore the great outdoors – While your body might not tolerate running anymore, try to walk and-or bike as much as you can. Do it by yourself, with a family member or friend, or in groups.
2. Create a home gym – From the simple to fitness-club quality, setting up a home gym will help you exercise in the convenience of your own home. Go into a fitness store to compare prices and get a big-ticket item such as a treadmill or elliptical machine. You can also find smalelr items there, or may even find great buys at garage sales.
3. Research fitness – G to the library, book store or drug store to find books and magazines about fitness that can give you good tips. Read the Internet to, but beware of the source.
4. Find exercise DVDs – If you don’t have the time or money to join workout groups, find exercise DVDs and work out along with them. It’s a great way to find motivation and also watch someone else to make sure you’re doing the exercises correctly.
5. Change it up – Some people tell me “exercise is boring.” I ask them right away, “Do you change up what you’re doing and try to be creative?” Most often they reply, “Well, actually no.” If you add some variety, exercising should become more fun.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com