A few simple exercises here to help you if you’re a bit older and having trouble with your mobility, courtesy of the Royal Voluntary Service. If this isn’t for you, maybe you have an older relative who would benefit from these exercises, or perhaps even a neighbour. You’d be doing them a favour if you showed them these short videos.
First, the sit-to-stand, for people who have trouble getting up out of a chair:
Next, a simple marching exercise to get the circulation flowing, and a foot flexor exercise to help with your ankle flexibility so that you’re safer when you’re walking and you’re less likely to trip over:
Now a little exercise to get you using your shoulders, chest and upper back. And there’s an exercise to help you if you spend long periods sitting, with your hands in front and perhaps slouched over a bit. Unless you do something to counteract this, you could end up with a rounded back and unable to stand erect easily:
PLEASE NOTE
If these exercises seem ridiculously basic to you, that’s because they are. Older people have quite often lost a lot of their former mobility, agility and strength. They need simple exercises that can help them regain what’s been lost.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that these exercises are for old cronies. Age comes to us all, and we’re all going in the same direction, getting steadily older one day at a time. Twenty years from now you’ll be amazed how much youthful vigour you’ve lost (unless you’ve been very careful to exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet … and maybe even then).
There may well come a time when you depend on exercises such as these to help cope with your limitations. Please show respect to your elders, always. They were young once, just as you will be older one day. Remember, we’re all in this together!
This one is a hip and thigh strengthener, which will help you with your balance and getting in and out of a car. You’ll need a resistance band for this exercise, or if you haven’t got one you could use a large towel:
A simple arm curl exercise next, and for this you’d really need an exercise band, although you might manage by using a towel. Obviously, if you find this exercise very easy after a week or two, you can use a stronger band, or start the exercise by holding the band lower:
Please be aware that if you have any specific medical conditions you really should speak to your doctor before undertaking any exercise routine. If you do this, and you exercise common sense when doing the exercises, you should find they are really helpful in building up your strength a little. And even a little increase in strength can mean your daily chores become a lot easier and less troublesome.
