11 Best Stretching Exercises For Seniors To Avoid Accidents

11 Best Stretching Exercises For Seniors To Avoid Accidents

Growing older means less flexibility and more body aches. But we have selected the 11 best stretching exercises for seniors to stay fit. And these stretches will help you to avoid accidents during your workout.

Aging is undoubtedly never a welcome stage. But you can enjoy it by staying healthy. For elderly people, like you, experience loosening of muscles that may lead to injuries. By adopting stretching exercises, you can avoid many of these injuries.  

What Are Stretching Exercises?

Stretching is a type of exercise in which any tension in joints, muscles, or tendons is released. In this exercise, you deliberately stretch your muscles to improve their elasticity and flexibility.

If you spend 10-15 mins stretching each day, you can revive your youth. Your vitality and strength can be similar to be that as in your early ’30s.

Is Stretching Good For The Seniors?

The most challenging time of your life is aging. When you grow older, many hormonal changes take place that reduce the natural elasticity in your muscles. So, if you want to keep yourself fit, you work out.

There are times when accidents due to less flexibility in muscles can happen. Stretching is one of the best, and recommended exercises for seniors.

Mobility is a major issue that seniors can suffer from. Proper maintenance of your diet and exercises can help you to stay strong, healthy, and fit.

Trust me when I say that stretching is a heavenly gift for seniors. Let’s check out further benefits of stretching exercises for seniors.

Benefits Of Stretching Exercises

• Stretching can help you in improving the elasticity that you are losing.
• You can easily maintain your muscle movement.
• It can help delay some of the chronic diseases such as diabetes, and arthritis.
• Many of you experience a loss of balance that may lead to falling during your workouts. Stretching helps you to avoid such injuries and accidents.
• It helps to improve your mental health.
• Stretching helps you to relieve your depression and anxiety.
• You can improve the symptoms of insomnia.

Aging Impacts On Your Life

Aging may impact your whole body, but your muscles are the most affected area since your mobility is associated with these. You tend to lose the elasticity between the connective tissue of your bones. This can restrict your movement.

Undoubtedly, stretching exercises will bring a wonderful change in your life. Its benefits are proven among golden-agers. You can improve your body flexibility. Blood circulation is also improved.

The main goal of all the stretching exercises is not to burn you out, but gently bring life to your joints, muscles, and tendons.

How To Use These Stretching Exercises?

Are you ready for this beautiful journey to a healthy life? If yes, then you need to look at some crucial elements before starting any of these 11 stretching exercises.

There are no hard and fast rules for you to pick all the exercises. You can choose anyone, or more than one – if it suits you. Stretching exercises are becoming as popular as Tesla because you can customize them with your specific routine.

Check out these wonderful and incredible bunch of stretches.

Before using any of these stretches, it is important for you to identify your most problematic areas.

As you are well aware, your lower body parts are responsible for your mobility. Your calves, hips, hamstrings, pelvic muscles, and quadriceps are important areas to keep flexible.

It does not mean that your upper body does not require any stretching… these limbs are also important for mobility.  Complete fitness is important for your whole body.

Best Stretching Times For golden-Agers

The experts have outlined two categories for seniors. One group is of the people who already workout. And the other is the seniors who do not participate in any physical activity.

If you are among the active elderly adults who perform their workout daily in routine then the best time for you to do stretches is at the end of your workout. This is the time when your muscles are quite loose and warm up.

You can perform your stretches before your routine exercises, but if you wait until after your exercises, you will maximize the benefits of stretching.

The other group of people who do not workout at all can do stretching at any time of the day. However, it is recommended for them to stretch in the mornings or find. a time in the evenings for maximizing benefits of stretching.

Important To Remember Before Beginning Stretching

You have to warm up a little before starting exercise. Plus you need to pay attention to your breathing throughout your exercise. It may happen that you forget to focus on your breathing so, keep the focus on your breathing in and out.

11 Best Stretching Exercises For Seniors To prevent Accidents

1. Standing Quadriceps
2. Knee To Chest Seated
3. Soleus Stretch
4. Hamstring Stretch
5. Shoulder Stretch
6. Overhead Side Stretch
7. Tricep Stretch
8. Lunge In A Chair Advanced
9. Standing Hip Flexor
10. Butterfly Stretch
11. Cobra Pose

Standing Quadriceps

• Before starting this exercise, make sure that you have warmed up by jogging or walking.
• You need to hold a chair or the back of a sofa for support. Now you have to balance standing on one leg.
• With your left hand grab the chair. Now bend your right knee. Grab your leg by your right hand, and delicately pull your foot to your bottom.
• Stay in this position for 10-30 seconds.
• After this let your leg come back, and repeat with the other leg.

Knee To Chest Seated

This exercise is a must for seniors. It improves the muscles in the lower body from knees to chest. You can improve your mobility in your knees and hips.

• The first step of this stretching exercise is to warm up your body by light walking or jogging.
• All you need is to sit in your chair and relax. Try to grab your right knee and pull it towards your chest.
• The moment where you feel the stretching, hold this position for 10-30 seconds.
• Now take your leg down. Do this exercise with your other leg.

 

Soleus Stretch

This is another simple but very effective stretching exercise that improves your muscles.

• You have to stand up while facing a wall.
• Then place your right foot in front of your left and place your both hands on the wall for your support.
• When you are comfortable in your position, then slowly bend your knees slowly. When you feel a stretch then hold this position for 10-30secs.
• Repeat this exercise with the other knee.

Hamstring Stretch

Through this stretch, you will target your lower back and legs. It plays a crucial role for seniors to release the tension in their muscles.

• Sit on a firm surface like a floor.
• Then take out one leg on the surface.
• Now lean forward by holding your breath and try to touch your knees, ankle, or foot.
• You need to be cautious while doing this exercise. Do not get hyper tense in stretching.
• Hold this position of stretching for 10-30 secs.

Shoulder Stretch

This is another amazing but simple stretching for seniors. Through this stretching exercise, you can relax your tense shoulder muscles.

• For performing this exercise, you sit or stand up.
• Hold your arm with your opposite hand.
• Try to pull it across your chest until you feel the stretch.
• Now stay at this stretching position for 10-30seconds.

Overhead Side Stretch

This is super fantastic for the seniors like you who want to relax their abdomen, back, and shoulder muscles.

• You can sit or stand right up as you are comfortable with.
• Now stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and move your arms upward over your head.
• Here you need to keep your torso long, and then lean to the left gradually.
• Hold this state of stretching for 10-30 seconds.
• Swap the sides.

Tricep Stretch

This is a stretching exercise for the upper part of the body. By this stretching, you can improve your shoulder muscles flexibility.

• For this marvelous stretching exercise, you need to stand tall. And put your feet at your hips width.
• Now raise both arms over your head. And then bend your right arm in this way so that it is placed behind your head.
• Then keep your left hand on your right elbow.
• Now gently try to pull your elbow towards your back.
• Stop at the position where you feel stretched. Hold this position for 15-35 seconds.

Butterfly Stretch For Seniors To Prevent Accidents

Butterfly stretching is a simple seated hip opening exercise. It strengthens your hip muscles.

• For performing this stretching exercise, you need to sit on a flat surface. Your soles need to be pressed into each other.
• For a good stretch, you need to move your feet closer to your hips.
• Then root down into your legs and bones through which you are sitting.
• Try to keep your spine straightened up.
• Move your chin towards your chest.
• While breathing in, try to lengthen your spine and feel the energy traveling through the top of your head.
• While taking out a breath, fall heavy onto the floor.
• Relax and sink yourself into your may forget your stretching.

Cobra Stretch

Aging may cause back pain… shoulder stiffness. The Cobra stretch helps you to alleviate your back and shoulder muscle pain.

• First, you need to keep your legs together.
• Then try to press the floor with the tops of your feet. While inhaling try to uplift your chest slowly from the floor.
• Now try to squeeze your shoulder bones together to the downside but away from ears.
• Try to put your elbows pointed directly to the back.

Lunge In A Chair ( Advanced)

Undoubtedly, this is an advanced exercise. You have to look at your body’s capability. I is not an essential stretch, but it surely helps to improve your hip muscles which improve your mobility too.

• Put two chairs about three feet apart facing the same direction. Now hold these chairs.
• Then stand a few feet in front of the chair that is behind you.
• Next, you need to place your shin on these chairs.
• Try to reach with your knee to the past end edge of the chair with your foot that is hanging over the back of it.
• Next, try to bend your front knee gradually while pushing your hips forward and backward.
• Try to hold this position for 15-40 seconds.

Standing Hip Flexor ( Advanced)

Standing hip flexor is an ultimate stretching exercise for golden agers. It releases tension from the hip muscles.

• Stand with your feet facing the back of the chair that you need to hold.
• Remember that you need to maintain a sufficient distance from the chair so that you can lift your leg.
• Keep one leg straight and try to lift the other leg towards your chest.
• Do this by bending your knee.
• Try to hold this position for 20-30 seconds.

Conclusion

There is no exaggerating saying that stretching can ensure healthy living among seniors. A perfect diet with an appropriate workout is essential for you as you grow older. It’s no more a dream to live a life as active, thrilled, and full of zeal and zest. Mobility and flexibility make you restricted.

But stretching can help you to relax your tightened muscles. These help you to delay the onset of diseases. You can proceed to improve mental health. So, the purpose behind stretching is to give your muscles a new life. These will help you to avoid accidents or injuries in your daily life.