Staying active is key to aging well, and it's especially important for seniors to keep moving to maintain their health and vitality. Constant movement is essential, notes Karen B., national director of life enrichment at The Goodman Group, because physical activity helps maintain heart health. Exercise also helps with weight control and protects your arteries from damage caused by high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar.

As we age, it’s natural that our activity levels might change, and recovery times may take a bit longer. While some seniors may prefer to avoid strenuous activities like hiking, biking, or playing tennis, at-home exercise offers a convenient and gentle alternative that can be just as effective in promoting heart health.

“The goal is moving bodies,” says Karen. “We’re not training for a marathon.” Each person does as much as they can to stay strong and resilient.

Aerobics, Resistance, Stretching 

According to Johns Hopkins, there are three types of exercise that help keep heart muscle strong. All three are important because they benefit the body in different ways, and all three include gentle, low-impact activities. 

1. Aerobic exercise boosts circulation and helps strengthen your heart’s pumping action. Gentle examples include:

• Walking (briskly, if you can)
• Swimming (buoyancy lessens the impact on bones and joints while moving against the water provides resistance)
• Cycling (step machines and elliptical trainers are low-impact)

2. Resistance training builds muscle strength and helps reduce fat. Hand weights, dumbbells, and resistance bands are gentle but effective exercise tools.
3. Stretching. Stretching increases flexibility so individuals can perform aerobic and resistance exercises safely and gain maximum benefit from their efforts. Stretching also helps alleviate cramping and joint pain–especially arthritis pain–because it helps improve joint lubrication.

Both stretching and aerobic activities help reduce the possibility of repetitive injury. Tai chi and yoga are both low-impact stretching activities that also improve balance and strength.

FIT Functional Fitness®

The way we spend our days shapes our quality of life, which is why the life enrichment teams at communities managed by The Goodman Group take a holistic approach to activities and fitness programming. It’s not about just “doing activities,” she says, but helping residents fill their days with meaning and purpose. 

FIT Functional Fitness® is a customized program focused on enhancing or preserving core strength while promoting overall well-being for residents.

This program emphasizes key aspects of functional fitness, including:

• Core stability
• Balance
• Flexibility
• Cardiovascular fitness

By engaging in FIT Functional Fitness®, residents can help mitigate potential physical changes and contribute to the prevention or management of age-related conditions and injuries, all within a fun and engaging group environment.

Programs include:

• FIT Yoga™
• FIT to be Strong®
• FIT to Balance®
• FIT to Stretch® 
• FIT to Pedal®

These programs are so popular with residents that communities often have to schedule multiple sessions to accommodate everyone. Some independent and assisted living communities managed by The Goodman Group have swimming pools, so residents can participate in onsite water-related exercise programs as well.

Make Movement a Priority

If you or a loved one are considering a move to a senior living community, functional fitness and life enrichment programming are some important factors to consider. The right environment actively encourages residents to keep moving in all the ways they can, on their own and bolstered by the camaraderie of resident neighbors.