At Home Exercises for Seniors

Recently the California Governor has asked for senior citizens to stay at home because of the coronavirus. During this time it is important to maintain wellness. Here Dr. Zak Owens of Accident and Sports Injury Clinic in Roseville, CA is going to show some easy exercises that can be done by seniors while staying at home.

1. Sit to stand squats-Sitting to standing squats are a great exercise to do. It has the benefits of doing squats but allows for the opportunity to take needed rests. While doing these exercises the goal is to not use either hands to push up on your legs. This will allow you to strengthen the muscles of your legs. If you need to you can use one arm to help with balance or make sure to use the wall to help. Another helpful tip is that if you are having difficulty doing these squats you can try doing them from a higher chair. These sitting to standing squats are a great exercise for senior citizens.

2. Single leg drop-This is an eccentric exercise for the abdominal muscles. It is the opposite of doing single leg raises. For this exercise lay on your back, bring your knee towards your chest, straighten your leg up as high as you can, and then slowly lower the leg to the ground. The slower you go the more it will help strengthen your abs.

3. Tricep dips-triceps dips are a great body exercise to help strengthen the triceps. The nice thing about dips is that there are different ways to modify it so seniors can strengthen their triceps. If you want to make this exercise easier keep your feet close to where your arms are at and use a higher surface like a kitchen counter. Doing this will allow you to use your legs more to help your triceps work. If you want to make it more difficult you can use a lower surface like a couch and put your legs as far away as possible. That will allow for more weight to be put on the triceps.

4. Cat Camel stretch and Quadruped tract-These are a great stretch and exercise that I think should be used together. The cat camel stretch does a great job at allowing mobility in the lower back by stretching the lower back in extension and flexion. The quadruped tract is a great core exercise. It can be done with just lifting up a single arm or a single leg. If you would like to make it a little harder you can do opposite arm and leg at the same time. This is a great exercise to be done when having lower back pain.

5. Aerobic exercises at home-Aerobic exercise is so important to help keep your heart strong and healthy. Some great aerobic exercises for seniors are walking and riding a bike. A recumbent exercise bike is a great investment. It allows for comfort while exercising and can put in a place where you can watch TV or even read a book. You can also just get just the exercise bike pedals only or pedal exerciser which are very affordable and don't take up a lot of space. Another great option is going for walks. Even if you are stuck at home you can still walk around the house. You can also walk around the yard which will help you do aerobic exercises. Walking is a great exercise for anyone especially seniors.

​There are a lot of exercises that you can do. If you have questions make sure to comment and we will answer them. We hope to see you soon as chiropractic care is beneficial for seniors.