Being physically active contributes to healthy aging. Regular activity can help prevent or control many of the health problems—high blood pressure, depression, obesity, diabetes—that reduce the quality and length of life for older adults. Strength training can provide relief from arthritis pain, improve balance, strengthen bones, and reduce blood glucose levels. Sounds impressive, doesn’t it? But 75 percent of the older population isn’t active enough to realize the benefits of exercise.

Exercise doesn’t have to be running a marathon or lifting twice your weight. Daily physical activity that includes walking, muscle-challenging activity, and stretching can keep you on a healthy path. “By integrating simple exercises into your daily activities you’ll be more likely to start exercising and continue exercising,” says Debra Parrott, physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist at UI Hospitals and Clinics.

No matter what your age, regular strength training builds up more than just muscles, it builds a healthier body. Adults 65 and older should strength-train two to three times a week, doing more reps with lighter weights. Strength exercises increase your metabolism, which helps to keep your weight and blood sugar at healthy levels.

Stretching exercises give you more freedom of movement, which will allow you to be more active. Endurance exercises—walking, jogging, swimming, biking, even raking leaves—increase your heart rate and breathing. Build up your endurance gradually. Start with as little as five minutes of endurance activities at a time and work up to 30 minutes.

Help, I’ve fallen
Fear of falling is a common concern among the elderly. Some think that by restricting their activity they protect themselves and reduce their risk of falling. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Continued activity and exercise can maintain and improve balance.

“If you want to do something well, you practice,” says Peggy Saehler, UI Hospitals and Clinics physical therapist. “The same is true of improving your balance. You have to practice to be good. Improving your strength and flexibility will reduce falls.” Balance exercises build leg muscles which help prevent falls. Tai Chi, balance and gait training, and strength building can help build a steadier you.

Strength and flexibility exercises

Use them or lose them
It was once thought that changes to muscles, bones, and joints were inevitable. But researchers now suspect that at least half of the changes to bones and muscles are because they are not used often enough.

Muscles
As you age, your body is slower replacing muscle. It starts about age 30 and by age 70 you have about 20 percent less muscle than you did. Your muscles become more rigid and less flexible. But don’t give up. Improved muscle function can be achieved through a regular regime of physical activity.

Bones
Bone replacement also slows with aging. Your back bone becomes less dense, your spinal column can become curved and compressed, and you may notice that you’re shorter. Loss of bone density is a problem for women during and after menopause. Exercise and good nutrition, including calcium and vitamin D, can help slow bone loss.

Joints
Age takes its toll on your joints as they become stiff and less flexible. The fluid to lubricate your joints and the blood supply to cartilage is reduced, leading to disintegration. Knee and hip joints may be the first place you notice the change. Don’t feel alone, most people over the age of 60 experience joint pain on some level—from minor stiffness to severe arthritis.