If you’ve made it into your 80s, congratulations! You’ve seen and done a lot and are probably convinced by now that the world has gone completely crazy!
From a clinical perspective, health considerations in these years become critical—and frankly, why wouldn’t you want to do all you can to maintain your health? You didn’t come this far only to suffer from weakness and a lower quality of life.
Over my years of working with the over-80 population, I’ve found five exercises that are almost universally effective for my clients.
Although doing these exercises on your own is fine, I highly recommend forming a group of your peers or family to join you. Socialization is a critical part of human nature and is an endangered health aspect in many older people. Group exercise can ensure consistent performance and open new avenues for socialization. Social isolation can harm your health—so gather your friends and team up to do the following exercises.
My patients generally tolerate these exercises well. However, conferring with your medical provider is always good to see if they are right for you.
5 Exercises for Your 80s and Beyond
1. Standing Toe Touches
Standing toe touches are a great exercise for all age groups, especially in later years. They stretch your lower back and strengthen your leg muscles. Standing toe touches also introduce a solid balance component because of the forward bending movements.This exercise works best when you take 1 to 2 seconds to touch your toes and 1 to 2 seconds to return to standing. You can alternate sides or do all the repetitions on one side before moving to the other.
Step 1: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms straight out to your sides.
Step 2: Bend forward and touch your left toes with your right hand. Try to keep your back straight without hunching over.
Step 3: Once you touch your toes, return to standing and repeat the movement with the left hand.
Touching your toes with one hand and returning to standing counts as 1 repetition.
Try to perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions.
Modification: You can modify this exercise by doing it while sitting. Remember to keep your back straight and control your speed of movement.
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2. Backward Walking
One of the most surprising weaknesses in the older population is their ability to step backward. Standing and walking forward may be done well and with ease, but taking a step backward—as in stepping away from a counter or table—can cause an abrupt loss of balance that can easily lead to a fall. As with many things, practice makes perfect, and I recommend backward walking for anyone in the upper half of old age.Be very careful and take your time when performing this exercise. The tendency to speed up as the exercise continues can lead to falls. Pay attention to safety the entire time, and avoid distractions.
Step 1: Stand upright with your arms by your sides.
Step 2: Slowly take a step backward with your right foot, then with your left foot. Take smaller steps at first, and feel free to increase step size as you grow more comfortable with balance.
Perform this exercise for approximately 2 minutes per set for a total of 3 sets.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
3. Standing Marches
Standing marches—also known as marching in place—straddle the border of being challenging and accessible. They are easy to perform for most people and work well in the clinic. At the same time, they can be strenuous enough to provide a real workout for nearly anybody.Step 1: Stand with your arms by your sides and your feet shoulder-width apart.
Step 2: Raise your right leg, knee bent, until your right hip and knee are both at 90 degrees of flexion. Take about 1 to 2 seconds to raise your leg. Once you reach 90 degrees of flexion, lower your leg back to the ground and raise your left leg.
Raising and then lowering your leg counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 20 repetitions per leg and 3 total sets.
You can perform this exercise alternating legs or with one leg first and then the other. Also, feel free to experiment with the number of sets and counts to make the exercise the most beneficial for you.
Modification: You can modify this exercise by performing it in a seated position, raising your knees as high as you can.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
4. Chair Squats
I love chair squats for the 80-plus population. Superbly easy to control, they offer a robust workout for the leg and gluteal muscles and leave you in a stabilized, sitting position after each set. Chair squats are an exercise you can do for the rest of your life.Step 1: Sit at the front of a stable chair. Place both feet on the floor, hip-width apart, with your arms stretched out in front of you.
Step 2: Slowly stand up while bringing your arms to your sides, all in one smooth movement. Take about 1 to 2 seconds to rise.
Step 3: Slowly return to sitting; again, take your time. As you move to sit, extend your arms out in front of you again. Avoid plopping, dropping, or flopping when moving to sitting to keep from stressing your spine.
Standing up and sitting down counts as 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions at first, feeling free to modify sets and repetitions to suit your needs.
Modification: You can modify this exercise by starting standing and limiting how far you squat down with each repetition. You can also situate the chair in front of a table, counter, or other stable surface to stabilize with your hands as needed.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
5. Overhead Side Stretch
This exercise, combined with the standing toe touch, is excellent for spinal flexibility and can also help maintain the strength of your postural muscles.Step 1: Stand with your arms at your sides.
Step 2: Lift your right arm overhead and bend to the left while reaching your left arm straight down toward your left knee. Move slowly to avoid straining your back. Listen to what your body is telling you as you move.
Step 3: Return to standing upright, then lift your left arm overhead and bend to the right while reaching your right arm straight down toward your right knee. Keep your knees straight if you can, and lean straight to the side without bending forward at the hips.
Reaching to one side and returning to standing is 1 repetition. Try to perform 3 sets of 15 repetitions per side. You can either alternate moving to the left and right or perform all movements on one side before moving to the other.
Ceridwen Hunter/The Epoch Times
These exercises combined can help maintain strength and flexibility in your 80s and beyond. I encourage you to add to and modify these exercises to make them the most effective for you, and I encourage you to perform them at least 3 times per week.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here.