The 4 Types of Fitness Seniors Need

It’s pretty typical for people to focus entirely on a single form of fitness, like 10,000 steps a day. But there are actually four types of exercise, and it’s important to prioritize all of them for the most balanced approach to fitness. Not only do they offer their own unique benefits, they also improve your ability to perform the others. Today, the experts at Framework Personal Training here in Reno are sharing the four types of fitness seniors need.

Endurance Training

Endurance or aerobic fitness, like jogging, yard work, dancing, biking, tennis, and swimming, is the kind of activity that increases your heart rate and breathing. It’s an essential form of fitness because it improves heart, lung, and circulatory health. There’s all sorts of evidence proving the health benefits of endurance training including the delay or prevention of diseases that are common in older adults, including diabetes, certain types of cancer, and heart disease.

Strength Training

This is a personal favorite here at Framework, where we specialize in fitness over 40. Strength training is the type of exercise performed to improve strength. It involves some type of resistance, like weights, bands, or even body weight, to keep your muscles strong. In seniors, this type of exercise makes day-to-day activities easier and helps them maintain independence. Plus, strong legs and hips reduce the chances of falls. But resistance training isn’t just about improving muscular strength alone. It also increases bone density. As we age, our bones begin losing mass, making them frail and more susceptible to injury. Regular strength training can help keep our bones strong.

For many people, especially seniors, the challenge with strength training is simply getting started. A certified personal trainer, like those here at Framework in Reno, can create a routine that will safely challenge you to improve your fitness as a whole. Get started right here!

Balance Training

Falls are a serious concern in our later years, which makes exercises that help improve balance so important. Fortunately, strength training exercises that focus on your lower half will help improve balance.

Flexibility Training

Gentle stretches can help improve y0ur flexibility, which makes it easier to perform daily tasks and keeps your joints lubricated. You can incorporate flexibility training into your other workouts with warm-up and cool-down stretches before endurance or strength workouts.

Getting Started

If you’re not getting all four types of fitness and that’s something you want to change, a certified personal trainer is a great place to begin. Look for someone who specializes in fitness for seniors. In Reno, you’ll find them here at Framework Personal Training. Our trainers can create an appropriate fitness plan for you that ensures you’ll benefit from all four types of fitness.  Contact us today for a free estimate, and let’s discuss how consistent fitness can improve your health now and into the future.