When we think of exercise we may often think of going to some facility such as a community center or a gym. Although if you are not able (or do not want) to go somewhere like that then there is plenty that you can do at home. Even if you don’t have any equipment, just your furniture or even things like water bottles or canned food can be used for your some of the exercises.
I mentioned in my last article how important it is that we do some type of exercises to keep our bones and muscles healthy, especially as we age. This can help prevent many of the expected health issues that we might otherwise face as we grow older. Although I personally do believe that we should not condition ourselves to expect certain things to happen, just because we are getting older. Whatever our individual health condition may be we all already have ways in which we can improve it.
I would like to share some exercises now that you can do in your home. Of course, some of these may not be suitable for you right now, but you can pick and try whichever ones are best for you. Perhaps you will find some of the exercises very easy, in which case you can increase the reputations, slow down the speed of movement (which will make it harder) or add some resistance weights, water bottles or something similar that you have around the house, or resistance bands too.
Arm circles
For the first movement you can start with just slowly circling your arms, trying to keep your elbows straight. Try with as much range of motion as you can, one arm at a time, just circle each arm a few times in one direction and then the same number of times in the reverse direction.
Leg swings
Stand, holding on to something stable such as a table or the wall. Keep standing on one leg with your knee very slightly bent, then start gently swinging the other leg from front to back. Repeat for the other leg.
Side-to-side swing
Face towards a table or wall, and this time swing one leg laterally from side to side. Repeat for the other leg.
Standing calf raises
Hold the back of a chair or a wall and slowly raise up on your toes then lower down again.
Wall press
Stand in front of a wall and press both hands against the wall. The further away from the wall that you stand the harder this will be. Move your upper body towards the wall and push back with your arms.
Chair squat
Sit down on a chair and stand up again without using your hands. Make sure that you keep your chest up, looking straight forward, and try to keep your feet a little further away than normal from the chair — this will push your hips back and help you use the leg muscles more effectively.
Ankle rotations
Sit on a chair, raise one leg and keep the knee slightly bent, then without moving your legs just rotate your ankles. Do first in one direction then repeat the same number of times in the other direction.
Shoulder presses with water bottles or cans
Hold a water bottle or a can in each hand and press your arms all the way up, as straight as possible. Make sure that you control the movement as you come back down.
Biceps curls
Hold a water bottle or a can in each hand, palms facing up, with your arms by your side. Raise your forearms and hands by bending your elbows, but don’t swing your arms.
Lateral raises
Keep your arms at the side, palms facing down. Raise your arms out to the side up to your shoulder level while keeping your elbows slightly bent.
High knees (marching)
Sit on a chair, slightly forward. You can hold the sides of the chair for stability if you need to. Raise up one knee at a time, one after the other, just a few inches off the ground as if you were marching.
If you find this very easy you can do the same movement standing instead of sitting.
Lateral knee raises
Sit on a chair, slightly forward. Again you can hold the sides of the chair for stability if you need to. Raise one knee up and move it outwards then back inwards again. Repeat for the other leg.
Try to perform each exercise for around 10 repetitions, but of course depending on your current physical condition you can increase or decrease the repetitions as needed. Be mindful during the exercises and of course you can always ask your physician before you try. Do your best, and remember that when you keep going it will get easier. Just keep moving.
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Ayda Ersoy is a nutritionist (Dip.C.N., Dip.S.N.); master trainer (CPT ACE, NCSF, CanfitPro); registered yoga teacher; founder, Health Angel Nutrition, Fitness and Wellness; and founder, SMS (Stability, Mobility Strength) Intuitive Training System.
