If you’re an elderly person who has retired, what can you do with 30 minutes of your day? Watch a classic TV sitcom? Complete a crossword puzzle? Try out a new recipe? These are all worthwhile suggestions for passing the time, but here’s another idea to fill a spare half-hour: exercise.
Your physical abilities might have diminished from your middle age years, but it doesn’t need to be hard exercise. A leisurely walk, cycle or swim allows you to get a highly beneficial form of exercise without leaving you gasping for air afterwards. Studies show that obtaining 30 minutes of exercise five days a week can be just as beneficial to an elderly person’s life expectancy as giving up smoking, which we all know is a major step in the right direction.
Exercise doesn’t just help you physically, either. Over time, you’ll genuinely enjoy going for your 30-minute walk, swim or cycle and warming up or cooling off with some handy stretching and balance routines. You’ll feel a lot happier and you’ll have a renewed vigour for other aspects of your lifestyle.
You’ll also experience a welcome self-confidence boost and you may even be the envy of peers who see you merrily describing your day while sporting healthy features!
The below infographic from Home Care Plus (http://www.homecareplus.ie/) outlines an ideal exercise plan for older people and offers encouraging pointers on how to take up (and, crucially, stick with) your 2.5 hours of moderate weekly exercise.
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