Senior Floor Mobility Exercises

The holiday season often involves engaging in physical activities with family, especially when children are part of the celebration. To ensure a confident and comfortable experience, Harry King, an 81-year-old certified personal trainer with Planet Fitness, emphasizes the importance of preparing for the physical demands of holiday festivities.

Strengthening various muscle groups, improving mobility, and incorporating flexibility exercises are crucial for navigating activities like getting up and down from the floor. King suggests five recommended moves for holiday strength training for seniors:

1. Wall Sits: Wall sits target the quads, essential for movements like standing up from a chair or the floor. Starting with your back against a wall, slowly lower your body, aiming for a 90-degree angle at the knees and hips. Hold for 30 seconds initially, gradually increasing to one or two minutes.
2. Lunges: Mimicking the motion of getting up and down, lunges engage the quads, glutes, and lower back. Beginners can start on hands and knees with assistance, gradually progressing to standing lunges.
3. Dynamic Stretches for Hips, Glutes, and Hamstrings: Lower-body dynamic stretches enhance flexibility, joint range of motion, and overall mobility. These controlled, repetitive movements improve blood circulation, reduce stiffness, and contribute to balance and coordination.
4. Upper Body Strength with Push-Ups: Strengthening the upper body is essential for assistance in getting up from the floor or a chair. King recommends push-ups and tricep push-ups, starting with wall presses and progressing to countertop, chair, and eventually floor exercises.
5. Planks: Core strength is vital for balance and stability. Planks strengthen the stabilizer muscles around the spine. Progress from wall planks to floor planks as strength increases.

King emphasizes the importance of starting at one’s current fitness level and gradually progressing. Regardless of age, it’s never too late to begin an exercise program. By incorporating these exercises, seniors can enhance muscle strength, improve bone density, and confidently participate in holiday activities, creating a gift of physical resilience and empowerment.

_{Repurposed article originally published in Well + Good}