To summarize:
If you want to stay active, doing so indoors with a simpler, low-impact workout can help long into retirement age. You can start at whatever fitness level you are already at, and enjoy short, frequent walks that can help your long-term mobility. What do these entail, however, and what should you be tracking?
Below, we outline precisely how an indoor walking workout can benefit you and what you will need to do to make the most of it. Learn to track minutes or steps, adjust your efforts, and assess your exertion with a simple test.
By the end, you should be ready to start the indoor walking workout and get the most out of your time in Peoria, Illinois.
Indoor walking is a powerful exercise method that can have several benefits, including:
The exercise is even said to be able to ease pain, potentially helping with chronic issues in some.
Speak with the staff at our community to learn about the various routes you can take. If you plan to start this regimen, be sure to plan for rest stops so that you can take a break if needed.
Thirty minutes of walking at a comfortable, yet brisk, pace can quickly increase the body's breathing rate and your heart's beats per minute (bpm). Increasing both of these is a key part of improving one's stamina, making it a perfect exercise for those who may not spend a lot of time moving otherwise.
You can even split this 30-minute block up if you prefer to do some in the morning and some in the evening. A commonly recommended goal is to aim for around 150 minutes of exercise per week. However, you can try to reach this in any order you wish.
Your time spent warming up and cooling down should not count toward your key exercise, but rather should be in addition to it. As such, aim for:
When you first start, you don't need to hit the fifteen-minute mark. However, try to conserve enough energy to move around lightly and cool down. Doing this will prevent cramps and other injuries.
Adding two days of muscle-strengthening and balance practice can help with steadier walking. It will make you less likely to fall and make safety the center of your exercise efforts.
For more information on how to do this, speak with a Dimensions senior-centered fitness instructor and pick up some exercises you can do at home yourself.
Those in Assisted Living and Memory Care may require additional support to utilize this form of exercise effectively. In all cases, staff will be available to either offer instructions and prompts or provide physical assistance with more challenging sections of any walking route.
They can also ensure that a resident has a source of hydration and that they don't forget to use it.
Staff at Heartis Peoria organize daily events and activities for residents to take part in and enjoy. As such, there are plenty of opportunities to engage in other forms of exercise beyond a daily indoor walk. Many of these involve movement and could act as a key part of a robust and well-rounded exercise regimen.
As long as the total time spent exercising reaches around 30 minutes of moderate effort per day, you are doing enough, according to several groups, including the CDC. One way to test if you are doing this is simply by talking.
If you can speak with some effort, but find singing challenging, then this is approximately the level of "moderate" effort.
Splitting these walks up may even help with joint comfort and help you retain energy to continue engaging in other daily activities. Having a consistent schedule that isn't interrupted by your exercise plan is, after all, very useful.
You don't need any special equipment to start a daily walking plan. All you need is safe and comfortable shoes, such as sneakers, and a water bottle to take small sips from as you exercise. If you'd like, you could even try to make it a group activity, with staff support, where each of you supports the others as part of the community.
If you have a pedometer or wearable, however, you can undoubtedly track your steps or heart rate. While not necessary, these may provide you with extra information about your health that you would not otherwise have.
Marching in place can increase your heart rate and often counts as a warm-up. However, so long as you are exerting yourself, then it all counts as valid exercise. Your pedometer or other wearable devices will still register these steps and count them toward your health goals. As such, it can be a safe alternative if the community is busy and you cannot move around the halls or communal rooms as easily.
Start with short five- to ten-minute walks each day, building up to fifteen minutes and, eventually, thirty minutes if you can handle it. Five days a week of this indoor walking workout, plus two strength and balance days, is enough to ensure your long-term health.
To learn more about how we support such efforts and how our staff can help with fitness for all our residents, including those in SHINE Memory Care and other living options, please get in touch. We can tell you all about our exclusive lifestyle programs and what every part of our senior care makes retirement life at Heartis Peoria something truly special.