For many of us, the word exercise conjures up a specific mental image, one of performing long, hot sweaty hours of workout routines done inside of a gym. Doing things like lifting weights, contorting into exercise machines, running on treadmills or climbing stairmasters, all the while sweating profusely and pushing our bodies to the limits of our physical capabilities. If you don’t consider yourself to be the athletic type, or you find yourself having physical ailments and limitations that can prevent you from doing vigorous movements, this may understandably not be a very appealing image or prospect to you.
Simply doing physical activity, however, is a much more blank slate as far as connotations and preconceived notions go, and can be doing something as simple as walking or gardening or any other number of physical activities that you enjoy regularly as a basic part of your daily life. In fact, you may be performing all sorts of physical activities and simply not realize they have a health benefit baked into them.
Exercise is, definitionally, something intended to improve your body’s function and fitness. The actions performed in exercise are often precise, controlled, and targeted towards specific fitness goals. Exercise is a form of physical activity, but not all physical activity is considered to be exercise. In the simplest of terms, physical activity is merely any type of movement that causes your body to burn calories.
So you may find yourself wondering about whether or not you should be focused more on doing physical activity, or more on exercise, but keep in mind that in either case, both of them will provide you tangible and lasting health benefits. But consider your lifestyle and the likelihood of fitting traditional exercise into it. For many seniors, they find that being more intentional about working different types of physical activity into their day can feel and be a lot more attainable than the various traditional forms of exercise.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that perhaps only about half of all Americans across all age groups get the amount of physical activity that is necessary to help prevent chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Physical activity also offers specific health benefits, such as maintaining a lower body weight, providing a natural boost to mood, helping you get more and better sleep, better balance, joint mobility, and a lower risk of falls, more years of active and independent living, stronger bones and stronger muscles. Physical activity even correlates with a delay in the onset of cognitive decline. Generally, the more you move, the greater the health benefits that come to you.
You may be surprised by the wide range of options available to increase your physical activity as a senior. While the CDC recommends that seniors should aim for 150 minutes or more of moderate activity each week, you can still benefit from less intense activities, and may find yourself able to do more over time as you gain strength and endurance.