As you relax into retirement, we quickly find our morning walks to work or dashes to the train station swapped out for time spent sat in the sun with our nose in a good book. Ahhh… bliss.
While this is an amazing lifestyle shift that nurtures creativity and personal growth, it’s easy to push physical activity to the side. It’s now that a conscious effort to stay active and keep moving is of most importance.
Falls are one of the most prevalent causes of injury in retirement, and physical activity it’s one of the most effective approaches to prevent them. That’s why the addition of exercise into your routine should be at the top of the priority list.
So let’s look at the benefits and some actionable advice on how to reduce falls through exercise.
The benefits of staying active in retirement
One of the biggest benefits of staying active is reducing risk of falls or injury. But the benefits don’t stop there. When we stay active in retirement we…
- Lower our risk of illnesses and disease
- Reduce chances of cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease
- Protect our mobility and personal autonomy
- Promote good mental health and brain function
- Reverse mental or physical decline
- And so much more.
How you can reduce the risk of falls with exercise
The main reason staying active is such a big player when it comes to preventing falls is that when we exercise we are able to become more agile by improving our balance and increasing strength. Balance and strength are the real keys to keeping on your feet and looking after your physical health.
The main risk factors for falls
While falls are one of the main causes of injury for over 55s, the good news is that when you understand the risk factors they become very easy to minimise.
The two main risk factors for falls are balance and strength.
1. Balance
When we have good balance not only does it mean we are less likely to experience falls, but when falls do occur we are more able to steady ourselves mid-fall and less likely to incur injury.
Find some handy exercises that will improve your balance and can be done from the comfort of your living room here.
2. Lower body strength
To help you balance and support your body weight, the other main factor which will help you prevent the risk of falls is maintaining and improving your lower body strength. Best of all, this is much easier than you might think! There are plenty of gentle exercises and movements you can do daily, which won’t place extra stress on your body, but will help you maintain your mobility for years to come.
Find some easy exercises and movements you can do from home that improve your lower body strength here.
Ways to Build Balance and Strengthen Your Legs
Most independent living villages should have amenities on grounds to help build balance and strength. Even if you’re yet to take the leap into a lifestyle village, you can still seek out these activities in your community. At Ocean Gardens, here are just a few of the ways we are making it easier (and fun!) to build lower body strength and get active.
- Lawn Bowls
Lawn Bowls isn’t just a fun way to socialise with your friends. It can actually be one of the most effective ways to improve your balance, endurance, coordination and cognition.
With croquet, bowling and a putting green as part of our first-class facilities (and plenty of eager residents ready to get together for a game) at Ocean Gardens you could easily play every day.
- Swimming
Swimming in retirement can help you stay on your feet and improve physical mobility in a few ways. It will improve your balance, endurance, power, flexibility and coordination.
Thanks to the water’s ability to help give extra support, swimming is also a great option when your mobility is quite limited and you’re looking to improve past decline.
Whether you just want to take a dip on a sunny day, practise laps every morning or join in the fun at our water aerobics classes, there’s something for everyone with our 20m state-of-the-art swimming pool.
Other activities to help you stay on your feet
There are plenty of other activities and exercises that can help you ‘stay on your feet’ in retirement. If lawn bowls and swimming aren’t to your liking, why not increase your daily movement with one of these…
Dancing
From the ballroom to the living room, pop on your favourite tracks and lace up your dancing shoes. The best part about dancing is that you really can do it just about anywhere!
Improves: Balance, Strength, Endurance, Agility, Flexibility, Coordination and Cognition
Tennis
- Move over Roger Federer, we sense some new tennis champs are in our midst. Tennis is one of the best ways to help you stay on your feet and encourage some friendly competition (though hopefully competitiveness doesn’t quite reach John McEnroe levels – no broken racquets please!)
Improves: Balance, Strength, Endurance, Agility, Power, Coordination, Cognition
Golf
Did you know golf might just be the ‘hole in one’ you’re after when it comes to improving strength, balance and mobility? Whether you turn it into a social event or just like to hit the driving range in the evenings, golf helps you stay on your feet for a healthy and happy retirement.
Improves: Balance, Strength, Power, Flexibility, Coordination
The Move Your Body campaign
Move Your Body is an initiative led by Stay On Your Feet WA and runs every year. It seeks to encourage retirees and seniors to get moving and keep active with the target goal of reducing falls. Focused on building up your balance and strength, they have compiled a number of useful tools and exercises to help you keep active and minimise the risk of falls.
Keep reading to learn more about what you can do and how the wellness team at Ocean Gardens can support you.
With so many helpful facilities and engaging wellness classes for all skill levels, beginning a life at Ocean Gardens means it’s never been easier to become more active in retirement.
With class options like Tai Chi, Gym Strong, Chair Fit, AQUA classes and more, the only problem you’ll have is deciding where you want to begin!
So, how are you planning to stay on your feet?
