Top 6 Fitness Tips for Baby Boomers and Older Adults

The age of the baby boomer is upon us and this feisty group of retirees are more active than any other retired generation. The key to keeping them active and happy is to offer fitness tips that are worth their time and fun to accomplish. Here are the top 6 fitness tips for baby boomers:

1. Listen to your body. As the body ages, it tends to take longer to recover. The key to keeping active well into your aging years is to listen to what your body is telling you. Some activities of your youth may be too strenuous for the body as you age, but that does not mean you can not adjust those activities to be less taxing on the body. The aches and pains associated with fitness are the body telling you that it needs to rest.

2. Keep the doctor informed. Your doctor needs to have all of the information pertaining to your body. When visiting the doctor, tell them about your fitness program and how the exercise makes you feel. Write down the program you are following just in case some of the aches you are feeling can be explained more easily by the actions and daily activities you are choosing.

3. Keep it social. As the years add up, older adults tend to be less social than they once were. This isolation can make exercise programs a bore and they are they just left to the way side for other activities. Including a friend on a daily walk can keep your life full of the social interaction needed to stay happy and fight off depression.

4. Push yourself. but not too hard, Even the baby boomer needs to sweat, but that does not mean pushing yourself beyond the limits of comfortable. During a workout you should still be able to talk in complete sentences and not be totally out of breath.

5. Get a pet. Motivation is one of the major problems with an exercise or fitness program for the aging adult. A pet can help. Walking a dog every day is exercise and dogs, as well as other pets, are known to be beneficial on the health of older people in many ways. Keeping that dog active will be keeping you active and that is the sole purpose of a fitness program.

6. Be happy. Exercise should be something that is fun and enjoyable. When a program becomes stale or boring, that program will no longer be something the baby boomer wants to do. Don’t be afraid to change the program and add fun, exciting events to your day. Just because you are aging does not mean you have to stop living life.

Fitness for the baby boomer is an important part of staying healthy for many more years. The human body needs activity to stay healthy and the baby boomer needs fun to stay interested in the fitness program. Keeping these tips in mind when starting an exercise or fitness routine will make that time all the more a part of your aging life for today, tomorrow and well into the future.