We’ve all been told that it’s important to stay active, but far too often, we start making excuses as we age. Whether your back hurts, you’re busy chasing kids around, or your demanding work schedule doesn’t allow for much wiggle room, it’s still incredibly important to maintain an active lifestyle for all the following reasons.
Benefits of staying active as you age
Although your doctor tells you to exercise regularly, he or she may not go into intense detail about why it’s important. Aside from just feeling and looking better, there are plenty of great benefits of staying active as you age.
- Fewer health problems: By staying active, you can lower your risk of developing health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, some types of cancer, and arthritis. Regular activity can even reduce the likelihood that you’ll suffer from brain conditions like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
- Improved mental health: Getting regular exercise will also improve your mood, reducing symptoms of major depression and anxiety.
- Better self-esteem: When you’re active regularly, your body will produce more endorphins, which will make you feel good, physically and emotionally. As a result, you’ll likely feel better about yourself and get a sense of satisfaction, achievement, and pride from remaining active.
- Less stress: Regular physical exercise reduces stress and anxiety, which will help you feel more relaxed.
- More energy: If you have grandkids, keeping up with them will be easier if you remain active. Otherwise, even without grandkids in your life, staying active will help you keep doing the things you love to do for longer, such as hiking, rock climbing, riding your bike, or working outside in your garden.
Ways to stay active later in life
As you can see, there are plenty of excellent benefits of staying active as you age. But how do you get started? Below, we’ve listed some of the best ways anyone and everyone can increase their daily activity to reap the benefits listed above.
- Join a recreational sports team. Love sports? Depending on where you live, you might be able to join a rec team and enjoy a little friendly competition while you stay active. Check your local YMCA, community center, or city website for more details on available options near you.
- Attend exercise classes. Join a gym or attend outdoor exercise classes at your local park or community center. If you can’t get out or prefer not to, consider participating in online fitness events for women and men in your area. You can search for online fitness events for women and men with a quick Google search and encourage your friends to do it with you too! If you are looking for online fitness events for women, visit this website.
- Build it into your daily routine. One of the easiest ways to get active is to make it a part of your normal routine. For example, try waking up 30 minutes earlier than you normally do and filling that time with a simple at-home workout. Or go for a 30-minute walk around your neighborhood or local park each morning after you eat breakfast.
- Get out in nature. If at-home workouts aren’t your thing, consider getting out to a local trail, park, or nature center to enjoy nature. Ride your bike, go for a walk, or bring a yoga mat to get a quick 30-minute workout in as you enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.
Whether you choose to attend online fitness events for women or you and a buddy start taking walks together every morning, it’s easy to start getting active at any age!
Read a similar article about wellness events for women here at this page.