Older adults need to stay active as they age in order to enjoy a fuller, happier and more active life. There are many good reasons to stay fit as you age and to continue exercising for the rest of your life. Healthy activity helps to keep your bones strong, dissipate depression that can be common among the elderly and fight various forms of illness such as diabetes or heart disease.

There is almost no end to the benefits reaped by those who continue to exercise no matter how old they become. Of course, the demands of healthy exercise changes as we age, but it’s always good to implement a good exercise program that is appropriate for older adults. Here are some helpful exercise tips for older adults that can help you stay fit.

1. Aerobic Exercise

You should do some sort of aerobic exercise at least 4 times a week for 30 minutes a day. You can configure this base line suggestion by breaking up the 30 minutes into 10 minute segments if you need to throughout the week. Just make sure to complete at least 2 hours a week of exercise activity. Aerobic exercises can be anything like walking, swimming or tennis.

2. Muscle Resistance Activity

Not only do you need to do some form of aerobic exercise every week but you also need to add some muscle resistance activity to your schedule so that you can keep your muscles healthy as well as your joints and bones as strong as possible. Light weight lifting that includes all the muscle groups is important. You should weight lift at least 2 days a week. You can alternate muscle groups throughout the week so that you don’t over-stress any particular muscle group too much. For a more detailed plan, you can join a gym and hire a trainer who can set you up on an age appropriate weight lifting regimen.

These are some basic exercise tips that have proven extremely helpful to adults as they age. You can always increase the amount of minutes you exercise each week and add more weight lifting activities to your schedule for added benefits. If you have any concerns, be sure to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise or fitness program.