Healthy aging
Did you know that:
• Exercise is the best way to age in good health
• Exercise can help prevent falls
• Exercise improves both physical and mental health
• Exercise done in groups help improve feelings of loneliness
• Inactivity is as detrimental to your health as smoking
How to start exercising.
You first need to check with your doctor to see if your health permits, and then determine if you are eligible to perform all types of exercises, or whether some should be avoided. You can do exercise at home, at the gym, or with a group.
To learn about the many possibilities out there, you can contact your community's recreational office, private sports centers, and university and college fitness centers.
Choose physical activities you'll enjoy; this will make it much easier to integrate them into your routine and keep going. By choosing exercises in each of the four categories (strength, aerobics, flexibility and balance) you will give yourself the best chances of improving your quality of life and maintaining your physical independence.
As we age, our bodies wear out and change. Some changes are inevitable, like the aging of the cardiovascular system and the respiratory system. The heart and lungs lose some of their efficiency. Other changes can be slowed down, such as osteopenia, sarcopenia, or the decline of cognitive faculties (memory) and physical faculties (balance, walking).
Exercise plays a determining role in slowing and preventing these changes. Muscle-building exercises and balance exercises can help post-menopausal women to increase their muscle mass.
At any age, but particularly after menopause, women stand to benefit tremendously from doing physical exercise.
