Disclaimer alert! Hey, everybody is Doctor Jo in super sleepy
Kali. Today I'm going to show you five real time standing
exercises for seniors. So let's get started. So before we get
started, there's a couple pieces of equipment that you will need.
I'm going to use a resistive band for the exercises that need
it. But you can also use just a soup or vegetable can not a
super vegetable can which you can get at some big places. But
a soup or vegetable can is about a pound. Or if you actually have
a one or two pound weight, you can use that, but I like the
resistive bands the best. So that's what I'm going to use. If
you get some, make sure you're always starting off with the
lightest one. Also, with some of the exercises at the end, you
might want something for a little bit of balance. Make sure
you have a chair or couch or something behind you if you need
to sit all the way down, or have a countertop close by. Or I even
have a cool pink cane. Your's doesn't have to be pink, it's
actually PVC pipe. But you can use a cane or a broomstick or
something just enough to give you a little bit of bounce. If
you think you might need that balance. You might not, but if
you if you feel a little unsteady, sometimes it's
probably best to start off with that just in case. Another thing
that you'll need is an anchor for the band for when we do one
of the exercises, you can either have someone hold onto it for
you, you can tie it on to a door knob or something, or have a
hook in the wall or just find something super sturdy to wrap
around. If you need to get those things, go ahead and hit the
pause button, go gather all that up, and then we'll get started.
So I'm gonna start the clock, and then I'll kind of talk to
you as we go. It's gonna give us a little 10 second start. So
we're gonna go 30 second exercises, take a short break
another 30 seconds of the same exercises, and then a long
break. But we're going to start off with a one minute warm up.
So I'm just going to kind of start with some head circles or
neck rolls. Sometimes people prefer just to do half. You can
go all the way around as long as you don't have any issues. And
you've been cleared to do that extension motion with your
doctor or physical therapist. And as some people say, don't do
it, but as long as you don't have any issues, that's fine.
But if you want to stick with doing the half circles, you can
do that. Now just kind of going into the chest, opening up doing
some Ts, getting a nice squeeze, you don't have to pause, this is
a warm up not a stretch. So you're just kind of getting
those muscles moving. Before you go into those exercises. You can
also just do like a modified jumping jacks. So I'm not
jumping, but I'm just kind of sticking my leg out getting my
arms and my legs moving a little bit as I go. Again, you can go
at your own pace, or thhen you can go into just some marching
as well.
So the first exercise, just anchor the band down, arm
straight out, thumb up, and you're just coming into a
shoulder flexion. At about 90 degrees. Nice and slow back
down. Make sure you're really anchoring that band. If you need
both feet to do that you can. If you feel good about one, but
make sure it doesn't slip out and come back up and hit you in
the face. Nice and slow and controlled with a motion trying
keep that elbow locked out and straight. You don't have to come
all the way up to the 90 if that's a little uncomfortable.
But make sure you're controlling that band. If you don't have the
band, and you have your soup or vegetable can, you can do that
as well. Again, kind of keep that thumb in that upward
position that just opens up that shoulder. Keep that arm
straight, and then just coming about to that 90 degree. And
then nice and slow down. Some people might want to come up
higher than that. But for this particular exercise the muscles
that you want to work, it changes once you go past 90. So
for this one, I would just say go to about 90, a little more, a
little less is okay. And then nice and slow coming back down
for that. Getting that smooth motion. Again, I like the bands
a little bit better. But if you don't have one, these work just
fine. So the next one is going to be the one where we're
anchoring the band and something I'm going off into the white
void to anchor mine onto the wall. So you want to kind of get
into a staggered stance position. Kind of bend your
knees a little bit, but you want to keep your back upright. So
you don't want to lean back when you're doing this. Thumbs up,
and just pulling in towards you. So almost like you're taking
those shoulder blades behind you and trying to squeeze them into
your spine. So it's not coming up like this. This is a
different exercise. It's like you're rowing a boat. That's why
it's called row. So you can go faster than me. Just make sure
you're controlling the band. The height doesn't matter too much.
I like when I'm starting off just straight forward like this
one, but it can be a little bit higher or lower, that just
changes the muscles that you're working. So the next one, if you
need a little bit of balance, go ahead and grab your stick or
your cane, or stand by your counter or nice sturdy chair.
And we're just going to do heel toe raises. So feet about
shoulder width apart, going up, lifting up those heels nice and
slow down, and then pulling the toes up. So when I come back
down, really control coming back down, and you're lifting your
toes up, so you're not sticking your booty back to get them up,
you're just lifting those toes up. And then really nice and
slow coming back down. That control is the most important
part. So I'm not doing this, because that's not really
getting the muscles working, that's using momentum. If you
don't need anything for balance, you can do them without balance.
But make sure you're getting you're controlling it. Because
if you're too busy kind of working on your balance, instead
of getting the exercise right, I'd rather you have something to
hold on to. So you're not having to focus on your balance the
whole time. Master the exercise, and then you can take that away.
So just up, down, toes up. So you can even, you know, just a
finger or two, on whatever is helping you with your balance is
sometimes all you need. You don't have to, you know, hold on
tight, it's just there to give you that extra little boost that
you might need for that balance component.
So the next one is going to be mini squat. So same thing, if
you want to hold on to something you can, but make sure you have
a chair or the couch behind you, just in case you feel like you
need to sit all the way down is there for you. So spread your
feet out about hip width apart. If you want to go out a little
bit further, that will give you a little bit more balance. But
for a mini squat, we're really just kind of unlocking the
knees, and then coming back up. Really stick your bottom back,
toes pointed forward. Really kind of focusing on the knees
kind of staying in one spot. More at your hips. You know, you
really don't want those knees going too far over your toes. I
know a lot of people like to argue that that's fine. It's
fine when you don't have any knee issues or you know, any hip
knee issues at all. But if you have some knee issues, it's much
more comfortable keeping those knees behind your toes. And it
helps work those glute muscles in your back and behind you,
because those are really important muscles to work on. So
I prefer that motion. If you don't have any knee issues, then
you can go a little bit more, but the exercise we're working
on is really getting that bottom back behind you. So if you are
doing the mini squats, and those are very easy for you, then you
can go even a little bit more. Because even though these
exercises are for seniors or older adults, they're really
great daily exercises for anybody. And you can modify them
as much as you need to. Or you can go down even more and make
them a little bit more challenging. So definitely go at
your own pace with these and make sure that you're
comfortable. So the next one is just going to be a mini lunge.
Now, this some people might say is more of a squat kind of thing
instead of a lunge. Because with lunges, you actually step out
and come back. We're just going to stay in the same position,
but I still like to call it a mini lunge. Keep those toes
pointed forward, stagger your feet, and you're just going to
kind of unlock and come back up. So same thing, make sure you
have something for balance, and then go down just as far as you
feel comfortable. And make sure again, that that knee is kind of
staying behind those toes, that goes a little in front of the
toes, that's fine, especially if it's not painful. But if it's
painful, kind of sit back just a little bit more that way. And
then that will take some pressure off of your knees. Then
you can switch sides. Or if you want to alternate each side, you
can do that. But especially for a balance issue. Sometimes it's
a little bit easier just to stay in one spot, and then do them
all and then switch sides afterwards. So again, holding on
to something if you need to, but just unlock that knee a little
bit. You don't have to go down very far. But if you feel like
this is good, I can do this. You can go a little bit further down
each time. Just make sure it feels comfortable. And you have
something to hold on to if you need to.
But again, if that's too much, just kind of unlock everything,
and then come back up. So there you have it. If you're
interested in watching any of my other real time videos, click on
the link over there. And don't forget to subscribe by clicking
down there. And remember, be safe, have fun, and I hope you
feel better soon.