“Being fifty takes stamina and endurance that even youth doesn’t offer.” Do you feel anything such? Are you an elderly person who is worried about his or her growing age and loss of will power, stamina or life? Well! All you need to begin is a bit of physical activity that would suit your age and your living condition. This article explains that stamina training can help elderly people live long.
Stamina training is one of the activities you can go for under the supervision of a professional trainer that would actually help you live healthy, live long full of life even as you grow old. Here, we will take a look at what stamina training is and some exercises that would help develop stamina and endurance in elderly people.
What is Stamina Training?
A person’s ability to sustain prolonged physical and mental efforts is known to be his or her stamina. Stamina can be increased by the act of exercising known as stamina training. Stamina training is something where an individual gets to improve his or her aerobic stamina which enhances the long term endurance, sustained speed and markers of physical stamina like the VO2 max (The maximum or the optimum heart rate at which the lungs, heart and muscles of an individual can make use of oxygen while exercising).
There are various ways to increase stamina, there are various physical activities or exercises which aids in improving stamina. Doing long, easy aerobic exercise once or twice a week, building distance or time by 10% each week can help in building stamina. You can also improve your stamina to sustain target speeds longer, by performing shorter tempo runs where you maintain your target speed for 20-30 minutes once in a week. You can do interval repeats in running once per week where you run at your maximum or optimum two-mile pace for 3 minutes, then rest for 3 minutes and repeat for several such rounds.
We will talk about various other stamina exercises that would help elderly people develop their stamina and help them live fit and long.
Long Life Benefits of Stamina Training in Elderly People
There are studies which have shown that athleticism is linked to longevity. Exercise of any kind, actually aids the body regenerate itself. This can be understood from the numerous facts or examples that tell why older athletes are less susceptible to age-related illnesses. Going for stamina training can not only help in eradicating age related health issues but also helps in improving balance, strength, mobility and keep you away from fall or any other conditions that might prove fatal at an elderly age. This is one of the main reasons that stamina training can help elderly people live long.
In a recent study, it was found that older adults who trained them for strength at least for two days a week, had 46% lower odds of dying soon. This study has some real strong and true evidence that stamina training or strength training in elderly people is beneficial beyond improving muscle strength or physical function.
The findings showed that elderly people who go for two days of stamina training in a week can enhance their stamina, lower the odds of cardiac death, cancer etc. and thus can live longer. The study mentioned that such elderly people who went for stamina training, had 41% lower odds of cardiac death and 19% of lower odds of dying out of cancer.
The research findings –
Researchers examined data of about 30,000 adults who were of age 65 and above from the year 1997 to 2001 NHIS linked to death certificate data via 2011. While the survey period, more than 9% of elder people were reported stamina or strength training at least two times a week. They were more likely to have a normal body weight, to engage them in aerobic exercise and to abstain from tobacco and alcohol.
Researchers have earlier demonstrated benefits of stamina training on the muscle mass improvement, physical function enhancement as well as the improvements in chronic conditions like osteoporosis, diabetes and obesity.
Apart from this, the study also reported that elderly people who reported strength or stamina training appeared to see a greater mortality benefit than those who reported physical activity alone. This suggests that stamina training can actually help elderly people live long. However, it is essential to identify more ways that can help get people, especially the elderly people engage them in stamina training.
Stamina Training For Elderly People: How Much And How Often?
While it is true that stamina training can help elderly people live long, it is necessary to understand about how much and how often do you need to exercise.
- Be sure that you are going to improve your stamina gradually. If you have been active for long then that is an advantage for you; however if you have not been active since long then you need to make it a part of routine and then gradually progress.
- You can start from 5-10 minutes at first and then gradually build up to about 30 minutes of stamina training or any moderate intensity activity that would help improve your stamina, or endurance.
- Go for 150 minutes of training in a week and perform the exercises for at least 3 days in a week for best results. Once you are aware that stamina training can help elderly people live longer, you will easily feel motivated.
- Once you are ready to do more of the activities, increase the time you spend on doing the exercises and then also try to build up the difficulty level of your activities.
Best Exercises in Stamina Training For Elderly People
Now, let us talk about some of the best exercises in stamina training that help elderly people live long.
Walking – One of the easiest ways of stamina, endurance or strength training for elderly people is walking, especially the brisk walking. You can start with 5 minutes of walking if you are a low fit elderly person. Slowly and gradually extend the time to 30 minutes; at least 3 or 4 days a week. However fit elderly people can easily go for one hour of walking each day. Make sure you start with plain or even surface walking in order to develop balance and keep away from joint issues. You need to have proper shoes while walking. You can also prefer walking the dog, mall walking, race walking, hiking and Nordic walking that can help you in improving stamina, endurance and strength.
In addition to walking, exercises are one of the most effective stamina training that can help elderly people live long.
Indoor exercises – Here are some of the indoor exercises that help improving stamina in elderly people.
- Some indoor activities may be done in the fitness center where you can perform exercises on stationary bike, rowing machine, treadmill etc.
- Dancing
- Taking water aerobics class
- Simply cleaning or sweeping the room
Outdoor activities – Some outdoor activities that can be stamina training for elderly people may be the following
- Jogging, running or any outdoor sports, which a person can comfortably play
- Sailing
- Biking
- Shoveling snow
- Sweeping yard etc.
Important Tips For Elderly People To Follow While Stamina Training
Here are some of the crucial tips for elderly people to take a note on before stamina training.
- Drink water while doing activities that makes you sweat during your stamina training
- Wear comfortable clothes and shoes
- Be aware of your surroundings if you are walking or jogging. Prefer walking during day time
- Use safety gear while doing activities like biking, skating etc. which can help you improve stamina while keeping you safe
- Do not go for very heavy or hard exercises that may bring chest pain, pressure or a feeling of heartburn.
- Consult your doctor before going for stamina training.
Conclusion:
Be known to the fact; “There are no shortcuts to endurance. You have to train yourself to make peace with the long route every day.” So, be consistent in what you do, perform your exercises, physical activities or go for the sports which help you improve stamina that would help you live long and fit. However, consult with your doctor before you go for the stamina training.
If you believe; “My stamina can take it!” then go for a stamina training that would help you improve stamina even at your growing age.
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