Exercise is one of the best ways to maintain and manage your weight. Along with that weight management, you are planning is a regulation of the functions of the systems of the body. When you pair that with healthy eating habits, you are bound to live a hundred more years!
Unfortunately, some people are just not born and raised with exercise as part of their lifestyle. But when you hit your golden years, then your senior years, many doctors would advise exercise to improve your health! By this time, exercise gets tricky. Especially if you haven’t done much while you were younger!
Fitness in the Golden and Senior Years
If you were active, during your youth up to present, I believe you have an impressive physique for your age! However, if you are not used to strenuous physical activity, exercise can pose a little danger when done carelessly.
High-intensity training may not be appropriate for you and you may need to take things lightly at first. Machine assisted exercises will be a good choice for you to lessen the likelihood of getting injured. But probably, the best form of exercise in your senior years is cardio on a recumbent bike.
What Is A Recumbent Bike?
A recumbent is no different from its stationary bike cousin. They are operated on both principles. It’s like a bike, you ride it and tread on the pedal until your reach the recommended heart rate. But what makes a recumbent bike better than a stationary bike?
A recumbent bike is like a rowing machine fitted with backrests, and instead of rowers, cycling pedals are installed. You guessed it right! You will be in a recumbent position, which is very comfortable.
Recumbent bikes are designed to accommodate your body in a more natural position compared to the regular stationary bike which emulates the feel of riding a road bike. It’s like sitting reclined on a chair while your legs are optimally positioned to step on the pedal.
What Good Does Recumbent Bikes Do?
It may seem a little awkward compared to a stationary bike, that’s for sure. But this position greatly reduces the stress in your spine! This also puts your hips in a more relaxed position. It’s like isolating the leg muscles to do the exercise while your upper body is free (you can even read a newspaper!)!
In your senior years, fitness is still recommended. But safety precaution should also be carefully followed. If you are not allowed to do some high impact outdoor exercise, a recumbent bike could be just perfect for you. This eliminates the probability of falling and breaking your pelvis!
Benefits Of Exercising on a Recumbent Bike
If you are do not have heart health restrictions, you can do intense cardio on a recumbent bike. You can do high-intensity interval training on a recumbent bike too (if your physician allows!)! There are many benefits of exercising on a recumbent bike. Here are a few:
- Relaxed back
The optimized recumbent position relaxes your back. In your youthful days, standing for long periods and awkward exercise stances may not be a problem. But in your senior years, you may want to prevent any injuries that may include the back. This is debilitating!
- No Fall Accident
This exercise machine eliminates the chances of you falling on the ground and breaking your pelvic bone! Yes, recumbent position is well balanced. Since it’s situated at a much lower position, you can even avoid accidents when mounting and unmounting on it!
- Strength and Endurance
It’s very common that senior people are looked down when it comes to long walks. But hey, you can gain endurance and strength in this machine!
Conclusion
Heading towards your senior years doesn’t mean that it would make you fragile! There are ways to improve your health by exercising! And there are people who have taken time to engineer machines to make exercise a part of your lifestyle even in your senior years! Go ahead and ride that recumbent bike!
I hope you found this post useful and I have inspired you to exercise. We all want a health long life, right? Let’s not just hope to have it, let’s do something to achieve it! Have questions? Share your thoughts! Leave a comment below, and I will get back to you soon!
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Author Bio:
Emily is founder of BodyShape101.com, a blog where she and her associates talk about exercise, fitness, and yoga. Their aim is to help people like you to achieve perfect body. BodyShape101 is concentrated on exercise & fitness tips, and making the most out of it. She is also a mother of one and she tries to find balance between her passion and her biggest joy in life.