Indoor Walking Plan for Seniors in Aurora, CO
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To summarize:
- The indoor walking plan favors personal consistency rather than exercise intensity
- Around 30 minutes per day is the goal, although you do not need to start there
- Pair walking with brief exercises to boost balance and strength to help your walking improve faster
Aurora is a gorgeous and friendly area, and the St. Andrew's Village retirement community is a key part of what makes it so welcoming. However, those in Aurora may not always be able to easily move around outside due to personal ability, weather, or many other factors. Fortunately, there are other options.
Following an indoor walking plan can help you stay active indoors throughout the year in Aurora. It allows for activity with less stress, and new fitness enthusiasts need only take small steps, both figuratively and literally, to get the support they need.
Read on to discover how you can perform this exercise in the hallways and fitness center of St. Andrews Village and find out what else we can do to support resident health.
Do Indoor Walking Plans Work?
To be entirely blunt, indoor walking is essentially the same as outdoor walking, just done indoors. It can support all the same kinds of regular movement, only without the need to worry about:
- The weather
- The general public
- Less access to support
- Roads
Walking is even one of the three key types of exercise recommended by the National Institute on Aging. The moderate effort you exert can start to improve your body's fitness without overexerting you, as jogging and running might, and can be a key way to help with senior health issues.
If you combine it with balance practice at least one day a week, you can also help to improve your steadiness. In senior life, any benefit that can reduce the chance of a slip or fall is key to safe living, while it can also lead to a more comfortable gait.
Are Two 15-minute Walks as Good as One 30-minute Walk?
Breaking up walking into shorter bouts can still count towards your full weekly minutes. There may be a small amount of extra warm-up or cool-down time, which is easily accounted for by taking an additional couple of minutes before you start walking. However, as long as you complete the full 30 minutes of walking, that's what's important.
Also, if you cannot walk for 30 minutes per day when you start, do not worry. You can start trying to build up to that, but if you are too exhausted after only five minutes, then you will need to bring back your fitness through further small exercises.
Independent Living Fitness and Safety
Before you start walking, do a quick self-check. Do you feel chest pain? Are you dizzy or breathless?
If you are any of those things and you have not started exercising, allow yourself a break and contact a member of staff as soon as possible. If you have exercised, sit down and see if the symptoms abate. Contact staff or seek emergency help if they are not available.
Be sure to carry water with you and sip it regularly. If necessary, our Independent Living staff can help you organize your fitness plan to ensure that you achieve the fitness you need with less effort.
Assisted Living Wellness Strength and Balance
If you are unable to walk around as easily, then our healthy activity tips would be to:
- Add a chair to sit on and perform exercises there
- Use wall push-ups instead of normal ones for strength building
- Practice balancing close to something you can hold on to
- Keep your sets small, as a single comfortable rep is better than twelve painful ones
If necessary, ask Assisted Living staff to work with you and demonstrate good form. They may be able to offer suggestions of alternatives if things are not comfortable, or adjust your moves as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Does Stepping in Place Count Toward Daily Steps?
In short, yes.
It is not, after all, the distance you travel that counts, but the amount of exertion you engage in. While distance or steps may be easily understandable personal targets, they don't show how much you have been pushing yourself. Instead, consider counting:
- How long you've been traveling at a moderate intensity
- How easy the exercise is getting over time
- Whether you are getting out of breath or your heart rate is significantly changing
If you are unsure if you are doing enough, then check your breathing. If you have a little trouble talking, and singing is tough, you are doing just fine.
Can You Get Fit Just by Walking?
Brisk walking is absolutely a way to support the health of your heart and lungs. It can boost your stamina if done regularly enough, help you become accustomed to more movement, and is something you can gain skill in over time.
Ensure that you vary the pace throughout the week. However, you will need to maintain a steady overall progress and allow your body time to recover. On your "off" days, consider doing strength and balance training instead to provide a more well-rounded training effort.
Does the Indoor Walking Plan Cost Money?
Nobody is going to charge you to walk the hallways of our St. Andrews Village community. The community common areas and main routes are perfect for this sort of activity, if nobody else is using them at the time.
You also only need simple gear: Supportive shoes and a refillable water bottle for swift sips now and then. You may already have all of this without needing to buy anything else.
Keep Fit With Support That Matches Your Needs
The connection between mobility and aging need not be a challenge. Starting today, you or a loved one can turn a set of five-minute hallway strolls into walking routines for older adults that could last for years. Starting at a single five-minute amble, turn it into a 150-minute-per-week indoor walking plan that keeps you fit for years.
To learn more about the comprehensive range of fitness options available at St. Andrew's Village, including an indoor pool and a climate-controlled fitness center, please get in touch. We can book a tour for you to learn more about what our community has to offer and what it looks like.