10 Exercises to Do Today for a Healthier, Happier Tomorrow

Simple exercises can help preserve your capabilities to do everyday tasks for a lifetime. Peter Oumanski Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Whether it’s keeping up with grandkids, enjoying your favorite sports and hobbies, or just doing ordinary chores without discomfort, you have a choice: You can take steps today to keep the 

strength, flexibility and fitness you need to live your best life, or you can struggle in the future to regain what you’ve lost.

Age can hamper our ability to move through life. So we asked Conner Lorenzo, director of operations in fitness science at University of Rochester Orthopaedics and Physical Performance, and

others from the University of Rochester, to name some of the most common activities people have trouble with as they get older. Then we asked what people over 50 can do today to ensure they

can continue to enjoy those activities well into the future.

The result: a list of ten everyday activities, each paired with an exercise that can help preserve your capabilities for a lifetime. These exercises can also minimize your risk of falls,

injuries, and other major health and wellness issues that can result from the gradual loss of strength, flexibility and balance over time.

In adults 60 and over, more time spent being physically active may improve health-related quality of life and well-being, researchers at the University of Cambridge have found. So consider

this set of exercises the physical equivalent of investing in a retirement account.

When you walk while holding an object, one side of your body usually works a little harder than the other. This stresses various muscles unevenly, and any weak link in your body’s chain can

result in pain and stiffness, making the simple task difficult.

“Adding an exercise that strengthens your glutes, core, pelvic stabilizers, shoulders, upper back, forearms, and especially your wrists and hands, can keep your body prepared for anything,”

says Julianna M. Gatto, physical therapist at the University of Rochester Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 

shopping bag with a few cans of soup. Peter Oumanski The exercise: Farmer’s carry

For this exercise, you’ll need a dumbbell or any weighted object you can hold with one hand. “Choose a weight that’s heavy enough to challenge you but doesn’t make it difficult to keep your

balance as you walk,” advises Gatto. A reusable shopping bag containing some cans of soup could do the trick.

1. Hold the weight in your left hand and let your arms hang straight down at your sides. Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart, core muscles contracted, and your shoulder blades

pulled back toward each other. Holding this posture, walk forward about 10 to 15 feet. Stop, turn around, switch the weight to your right hand, then retrace your steps.

2. Repeat a total of 6 to 8 times. Keep your shoulders even as you walk — if you start to sag toward the weighted side, either correct your posture or switch to a lighter weight.

Tip: Instead of keeping your arm by your side, try changing the position of your working arm to mimic different situations (such as holding a child on your hip or a box in front of you, for

example).

One of the biggest impediments to walking comfortably is hip pain, Lorenzo says. But the source of that pain may surprise you.

“There’s a very strong correlation between hip pain and ankle immobility,” Lorenzo says. When our ankles get stiff, we adjust our stride to accommodate our lack of mobility; that can

eventually lead to sore hips. This exercise strengthens the muscles that run up the front of your shins, helping to reduce your risk of pain when walking up or down hills; it also loosens up

the Achilles tendon and the muscles of the lower leg.

1. Sit on a chair or bench with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Raise your left foot off the floor a few inches, and straighten your left leg out in front of you. Holding this

position, slowly draw your toes back toward your shin as far as you comfortably can. Hold this flexed position for 1 to 2 seconds, then reverse the motion by pointing your toes forward and

down.

2. Flex and extend your left foot for a total of 10 repetitions, then switch legs (extending your right leg out in front of you) to work your right ankle. Perform 2 to 3 sets for each foot.

Tip: As you get more comfortable with the move, try adding resistance: Drape a towel over the top of your foot to make curling your foot toward you more difficult. The heavier the towel, the

greater the resistance.

Reaching up high to put things away in your cabinets, stow luggage in the overhead compartment of an airplane, or toss a basketball into a hoop is as much about mobility as it is about

strength. “Though having strong rotator cuff muscles can make lifting things overhead less difficult and safer,” Lorenzo says, “the starting point for most people is improving the overall

range of their shoulder joint so they can raise their arms more easily.”

articular rotations

1. Stand with your arms down by your sides. Keeping your left arm straight, rotate it in a circle by raising it up and out in front of you, then overhead and back down behind you until you

return to the starting position. (Your right arm should remain motionless.) Imagine you’re drawing a big circle at your side, and try to bring your shoulder through the greatest range of

motion possible. Do two sets of 12 circles with each arm.

Tip: “The only thing that should be moving is your working arm,” Lorenzo says. “Twisting your torso or hips only minimizes the effort placed on your shoulder joint.”