Don’t have a ‘Senior Moment’ about Leg Day

There’s a popular saying among people who work out.

“Don’t skip leg day”

There are reasons for this quote. Working out your legs is hard. It doesn’t feel good. You can be very sore after a leg workout. Many times it’s much worse than an upper body workout.

After all, you have to walk on those legs after a workout.

People are also more vain about their upper body. When they look at their bodies in the mirror, a lot of gym rats start flexing their upper bodies. Women generally don’t tell men they love big muscular legs. They tell them about broad shoulders, a large chest, or sixpack abs.

It’s easy to see why people dread or ignore leg day.

It’s too bad. Especially for seniors.

Working out is very important for longevity. Everyone knows the benefits. Resistance training is especially important.

Many studies show the more muscle mass you have, the lower your risk of all-cause mortality. That’s not to say Arnold Schwarzenegger will live to be 200 years old. It’s to say that maintaining muscle mass into old age has some advantages.

As people grow older, it’s not just lack of exercise. Humans have this condition called Sarcopenia. It means that we all start losing muscle mass as we become elderly. Someone in their 80’s will never build muscle like someone in their 20’s. That doesn’t mean they can’t build muscle at all.

Legs become very important in old age.

Working your leg muscles have a lot of benefits.

One of the biggest problems for seniors is the risk of falling. Strong legs reduce those risks. Leg resistance exercises not only strengthen your legs.

They also improve your balance.

They tighten up your core. Your abdominals will receive a workout trying to stabilize your body during a leg workout.

They improve circulation to the lower extremities. Better circulation helps with senior issues like fibromyalgia and osteoporosis.

That improved circulation can help cognitive function. 

They also improve bone health.

Strong legs means more independence for seniors. They can be more mobile. They can accomplish more daily tasks. They may be able to stay in their home a lot longer without assistance.

Leg exercises don’t mean you have to squat 500lb barbells on a squat rack. In many cases you can use only body weight for exercises.

That’s what we mostly do for our residents. Our personal trainers have them just stand and squat down. Multiple times each workout.

We have rails along the walls to assist them with balance.

Or we might have them just sit in a chair and stand up multiple times. If they can, we ask them to not use their arms to stand up.

We also use bands to help the residents do dead lifts.

For those residents who have trouble with these exercises, we have vibration plates. Legs work on these plates to stabilize the body and resist the vibrations.

Stronger seniors may be able to do lunges. They’re wonderful for balance and strength.

All these exercises can be done in the senior’s home. With little to no equipment in many cases. They can be done practically every day. In fact, doing them more will reduce or eliminate the soreness.

So don’t skip leg day!