Many people ignore the advice about leading an active way of life until their body starts signaling SOS. As we age and lose muscle mass, sport becomes more and more important for our health. People, who give up on activities due to aches and pains, don’t realize how many more of these unpleasant feelings they’ll get when they quit.

The earlier you make sport an integral part of your life, the better you’ll feel as you age. But even if the most active thing you’ve ever done was kicking an empty Cola can on your way to school 50 years ago, it’s not too late to change your lifestyle. Let’s take a look at 6 activities you can take on even if you are over 60.

1. Swimming Toward Healthy Joints
Swimming is one of the safest yet very advantageous activities for seniors. While the water allows you not to overload your muscles and joints, it alleviates back and neck pain and improves your cardiovascular health.

Swimming and aqua aerobics allow you to stimulate all the muscle groups without stressing out your body. It helps you improve flexibility and reduce backaches.

Swimming can also improve the mineral bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Water aerobics boost your mood, reduce stress, and enhance brain activity.

2. Doing Yoga to Improve Balance and Flexibility
Yoga is one of the simplest and safest ways to work on your body. The earlier you start, the sooner you’ll see surprising results. If someone tells you that flexibility at 60 is a hopeless dream, prove them wrong with yoga.

Yoga helps you improve your stability and balance, which is highly important for older people, who often suffer from falls. If you are prone to joint problems, yoga can deal with them by enhancing your flexibility.

At the same time, yoga teaches you how to breathe right to fight respiration and lung problems. Yoga also can help you reduce high blood pressure, which is a common problem for people over 60.

3. Golfing For A Better Mental Health
Golfing is a sport suitable for any age. Seniors can play golf as often as they want. While you can enjoy breathing the fresh air and taking in all the beauty of the golf fields, you stimulate your heart rate. Once your heart is pumping faster, the risks of stroke and diabetes are reduced.

Golf helps you stimulate concentration and memory, which are two of the most common problems aging people face. Regular golfing fights insomnia, reduces stress, and helps with weight loss.

Recent studies showed that golfers might live 5 years longer than non-golfers. In order to enjoy all the golf benefits, you need to take the right approach to choosing a course, the day (good weather), and apparel, especially the shoes. Reading a golf shoes buying guide can help reduce the risk of injuries and prolong your tee time.

4. Fast Walking To Stop Bone Mass Loss
Walking is the simplest yet very effective activity for people of all ages, especially the seniors. Walking for about an hour a day can reduce the risks of osteoporosis. This exercise strengthens your muscles, lowers the blood pressure, and reduces the chance of heart disease.

Walking is a popular choice of exercise for many people over 60 since it doesn’t require any special equipment or expenses. It can help improve sleep, boost your mood, and stimulate your brain.

Just like yoga, walking can increase your balance and stability, reducing the chances of falls and hip fracture.  

5. Dancing Away From Heart Disease
If you are not afraid of challenges, dancing can bring you a huge variety of benefits, starting with better knee and hip health and ending with a reduced risk of heart disease. Such dynamic dance classes as salsa can increase the heart rate, improve your balance, and increase the muscle mass.

Waltzing is a perfect cardiovascular exercise for people with heart problems. In fact, if you haven’t exercised for a while, a slow dance class may be a good start. Dance therapy doesn’t just improve your health, it fights depression and deals with insomnia. Before taking up a dance class, make sure to talk to your doctor.

6. Playing Tennis For Weight Maintenance
Tennis doesn’t just help you boost brain power and strengthen your muscle, it can manage your weight. This perfect cardio exercise helps you improve your heart rate, eliminate mood swings, support bone health, and enhance flexibility.
If you’ve never tried tennis before, consider starting with doubles tennis. It can help you feel more confident on the court while enjoying team play and support.
 
It doesn’t matter how old you are. If you don’t integrate sports into your life, your body will punish you for it sooner or later.