It is recommended that individuals 60 years old and up get around 150 minutes (2 and a half hours) of moderate-intensity and muscle training exercise a week.

Gauge what intensity is right for you by how you feel — moderate activity can feel somewhat hard. Here are clues that your exercise intensity is at a moderate level: your breathing quickens (but you are not out of breath), you develop a light sweat after about 10 minutes of activity, you can carry on a conversation — but you cannot sing.

Vigorous exercise intensity can feel challenging. Here are clues that your exercise intensity is at a vigorous level: your breathing is deep and rapid, you develop a sweat after only a few minutes of activity and you cannot say more than a few words without pausing for breath.

Both moderate-intensity and muscle training are important, but an essential step before this is stretching. This improves mobility, balance and warms up the body -- Healthline.com offers a great exercise plan that includes stretching.

Stretching can be done everywhere and should be a daily routine for ages 60 and up. There are targeted stretches for each major part of the body: neck extension and flexion (the up and down movement of the neck) shoulder and arm overhead stretch, seated toe top, upper back stretch and seated hamstring stretch. The full list with instructions can be found on morelifehealth.com.

Good exercises include swimming and water aerobics, chair and restorative yoga, walking, resistance band workouts, stretching and wall push-ups. These are easier on the body and will not cause major strain on the body, joints and muscles.

If you prefer outside workouts, make sure you dress in warm layers and consider a compression sock with Merino wool. Merino wool provides natural thermoregulation and moisture management, making them great for all day, everyday wear. This fabric is naturally durable, antibacterial, and blister-proof. Sigvaris offers different varieties of Merino wool socks and all Sockwell products are made with this wool.

If you prefer group workouts, then community centers are the place for you. They often offer all the recommended classes for older age groups and can help modify moves when needed.

At home workouts are a great alternative, especially during days of inclement weather. Using household items like cans of soup or water jugs can be great options for muscle training. Household items like PVC pipes and wood can be used to create DIY weights. Moderate-intensity exercising can include walking around the house or on a treadmill, if accessible, and dancing. YouTube also offers good on-demand at-home workouts, including yoga.

Shape.com has great how-to's for making at-home weights and YouTube creator Rom DGs’ video shows how to make several types of weights from everyday household objects.

Older age groups should avoid exercises like abdomen crunches, squats (chair squats are ok), deadlifting, high intensity interval training (HIIT), long distance running, overhead and bench presses, toe touches, power cleaning and stair/rock climbing. These activities could result in bodily injury because of the strain on your body.

Household cleaning tasks can burn calories too and can count as exercise. Some gentle cleaning tasks are dusting, sorting clothing and silverware to polish. Power cleaning and other extreme methods are too aggressive on the body.

If you are just starting to exercise or do not know where to begin with weights, More Life Health offers helpful YouTube videos that go step by step through the exercises. Each workout can be modified to cater to your needs and mobility.

When the colder weather creeps in, it can be hard to find exercises to stay active without having to take necessary precautions. At home and indoor workouts are great options that provide several types and are easily modified. Which activity are you going to try this winter?

The best time to build a healthy nutrition plan and the habits to go with it is as young as possible, but even those who have had a lifetime of healthy eating will have to adapt and change these plans as they age. Children, young adults, middle aged people and the elderly all have different nutritional needs and knowing how to adapt your food plans to meet those needs can help you stay healthier for longer. If you are someone whose appetite reduces as you get older, then knowing how to pack the most nutrition into the smallest portion sizes is even more important.

More Protein, Less Saturated Fat

Lean protein is one of the best things you can do for your nutrition plan because it provides your body with the
building blocks needed for maintaining muscle mass without adding unhealthy fats to impact your heart health. Many seniors who try to reduce their weight and the strain on their joints, will end up losing muscle mass and bone density alongside the fat, so a high protein and low fat shake every day can be the healthiest addition to your plan as you age. If the shake includes vitamin D, then it can have the bonus of helping you better use and retain calcium for bone health.

Essential Vitamins and Minerals

A colorful plate, one that has a rainbow of fruits and vegetables, is packed with a variety of essential vitamins and minerals. When you add orange, red, green and purple fresh fruits and vegetables to your plate, you are adding vitamins C, A, B and D as well as minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium. These things can help boost your immune system and strengthen your bones, eyesight and brain function. If you are not sure that you are getting enough of any one nutrient, you can talk to your doctor or nutritionist to find the right supplements or food items for your needs.

Portion Sizes

The United States Department of Agriculture has a series of tools called MyPlate which can show you how the five food groups should look at each meal as well as a daily serving size for each type of food. These tools are broken down by age group and gender to help you plan the best diet for yourself and your loved ones as you age. If you buy packaged foods or eat out, check the nutrition facts for meals to determine what a suggested portion is and how each item meets the nutritional guidelines for a meal or snack. This can help you better control portion sizes and reduce your intake of things like salt, sugar and saturated fats which can negatively affect your health.

Hydration

Drinking plenty of water and reducing dehydrating beverages such as alcohol and soda can boost your health at every age, but water is essential to maintaining the health of body systems such as skin, digestion and circulation as you age. It is recommended that you have six to eight cups of water a day, and that you have a water bottle handy while working out or running errands. Sports drinks, sodas and flavored waters can have added salt which can put you at risk for chronic health issues and make you retain water.

Specific Health Needs

Specific health needs, such as anemia or diabetes, will often call for personalized nutritional meal plans that are designed with help from your doctor or nutritionist. These professionals can help you identify specific meal ingredients and preparation techniques to increase your nutritional intake while keeping risk factors or trigger foods to a minimum. For example, someone who is intolerant of dairy, but needs to maintain bone health can leafy green vegetables and salmon, which are high in calcium and Vitamin D, as well as take a daily supplement to remain healthy while avoiding dairy products.

Your body changes as you age, and so do your nutritional needs. This means that your meal plans need to change to keep up. You can develop many healthy habits throughout your life to better adapt to these changes such as drinking plenty of water, reducing your intake of salt and saturated fats, and switching to lean protein sources. Your doctor or nutritionist can help you develop a plan for your specific health needs as well as point you towards useful tools, supplements and guides.

Mia is a devout fitness instructor, mother, and writer. She loves sharing her knowledge through blogging, teaching, and writing. 

Ingredients

3 medium heirloom beets
Olive oil
1 cup red quinoa
1 cucumber
2 stalks celery with leaves
¼ cup shelled pistachios
Sriracha mayonnaise (see recipe below)
Salt and pepper

Dressing

3 TB lemon juice
2 TB balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dijon mustard
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375.  Wash and dry beets.  Rub each beet with a small amount of olive oil.  Wrap in foil, and roast for 1 hour.  Cool, then peel the beets.  Cut each beet into 8 wedges and place in a medium size mixing bowl.

Add approximately 2 qt of water to a 3 qt sauce pan, and bring to a boil.  Add quinoa and cook for 15 minutes.  Drain quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse with cold water.  Drain very well, and place in a separate medium size mixing bowl.

Peel and seed the cucumber.  Dice cucumber and celery with leaves.  Add to the bowl with quinoa.

Toss beets with 4-5 tablespoons of dressing and season with salt and pepper.

Toss quinoa mixture with remaining dressing and season with salt and pepper.

Arrange beets in a row down the middle of a large serving bowl or plate.  Spoon quinoa mixture along each side.  Sprinkle with pistachios and drizzle with sriracha mayonnaise.

Sriracha Mayonnaise:  
Mix 1 cup mayo with 4-5 tablespoons sriracha, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

Why this recipe is good for you…

Quinoa is full of fiber.  Fiber helps prevent heart disease by reducing blood pressure and diabetes.  Quinoa contains iron, lysine, magnesium, riboflavin and manganese.   All are essential to healthy blood and tissue cells.

Beets help to lower blood pressure, fight inflammation and are packed with essential nutrients and fiber.

Pistachios have fewer calories and more potassium and vitamin K per serving than any other nut.  They also contain 1-arginine, which helps make the lining of your arteries more flexible and less likely to develop clots.

And, of course, the sriracha mayonnaise may not be the healthiest ingredient… but it sure tastes good.

This delicious dinner features asparagus, which is a vegetable packed with nutrients (Vitamins A, C, E and K) and antioxidants. Asparagus is also rich with glutathione, which helps break down harmful carcinogens and helps protect us against certain forms of cancer.

This meal can be completed in 30 minutes or less.  The amounts below make enough for two hearty portions, and enough leftovers for one lunch.  If you want, add some grated Parmesan cheese at the end, but it’s not necessary.

½ box dried Penne pasta
2 chicken cutlets, about ¾ lb.
1 small bunch asparagus
8 fresh cremini or white button mushrooms
1 medium shallot
Juice of ½ lemon
Kosher salt and pepper
Olive oil

Fill a 3-5 quart sauce pan with water, add about 1 t. salt, and heat on high.  Heat a large skillet on medium heat and add 2 T olive oil.

Dry the cutlets with paper towel, season with salt and pepper, and fry until lightly browned on both sides.  About 3-4 minutes per side.  Remove from the pan.

While the chicken is cooking, remove the stems from the mushrooms and cut into ¼” slices.

Break off the woody ends of the asparagus and discard (or save for vegetable stock, along with the mushroom stems).   Cut the asparagus into bite size pieces, about 1 inch.  Mince the shallot.

Add the sliced mushrooms and asparagus to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and stir occasionally.  If the pan seems dry, add a little more olive oil.  After 3-4 minutes, add the shallots.

Cook the pasta as directed.

When the mushrooms have given up their moisture, and the pan is almost dry, add about ¾ cup pasta water to the pan, stir, and continue to cook.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces.

Drain the pasta, reserving about ½ cup of the water.

Add the lemon juice to the mushroom, asparagus mixture.  Taste the sauce, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Add the chicken, accumulated juices, and pasta to the pan, stir, and cook for 1 more minute.  If the mixture is dry, add some of the reserved pasta water.

Remove pan from the heat.  Add cheese if desired and/or drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve.

By: Pete@lebontadipio
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