Take the Senior Fitness Quiz

A decline in physical fitness is not a result of aging. Many frail older adults got that way because they stopped exercising. Many long-term (chronic) health conditions are made worse by lack of physical activity. Even if you haven't been active, it's not too late to start. Check with your healthcare provider before beginning an exercise program. Start slowly and build up gradually. That might mean exercising for only 5 to 10 minutes at first. But over several months, you can increase your time to 30 minutes a day.

Getting enough exercise during the day can actually help ease insomnia. It is best to not do vigorous exercise in the evening before bedtime. This can cause you to be more awake.

You don't have to get all your exercise for the day at 1 time. You can break up exercise into short periods – in 10-minute chunks, for instance – with rest in between. You might garden in the morning, for instance, and swim in the afternoon. An exercise log can help you keep track of how active you are. Another benefit is that you can track your progress over time. This can help keep you motivated to exercise regularly.

Even if you spend most of your time in a wheelchair, you can still exercise. Here's a sampling of exercises you may be able to do: flexibility exercises for fingers, wrists, and feet; neck extensions; simulated swimming strokes with your arms (crawl, breast stroke, back stroke) to stretch your shoulders; back stretches; leg extensions; and arm curls. You could try to even find an adaptive sports team, such as for wheelchair basketball.

A set of dumbbells is nice to have, but you can use substitute items: a bucket of soil, a stone, a brick, or a can of food. For many strength exercises, such as leg extensions and heel raises, you can simply use the weight of your body as the resistance.

These are the core parts of any good exercise program, no matter what your age. Flexibility exercises help maintain your range of motion. As you age, your muscles tend to lose their elasticity. And tissues around the joints thicken. These exercises help counteract this, as well as slow down the development of arthritis. Strength training helps halt the loss of muscle tissue that occurs as you age and helps prevent back problems. Endurance exercise, also called aerobic exercise, boosts the health of your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It also gives you more energy. Weight-bearing aerobic exercise also can stimulate bone growth and make your bones healthier. Exercises to improve balance can reduce the chance of falling.

Walking is a great aerobic exercise. It's easier on your joints than running. And the massaging action of your leg muscles on your leg veins improves the flow of blood back to the heart. Walking also strengthens your leg muscles and improves your balance, helping you prevent falls. Other advantages to walking: It's free, it can be done just about any time, and it has the lowest rate of injury of any exercise. Other good choices for aerobic exercise include biking and golfing (as long as you're walking the fairways). Activities like gardening and playing with your grandchildren also can count toward your daily activity time.

You can get a great workout by doing water aerobics, or by walking in the water. A bonus is that the buoyancy of the water is easy on your joints. An aerobic program should include weight-bearing exercises, such as walking or dancing, to maintain good bone health.

Huffing and puffing can mean you're pushing yourself too hard. You should be able to maintain a conversation at the pace you've set. If you can't, slow down.

No matter what your age, if you sweat, it means you're losing fluids. It's important to drink water before, during, and after exercise. Always talk with your healthcare provider if you are on any fluid restrictions.