Best Mobility Exercises for Seniors (2021): Your Complete Guide

Flexibility exercises help keep you limber. They make sure muscles get enough stretching, and some are also good as warm up exercises. 

You need flexibility to turn your neck when you’re driving, to reach for things, to participate in sports and activities that you love. Shoulders, arms, legs, back and ankles all need stretching. Anything that gets these parts to use their full range of motion is a stretching exercise. Here’s one that stretches your back, your torso and your arms.

What’s a cardio exercise? Anything that gets your heart rate moving. It includes brisk walking, running, swimming, cycling and playing tennis. Most experts recommend about 30 minutes of cardio 3-5 days a week. Aim to go hard enough so you can talk only in short sentences but not so hard that you can’t talk at all.

Falls are the leading cause of injuries for the elderly. The older body just doesn’t as readily recognize its positioning and the effect gravity is having on that position. Continued balance depends on core strength but also on the vestibular function of the middle ear ("functional" exercises are also important).

Foot taps are a balance exercise you can do as you get ready to climb the stairs or when you’re just standing around in any room. All you need is something to hold onto and something to step up onto.

We all lose muscle mass as we get older, but strength training helps us retain as much as possible. It keeps bones strong and helps promote mobility and prevent falls, as well as helping you maintain good posture. You can use barbells, dumbbells and resistance cords for strength training, and you can even use your own body weight.

We need our arms for everything from carrying in groceries to picking up grandchildren to keeping our golf swing strong. There are arm exercises for barbells, resistance bands and medicine balls, but a set of dumbbells is one of the most effective investments you can make for arm fitness. Try starting with 2-3 pound bells then go heavier if you like.

If your back doesn’t work well, nothing works well. Anything that makes you tighten your core abdominal muscles is beneficial for your back, even if it’s also an arm or leg exercise. For example, bridges work your leg muscles but also require you to engage your core.

For more exercises, check out our complete guide to the best back exercises for seniors, as well as our guide to sciatica exercises. 

Some of us have struggled with belly fat for years, while for others it’s happened only as we’ve aged. Exercises for belly fat are worthwhile in both cases. Walking and sports are a good way to attack belly fat, but there are stand-still exercises as well.

In recent years there’s been a lot more emphasis on maintaining a strong core. Your core includes the muscles that support the spine, not just those along the spine but also the muscles of the abdomen, hips and pelvis. Core exercises are those that focus on these muscle groups. Strong core muscles not only prevent back pain but are important in balance and in preventing falls.

The hips connect the upper and lower body and are vital to the proper function of both. Hip exercises improve balance, build leg strength and firm the gluteal muscles.

Knees take a beating in walking, climbing stairs and even descending stairs. Many older adults deal with knee pain. The correct knee exercises can keep them limber by flexing and extending the knees.

It’s hard to maintain upper body strength as we age, but it’s important. It’s an area where loss of muscle mass can make day-to-day life difficult. The muscles of your arms, shoulders and upper back need exercise and strengthening to help you reach, push, pull and lift for yourself and maintain independence.

The push-up is a classic upper body exercise. Here’s another one.

No, we're not just talking about smacking a ball around the way you do in golf or tennis!

There are balls for sports, which are great fun, but there are also balls made for exercise.

There are small balls and medicine balls. One of the most versatile is the large spheroid call a stability ball, sometimes known as a Swiss ball. Use one that’s big enough to sit on comfortably with your feet flat on the floor. It’s ideal for core strengthening and balance.

For more exercises in this area, check out our complete guide to ball exercises. 

Some days you just might not be able to get out of bed, but you can still do your bed exercises. If you’re temporarily bed-bound, you don’t have to let your fitness go to pot. Bed exercises help keep your blood circulating even when you’re not moving about.

Resistance bands are an inexpensive and effective investment. There are probably some at your gym or fitness center, but you can pick up a few and do resistance exercises at home. There are suitable resistance band routines for arms, legs and the whole body. Here’s one to promote overall strength.

Tai chi started out as a martial art, but most people who practice it today aren’t looking to fight. Instead, they find that the deliberate, controlled movements are relaxing and promote flexibility, strength and balance. There are plenty of gentle tai chi positions that are excellent for older adults.

If arthritis and joint pain keep you away from regular aerobic exercises, water aerobics may be the answer. There’s no jolting, yet the weight of the water provides resistance for strength building.

A weight bearing exercise is anything that lifts your body weight and works against gravity. Walking, stair climbing, tennis and dancing are weight bearing exercises. Bicycling and horseback riding are not. They’re good, but something else is bearing your weight. The best weight bearing exercises strengthen bones and are often recommended for seniors with osteoporosis.

Even if you can’t always stand up and walk, you can still get your exercise. Plenty of wheelchair-using seniors are fit and active. Wheelchair exercises make daily activities a bit easier.

You don’t have to bend into a pretzel to benefit from yoga exercises. Yoga should be relaxing, refreshing and never hurt. You’re never too old to enjoy the benefits of yoga: better balance, improved flexibility, better sleep, less chance of depression.

The cat and cow is a classic spinal stretch. You can even modify this and do it sitting in a chair.