Bare Minimum Exercise for Busy Seniors

What would you do if you only had a few minutes and wanted bare minimum exercises to do right away? Can you get healthy by exercising less? When you’re in a hurry, you may have a book of excuses to use, mostly valid like sore joints, injuries, and lack of time. Even retired seniors get so busy it’s hard to get to the gym.

What if I told you that the latest research into exercise supports the notion that less is better? What if you could tone up those loose arms, tummy, and butt in 10 minutes instead of 45 to 60 minutes?

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Works

The idea of compressing essential movements into a short time frame is well-validated by exercise physiologists. This isn’t new, but it’s not being used by most people. If it were, you wouldn’t see people jogging or walking or on a treadmill for hours.

The official name for this method of gaining strength is High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT. When applied to cardio activities, for example, you would go at a moderate pace for a time span then switch to a fast speed for a short burst. Alternating regular and fast speeds is a method that yields health benefits in a much shorter time period.

In my opinion, this intensity/interval type of exercise is ideal for seniors. There is less repetitive impact on joints, therefore less chance for injuries. But the additional benefit is that it takes away the excuse of not having enough time to workout.

Can Six Minutes of Bare Minimum Work Get Results?

Applying HIIT to senior exercise can bring results in as little as six minutes, according to physical therapist Dr. Jonathan Su in his book 6-Minute Fitness at 60+. In fact, Dr. Su’s fitness program shaves off time by including only three essential movements to start with. He suggests doing these basic exercises in six minutes twice a day. Every two weeks, you include different movements.

What are his suggestions for seniors? Not surprising, he recommends starting with strengthening legs and hips. Having stronger legs and hips protects seniors from falls and fractures that can be debilitating, sometimes even fatal.

The key to effective workouts is to challenge the muscle a little bit more each time. That’s the “intensity” part of the equation. You can raise intensity by adding number of repetitions, ankle weights, and even slowing down a movement to place greater tension on the muscle.

Finally, a bare minimum exercise program that honors the needs of seniors, no matter how healthy or out of shape they are. Everyone who is aging needs to make up for bone and muscle loss as we grow older.

My Picks for Best Bare Minimum Exercises

What would I recommend as a set of bare minimum exercises that can be done in a few minutes? I’ve worked out with many personal trainers and physical therapists over the years. I’m not a trained fitness expert by any means, so follow the advice of a professional if you want movements suitable for your individual needs. I suggest the following exercises can be performed every day, as a start-of-day routine.

These three movements are designed to be simple, easy to execute and require no equipment, or at most a chair or floor mat. No spandex required, they can be done in your bedroom or hotel room. They work out legs, and hips. I’m not going to describe much of the details of each exercise, so I suggest you look them up on the internet for precise instructions and details.

A starting bare minimum exercise program for six minutes includes three movements for two weeks, making increases in intensity every two or three days. This is my comprehensive list of ten essential movements, but you would start with just the first three, squats, lunges, and hip raises. Those three work the front of the leg, the backs, and the hips and back.

A. Lower Body: Legs, Hips, Back

1. Squats: this simulates the movement of sitting down in a chair, but I do them by pretending to sit, and as soon as my butt touches the chair or bench, I raise my body up to a standing position. Then I repeat several times. To increase intensity, remove the chair and make a full squat going as low as your legs will support. You can do them with a back pack or holding dumbbells for added intensity.
2. Lunges: Take a long step forward and then bend down with your knee directly above your foot, keeping your weight on the front heel, while the back leg is used for balance. Take the next step with the back foot, shifting your weight and bending the other knee.
3. Hip raises: Lying flat on floor with hands by sides, slowly raise hips as high as you can. If the weight on the neck is uncomfortable, place a towel underneath.
4. Straight leg raises: Lying flat on floor or a bench or mat, raise one leg straight up while the other leg is relaxed and bent. Repeat. Intensity: go really slow, add ankle weight.
5. Side leg raises: Lying on one side, support your upper body on one bent arm. Raise the upper leg straight and lower it, slowly. Use ankle weights to increase intensity. Switch sides.
6. Abdominal crunches on a balance ball: Lie on your back across a large inflated ball with your butt slightly off the center of the ball. Lodge your toes under a heavy piece of furniture to stabilize the ball. Place your hands behind your head and neck, keeping your elbows back and lift your upper body up. This is not a complete motion like a sit-up, it’s more like a crunch.  If it’s too difficult, bend your elbows in to assist the weight of your head.

B. Upper Body: Shoulders, Arms, Back

1. I’s, Y’s, and T’s: Stand with good posture and extend your arms straight over your head close to your ears. Each arm forms a letter, the first one is “I”. Raise arms straight in front of you and lower them and repeat. Do not bend at elbows. Then make “Y’s” with your arms straight out and up at an angle, then arms back down against your body. Repeat. Finally, form a T with your two arms straight out to the sides and repeat.
2. Biceps curl: Elbows bent and close to waist, use either your empty fists, a water bottle, or dumbbell weights and bring hands up and toward your shoulders, keeping elbows at your waist. You should be able to feel and see a bulge on upper front of your arms. The thumbs on your hands should be facing outwards.
3. Triceps extension: Use an elastic band attached to a door knob. Hold the elastic in front of you and then bring it down beside or behind your body with a straight arm. Feel the tightening muscle of your triceps, the back part of your upper arm.
4. Pushups, using a chair, table, or bench: Use a table, counter top or chair to support the weight of your body at an angle leaning in. Place your feet away from the table so that you can lower your straight body by bending your arms. If you can’t support all of your weight until you reach the table, do what you can, or find a table or chair that is taller.
5. One arm bent row: Bending over a low table or a bench, position your head and back at a 45 degree angle to the bench. put one knee on the bench, the other on floor. Take a weight (water bottle, can, or dumbbell) in the outside arm and extend straight down towards the floor. Slowly raise it towards your arm pit and lower it again for one repetition. Repeat then change sides, facing the other way, using the outer arm on the other side of the body. This strengthens the upper back along with the arm.

These are basic movements that can be varied many ways. The idea is to only do three each day, twice a day, then increase the intensity and repeat the next day. It’s designed to be quick and simple to remember so that you get into a routine. You wouldn’t leave the house without brushing your teeth, so why not add a series of three bare minimum exercises?

The ability to do these quickly and/or slowly brings benefits such as raising your heart rate and challenging the muscle fibers to grow. Get into a daily habit of just three exercises in six minutes means you’ll never have to feel guilty again about not having time to go to the gym for a full workout.

Try it, and let me know how it goes. Also, please let me know what your favorite bare minimum exercises are. Maybe some of the ones I never think about?