Older people should slightly increase the number of steps per day to improve cardiovascular health. For people over 70 years old, just taking about 500 more steps per day can bring obvious benefits.
Regular walking helps lower blood pressure, stabilize blood fat, control blood sugar and support heart function more effectively. Not only good for cardiovascular health, walking also helps increase muscle and bone strength, reduce stress, and sleep better. This can be seen as a simple form of exercise but brings comprehensive benefits to the health of the elderly.
However, when walking, you also need to listen to your body. If abnormal signs appear such as chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or prolonged joint pain, the exerciser should stop and go for a check-up.
Some people think that walking backwards helps move muscle groups that are less used. This is true to a certain extent, but this method is not suitable for the elderly because it increases the risk of falls, easily causing fractures or serious injuries.
In addition, in older adults, muscles are often less flexible while joints and ligaments are stiffer. Therefore, it is necessary to warm up thoroughly 5-10 minutes before walking to warm up the body and reduce the risk of injury.
Another note is that the elderly are often less sensitive to the feeling of heat, cold and pressure on their feet. When walking on gravel roads or rough surfaces, they are easily scratched without realizing it. If the skin is damaged, the risk of infection is also higher, so you need to choose suitable shoes and check your feet regularly after exercising.
