Today is National Senior Health & Fitness Day! Each year, thousands of events around the country promote healthy senior living in its honor. Everything from group exercise events to presentations on healthier eating habits is held.

If you’re not able to make an event, you can still celebrate. There are plenty of ways you can use the day to kickstart your journey toward healthier living! We’ll explore a few.

Join a Fitness Program

National Senior Health & Fitness Day is the perfect opportunity to join a local gym or begin a workout program. Since there are so many events around the country, there’s even a good chance you’ll be able to find an event at a gym nearby. Attending an event allows you to investigate and try out a gym before making any long-term commitments.

Exercising one day is great, but it won’t make a massive difference.

A long-term commitment is exactly why joining a gym or fitness program is a smart choice. Exercising one day is great, but it won’t make a massive difference. Joining a gym or program obliges you to continue going after National Senior Health & Fitness Day. If you’re concerned about the expense, don’t worry. If you’re enrolled in Medicare, your fitness program or gym membership may be covered!

Go for a Swim

If you have access to a pool, going for a swim is one of the best workouts you can do. Many call swimming a no-impact workout. It allows you to exercise without straining your joints too much, which makes it great for seniors with arthritis or muscle pain. That’s not all, though. Swimming is also considered a full-body exercise, because it can target every major muscle group in your body.

Swimming allows you to exercise without straining your joints too much, which makes it great for seniors with arthritis or muscle pain.

Having a hard time finding a pool? Many gyms have access to a swimming pool, as do many local YMCAs. It may also be worth getting a membership to a local pool.

Start a Garden

One of the best ways to add exercise into your life is to find little ways of sneaking workouts into your schedule. It can feel like less of a thing you have to do if you’re enjoying what you’re doing. For example, gardening and yardwork can burn anywhere between 250 to 600 calories per hour. Yardwork, like gardening, combines many different forms of exercise like walking, lifting, or stretching.

For example, gardening and yardwork can burn anywhere between 250 to 600 calories per hour.

If you’re debating going with this route, we can offer some beginner’s tips for your first garden. Maintaining a garden can be difficult if you pick the wrong location or vegetables to grow. To prevent this, pick a location that gets six to eight hours of sunlight. Choosing robust plants that flourish in your local climate can also save you a lot of frustration. For other yardwork, be careful lifting heavy items. You don’t want to hurt yourself lifting a stone or bag of mulch. Being smart and careful can prevent many spring cleaning injuries.

Go for a Nice Walk

Of all the ways for seniors to exercise, going for a walk is wonderful. Walks are effective for weight loss, have a lot of other health benefits, and, best of all, are free. There are no gym memberships or expensive equipment you need to buy. As long as you have a pair of shoes, you can enjoy a nice passeggiata. Not only will you be healthier, walking gets you outdoors and helps fight stress and anxiety.

There are no gym memberships or expensive equipment you need to buy to walk. As long as you have a pair of shoes, you can enjoy a nice passeggiata.

If you’ve hit a bit of a wall with weight loss, it’s possible to get more out of your walks. Add a few hills to your walking route, walk a bit faster or further, or try out walking weights. All these suggestions can increase the number of calories you burn and improve your walks.

Start a New Diet

National Senior Health & Fitness Day isn’t just about exercise. Now might be the perfect time to try out a new, healthier diet.

Your diet is another important factor in your health and weight loss, possibly even more important than exercise. If you’re trying to improve your diet, you can focus on counting your calories, cutting out sugar, or generally eating healthier.

Your diet is another important factor in your health and weight loss, possibly even more important than exercise.

If you’re not ready for a full change of diet, try making little tweaks to your daily routine. For example, you could try drinking diluted vinegar or eating out less and cooking for yourself. You could even try making little changes to your favorite recipes to make them a bit healthier. It’s also effective to plan your meals ahead of time, as this can help you save money and cut unhealthy food out.

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Before beginning any new diet or workout or program, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor. They’ll be able to help you identify what types of meal plans and exercises are safe for you. If you get the all-clear, there’s no better day to start working towards a healthier lifestyle than National Senior Health & Fitness Day.