Published By: Swanson Staff

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Fitness Over 50: Low-Impact Indoor Workouts from a Performance Coach

By Swanson Staff

Staying In & Staying Fit

With gyms being shut down and temperatures dropping, it can be difficult to stick to a healthy lifestyle while cooped up inside. Here are some recommendations and low-impact exercises that are easy on the joints and can be done indoors with or without any extra equipment or weights.

If you don’t have weights at home that’s okay. Try using half-gallon milk jugs and fill them with either water, sand or rice either all the way up or halfway depending on preference. If you find the half-gallon to not be enough weight, try full gallon jugs.

Motivation

Although there are many excuses to be made for skipping a workout during the cold season or when you don’t feel safe going to the gym, it is important to hold yourself accountable. There are ways to have an effective, enjoyable workout in the comfort of your home.

Exercising is a priority for one's physical and mental wellbeing. It can help with a variety of wellness health needs such as joint protection, healthy mood, heart health regulation, better sleep and even supported immune function. Physical activity will make your cardiovascular system work more efficiently, boosting energy throughout the day, too!

Set Goals

Staying motivated and staying on track is easier when there are goals set in place. These don’t have to be restricted to a number on the scale. Rather than a weight goal, pay attention to how clothes are fitting, how your mental health is and how walking up the stairs carrying groceries no longer makes you winded.

Sit down and write at least two short-term and two long-term goals you have for yourself. With these goals, write what you will have to do in order to achieve them. This will act as your guide in your fitness journey.

Exercises

There are many ways you can be active indoors:

• Strength training
• Yoga
• Dancing
• Pilates
• Walking up & down stairs
• Cycling
• Stretching

Below is an example of a workout that can be performed indoors with limited space with and without weights/bands. These exercises will help with joint support, balance and maintaining muscle mass. If you feel pain during any exercise, stop immediately. Exercises should be performed at least three times a week. Stretching is recommended before and after workouts.

Cole Jirik
Owner of Dynasty Performance Gym 
Fargo, ND

Cole Jirik Started Dynasty Performance in 2016 to bring a different approach to speed and strength training to the Fargo-Moorhead area. He is the owner and head trainer at Dynasty and has trained athletes from middle school level all the way up to professional athletes. Cole was a three-sport athlete at Northfield High School playing football, hockey and baseball before moving on to North Dakota State University where he was a 4-year starter in football for the Bison. After graduation in 2013, he continued playing football with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers before moving back to Fargo. Sports have always been a major part of his life and that eventually led him to open a performance training center to help athletes reach their full potential.