10 Mobility Exercises for Seniors - Seated and Standing

This exercise is the straight leg raise it's going to work the muscles in the front part of our upper leg and it's also going to work some of our lower abdominal muscles in our trunk area Polly's gonna sit on the chair and sit upright on the front edge of it I'm going to stay upright but I'm going to sit back a little bit it's just a little bit more comfortable for me to execute but I'm still going to keep my trunk nice and straight and upright all right we're gonna pull our toe in straighten our leg out órale raise the leg hold and then release we want to keep our leg straight through the whole range of motion touch lightly and then lift it again try to go so that you're at least parallel to the other leg if you can get a little bit higher go there squeeze hold and then release the top part of this exercise is very important to contracting the muscles that we are trying to isolate on this exercise movement keep our toes coming towards us squeeze hold release excellent job touch lately the heel two more reps with this leg squeeze release last rep up hold release very good we're going to change legs straighten the left leg out bring it up hold release touch lately again if we can get it a little bit higher than the opposite leg that's even better we're isolating the quadriceps or lower abdominal muscles through this range of motion and Polly is exhaling inhaling as she's doing the exercise movement she doesn't want to hold her breath through the range of movement here squeeze very good she's doing an excellent job of squeezing at the top of this to contract the muscles that we're trying to isolate that's critical you don't want to come up and just let it go we want to hold all right two more repetitions excellent excellent job here squeeze one more hold release very good that's our straight leg raise you

This exercise is the straight leg raise it's going to work the muscles in the front part of our upper leg and it's also going to work some of our lower abdominal muscles in our trunk area Polly's gonna sit on the chair and sit upright on the front edge of it I'm going to stay upright but I'm going to sit back a little bit it's just a little bit more comfortable for me to execute but I'm still going to keep my trunk nice and straight and upright all right we're gonna pull our toe in straighten our leg out órale raise the leg hold and then release we want to keep our leg straight through the whole range of motion touch lightly and then lift it again try to go so that you're at least parallel to the other leg if you can get a little bit higher go there squeeze hold and then release the top part of this exercise is very important to contracting the muscles that we are trying to isolate on this exercise movement keep our toes coming towards us squeeze hold release excellent job touch lately the heel two more reps with this leg squeeze release last rep up hold release very good we're going to change legs straighten the left leg out bring it up hold release touch lately again if we can get it a little bit higher than the opposite leg that's even better we're isolating the quadriceps or lower abdominal muscles through this range of motion and Polly is exhaling inhaling as she's doing the exercise movement she doesn't want to hold her breath through the range of movement here squeeze very good she's doing an excellent job of squeezing at the top of this to contract the muscles that we're trying to isolate that's critical you don't want to come up and just let it go we want to hold all right two more repetitions excellent excellent job here squeeze one more hold release very good that's our straight leg raise you

Sitting tall in the middle of a chair with your feet flat on the floor engage your core muscles lift one knee up and then slowly return your foot back to the floor repeat on the other side ensure you breathe out as you lift your knee and in as you lower it

For seated heel toe raises, put your feet about shoulder width apart. Then lift your toes and then lift your heels. Alternating back and forth.

Sitting arm circles to first start in the seated position you want to sit on the edge of your chair create a nice arch in your low back so you're sitting nice and tall bringing the ear shoulder and hip in perfect alignment from the front view our ankle knee hip and shoulder in alignment so that creates the space we need and then what she's going to do is she's going to go ahead and touch the tips of her fingers to the pads of her hand and she's going to reach her arms and extend them fully out locking the elbows out so when she does this this creates a little bit more extension in the spine and it works the back muscles and is putting more extension in the thoracic spine as well and then she's just going to go ahead and do some circles forward as directed by your practitioner and how many so we're working the shoulder joint reestablishing the way the shoulder joint articulates getting some movement in the scapula really getting that thoracic extension strengthening the back muscles shoulder stabilization and then she's going to after she does it she's going to reverse her finger her hands so she's getting external rotation now in the humerus before she had medial rotation so you're getting a little bit more opening in the chest and repeat as directed by your practitioner for sitting arm circles

Sit on a mat with your right leg straight and bend your left leg so that is over top of your right leg keep your spine straight up and down and twist to the left placing your left hand on the ground and your right elbow on your left knee for assisting the stretch hold the stretch for 20 seconds or more and then switch legs and repeat in the opposite direction

The next exercise involves performing push-ups against a wall to strengthen your shoulder, elbow, and chest muscles. Stand with your feet away from the wall and your hands at shoulder height against the wall. Push through the hands to straighten the elbows and then bend the elbows. Try to stay on your toes with the body perfectly still with no movement in the shoulder blades. The only moving parts are the elbows. Common mistakes for this exercise involve dropping your chest and hips towards the wall and moving the shoulder blades together. In this clip you can see that the body is not maintaining the straight neutral alignment. Another mistake is letting your pelvis move backward and your shoulders coming together or coming apart too much. Avoid excessive shoulder blade motion throughout this exercise.

Hello it's martin cooper and don williams from institute of sports and spines today we're here to demonstrate the heel toe rock exercise we use this exercise for ankle knee and hip issues as well as post operative ankle knee and hip surgery we're demonstrating this exercise on 500 mil carpet tiles you can use your own floor tiles at home which vary from 300 to 600 millimeters but 500 millimeters is a optimal optimal distance for you to utilize now starting position is the rear foot on the edge of one of your tiles and the forefoot on the edge of the tile in front the movement itself is just transferring load between the heel and the toe in a rocking motion as don is demonstrating conversely you can also plant the heel further accentuate that heel toe rocking action as you change your weight from front foot to back foot also do the other side despite the fact that the injury is on one side we want to try and improve your motion in both planes of movement switching to a side view may give you a better understanding of the nature of this movement this concludes our demonstration this concludes our demonstration of the heel toe rocking exercise

Leg swings side to side standing in front of a wall or sturdy piece of furniture hold on to it for balance stand on one leg keeping the supporting knee slightly bent swing the other leg from side to side first Crossing in front of your support leg and then outwards to the side trying to reach the limit of your hip movement make sure your abs are engage and that you do not Arch your lower back or that you lean to the sides or back at any time repeat for five to 10 repetitions for each leg

Begin in a standing position with your feet in a wide stance reach one arm across your body to your opposite side shifting your weight on to that leg and turning your head and trunk to follow your hand return to the starting position and repeat to your other side make sure to reach as big as you can with your arms and hands and maintain your balance during the exercise [Applause]

Stand upright and hold onto a wall or table for balance if required slowly raise up onto your toes and control the movement back down this exercise will strengthen the calf muscles and Ankle joints