Link4life Stay Active at Home

HEEL TOE WALK

 Standing upright, place your right heel on the floor directly in front of your left toe  Then do the same with your left heel. Make sure you keep looking forwards at all times  If necessary, put your fingers against a wall for stability  Try to perform at least five steps. As you progress, move away from the wall

SIT TO STAND

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Sit on edge of chair, feet hip width apart. Lean slightly forward Stand up slowly, using your legs. (Try not to use your arm if possible) Keep looking forwards, not down Stand all the way upright, before sitting down slowly and under control Aim to stand and sit as many times as you can in 30 seconds

PRESS UPS AGAINST A WALL

 Stand about 2 feet out away from the wall  Place hands on the wall, at shoulder height, slightly wider than shoulder width apart  Lean in towards wall under control, till nose is nearly touching the wall  Press into the palms of the hands and use the arms to bring yourself back to the starting point

SIDEWAYS WALKING

 Stand with feet together, knees slightly bent  Step sideways under control, moving one foot and then bringing the other to meet it  Try stepping 6 steps to the side, and then 6 steps back to the start point

STEP UP

Use a step, or your stairs preferably with a railing or near a wall to use as support.

A. Step up with your right leg B. Bring your left leg up to join it C. Step down again and return to the start position The key for building balance is to step up and down slowly and in a controlled manner Perform up to five steps with each leg, or try for up to 2mins in a controlled manner

SINGLE LEG LIFT

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Sit upright, away from the back of the chair Lift one leg out straight as you can in front of you, hold it at the top for 2 seconds Lower leg slowly under control Repeat on other side Aim for 10 on each leg

HAMSTRING CURL

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Hold on to chair if needed for balance Keep thighs even and knees pointing down to floor Curl leg backwards, aiming heel towards your bum Aim for 10 repetitions on each leg

ARM REACH UP

 Sit upright, with arms at your sides, palms facing forwards  Raise your arms straight out to side as high as you can manage comfortably  Return arms back down to sides, keep shoulders down and arms straight throughout the move  Try to repeat 10 times

Good websites for advice on exercising at home:  www.nhs.uk - have a great set of exercise sheets for older adults in terms of balance, strength, coordination and flexibility. If you type the website in and ask for exercises for older people  www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk - have a section on home exercises for older adults

Functional tasks to perform at home and during your daily activities It can be easy to think there are no simple activities you can do at home to keep yourself active, but here are some simple example of things you can do around the house to keep yourself active and mobile:  Walk up and down the stairs at least 2 times a day when you don’t need too  Keep your cups for coffee on a higher shelf so you have to reach up to get them  Use the advert breaks while you are watching TV to do some Sit to Stand exercises, or have a walk around your room during this break  Stand and balance on one leg while brushing your teeth, washing the pots etc, the sink’s there to give you the extra balance if you need it  Use the time it takes your kettle to boil to do some press ups against the wall or some hamstrings curls, squats using the counter top to help balance  Do some nice big good morning stretches as soon as you wake up, just like in the films, big and round with the arms to loosen up the shoulders  Perform some single leg lift exercise while watching TV, reading or any other time you’re sat in a chair

 Use your tidying up as a form of exercise, pop some music on and make it a workout, hovering round up and down the room rather than standing and just pushing the hoover out from one spot  Pop some music on and dance around the room for a while, it’s been suggested that Country and Western has a good beat! Or you all know 60’s tunes are fabulous!!!  Use tins of beans, or tins of veg as small weights to perform bicep curls, front arm raises, side arm raises, side bends etc as you would do in class  Try and move around your house as often as you can, walking, dancing, standing, anything that you made The easier these activities become and the more you incorporate them into just your daily life the more likely they are to become second nature and the better you’ll become at them and be ready to get back into the session when we’re open again!