5 Exercises That Could Harm You in Old Age And Safer Ways to Stay Active

Staying active is one of the best things you can do as you get older.

Regular physical activity can help maintain muscle strength, support balance, protect independence and make everyday activities easier. The CDC recommends that adults 65 and older get a combination of aerobic activity, muscle-strengthening exercises and balance activities each week.

But there is an important distinction between exercise being healthy and every exercise being appropriate for every person.

As we age, joints, muscles, balance and recovery can change. An exercise that felt perfectly comfortable at 40 may become unnecessarily demanding at 70, particularly if it is performed with poor form, too much intensity or without allowing enough recovery.

That doesn’t mean older adults should stop exercising.

Quite the opposite.

The goal is to choose movements that match your current abilities and gradually increase the challenge rather than trying to prove how hard you can work.

Here are five types of exercise that may become problematic for some older adults—and what you can do instead.

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1. Very intense HIIT workouts

High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, involves alternating periods of hard effort with recovery periods.

For a healthy, well-conditioned person, vigorous exercise can be perfectly appropriate. In fact, the CDC includes vigorous activity such as jogging and running among the options older adults can use to meet their weekly aerobic activity goals.

The problem is jumping into extremely intense workouts without being prepared for them.

A workout that repeatedly pushes you close to your maximum effort can be difficult if you’re unaccustomed to vigorous exercise or have a medical condition that affects your ability to exercise safely.

The issue isn’t simply your age.

It’s the combination of:

• Your current fitness level
• How quickly you increase intensity
• Your exercise history
• Your balance and mobility
• Any existing health conditions
• Whether you have recovered adequately between workouts

The National Institute on Aging recommends increasing physical activity gradually over weeks or months rather than suddenly jumping to a much higher level.

A safer approach

You don’t need to avoid intervals completely.

Start with moderate activity, such as brisk walking, and gradually introduce short periods of faster walking if your body tolerates them.

For someone who is new to exercise, walking faster for a short period can be plenty of intensity.

You should not feel that every workout has to leave you exhausted.

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2. Heavy lifting without proper technique

Strength training is actually one of the most valuable forms of exercise for older adults.

The NIA recommends muscle-strengthening activities because they can help maintain strength, support independence and make everyday tasks such as getting out of a chair, climbing stairs and carrying groceries easier.

So why can heavy lifting become a problem?

Because lifting more weight than you can control is not the same thing as effective strength training.

Using excessive weight or sacrificing your form to complete a repetition can put unnecessary stress on muscles and joints.

Another mistake is holding your breath while lifting.

The NIA specifically advises older adults not to hold their breath during strength exercises. Instead, breathe out during the effort and breathe in as you relax.

A safer approach

Start with a weight you can control comfortably.

Resistance bands, light dumbbells, weight machines and even body-weight movements can provide useful resistance.

The NIA notes that beginners can start without weights or with resistance bands until they become comfortable with the movements.

And don’t rush to increase the weight.

Your muscles need time to adapt.

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3. Jumping and high-impact exercises

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