A treadmill for seniors gives you the best walking experience with safety in the comfort of your home. If you briskly walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes a day, a lot of health issues can be prevented and it will also improve your overall health.
Diseases that are common in old age such as diabetes, arthritis, and high blood pressure can be kept at bay with treadmill workout. Nobody wants to get old but it is a reality only the fortunate one amongst us can enjoy, and old age is a reality that we all must accept.
Old age makes you weaker but with proper training, you can have a youthful old age. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention advises that everyone in their old age must do 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity or 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every week.
Walking is the best exercise for the old as it causes the least strain on the body. And
We have selected top 5 treadmills for seniors so that it becomes easier for you to buy and start working out at the earliest.
Our Best Choice – The Winner Treadmill
Treadmills for Seniors
Why Should Seniors Walk For Exercise?
Old age is a challenging period to go through. Your lifestyle changes drastically so do your health. Methods for staying fit at old age are not the same as it was in the teenage.
Walking with perfect balance is considered to be a blessing at old age and if you lack it you get bedridden at an early stage in your old age life. The only way to keep walking well is by having good regular walks. Losing the ability to move can lead to many other diseases and it will eventually result in an inability to do daily activities.
Unlike in young age, people of old age must make sure that they are walking in a safe location otherwise rough terrains and unexpected accidents will do more harm to you than good.
People in their old age will start to notice a drastic enhancement in their health if they start to walk regularly. They will have:
1. Improved cardiovascular health
2. Improved bone mass
3. Improved functional mobility
4. Improved strength
5. Improved mental health
6. Decreased pain levels
Unfortunately, old age is considered to be a period for resting. Because of this thought, seniors will restrict themselves from most of their usual activities. This will slowly result in the loss of muscle strength and flexibility.
Quitting from your normal routine can cause much harm to you than old age so make sure that you make your body do enough work. At least you can ensure a regular walk on any of the best treadmills for seniors that are available in the market.
The Benefits of Treadmills for seniors and How to Buy One
It is always good to know more about the fitness equipment before ordering one. You must know why it is important for the seniors to walk regularly on a treadmill.
What are its advantages? What all things to look for in a manual treadmill for the elderly. And how to find the best treadmill for seniors that suits you.
How Seniors Can Benefit from Using a Treadmill?
Treadmills can improve your overall health so you must know the perks you are going to get with your treadmill training in old age. Here are some of the health benefits that come with treadmill training.
1. Improved Cardiovascular Health: Cardio training is the most important benefit you will get with treadmill training. Regular walks and jogging will increase the blood flow in your body and strengthen your heart muscles.
This improves your overall cardiovascular health and reduces the risk of heart-related diseases.With constant training over a long period of time, the left ventricle of your heart will enlarge as it gets used to pumping more blood due to the regular requirement of pumping more blood to your body.
And when this happens, the resting heart rate drops as now only fewer beats are necessary to circulate blood throughout your body. This is based on a study conducted by the University of Maryland, Baltimore Washington Medical Center.
2. Better Mood: A healthy mind can only reside in a healthy body. Exercising regularly can help in improving your mood. It forces your body to release endorphins and serotonin – the chemicals released by our body to improve your mood.
Endorphins give the feeling of bliss and reduce the stress level. People often say that the “runner’s high” but the release of endorphins can trigger the mood upliftment and you don’t always have to be running for that. Serotonin is another chemical released by the brain that works similarly in our body.
3. Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle: Exercise must be a part of a daily routine for people of all ages. It ensures a healthy lifestyle. If you look at people carefully you will start to notice that exercising individuals especially seniors are much happier and energetic than others.
Their muscles and body are more flexible and don’t experience any kind of restriction on their body. Most of the lifestyle diseases can be avoided with regular exercising. Obesity, something to be avoided at all costs can also be controlled with proper and regular exercise.
4.Improves Blood Flow and Flexibility: Aerobic exercise has a lot of health benefits like loosening your muscles and improving your blood flow. Aerobic exercise is what makes the treadmill training so popular. For that matter exercises that forces the heart to pump more blood always improves the health of your circulatory system.
But it is a hoax made by many fitness enthusiasts that only running can improve your circulation. Even a simple walk you do daily on your treadmill can prove beneficial in improving your circulatory system.
Based on the study conducted by Science Direct, aerobic exercises can even improve your cerebral blood flow; this will help in preventing faster ageing. You only need to choose a good treadmill for seniors and start walking. You will start to feel younger.
How To Choose A Treadmill For Seniors
Choosing a good treadmill for seniors is always a tough task as any random treadmill won’t suit your needs. First of all the treadmill has to be sturdy and it must be free from any kind of wobbling when working out.
The treadmills found at the fitness centres are normally commercial models and are of good quality. But regular walking does not require treadmills with those much powerful motors. Depending on your weight you can choose a treadmill. If you weigh below 200 pounds a treadmill with 2 CHP motor is enough but if you weigh more, then at least 2.5 CHP is required.
When it comes down to exercising it isn’t the intensity of the work out that matters but the regularity. The more consistent you are the longer you live.
So what all features should my treadmill have? That is an important question and we will help you find it out. Our experts are good at these and we will help you sort out the best treadmill for seniors.
Let’s Start With The Must-haves
When you are buying a treadmill for a 60-year-old, always remember that your purpose is not to show off. So you must avoid all unnecessary features and look for proper functionality.
You may not need internet connectivity speaker systems, TV screens, etc. They aren’t bad but most of the seniors never use it. All they require is something to walk on safely. So let us have a look at the basic features needed in a treadmill for seniors.
1. Good Cushioning: Running and walking are very useful exercises but if done without care it can also harm your body even if you are running on a treadmill. A proper cushioning on treadmills ensures that the impact you have on your joints is reduced.
This is very important when it comes to choosing a treadmill for seniors because their weak joints can easily get damaged if not taken care of. Proper cushioning helps in attaining an ideal stride too, reducing the fatigue and improving the overall result.
The treadmills for seniors will always have multi-ply cushioning. This is a blessing for those who are suffering from arthritis and other kinds of injuries. If you plan to buy a cheaper treadmill with no support then it is better not to buy a treadmill as it can only cause you harm.
2. Solid Construction: A treadmill is meant to last. We don’t expect an elderly treadmill to go under repair at an earlier stage itself. If you are buying a cheaper treadmill then your first priority itself went wrong. Health can never be substituted with money.
Find a good treadmill which supports your weight and offers proper safety features. One of the best ways to know the quality of a good treadmill is to check its warranty period. The longer the warranty period, better is the product.
3. Incline Capability: Treadmill for seniors doesn’t mean you are buying equipment with no capacity to do better exercises. Every good treadmill for seniors will have inclination support so if you want to work out a bit more intensely then you can.
A proper incline gives a challenge to the body making it work out more and thus provides a better result. If you buy one of the best treadmills for seniors then you will get an incline of a minimum 10%.
4. Walking Speed: When it comes to seniors, a treadmill is an equipment to keep their body healthy so most of them may not be planning to run on it. They only need a regular slow walking session.
Nowadays treadmills are fitted with motors that can adjust their speed by electronic controls or you can choose the ones without it. But we will advise you to select a motorized treadmill with lower speeds and a good high speed. So that you will have the flexibility to work out more if you need.
5. Handrail Length: Longer handrails are a must requirement as it can save you in the event of unexpected falls and prevent injuries. Treadmills for seniors must never have shorter handrails. Longer handrails will give seniors something to hold on and maintain their balance.
6. Manual or Motorized: Both motorized and manual treadmills are available in the market. There are people who think treadmills for seniors are manual treadmills as it is more secure. But it isn’t a compulsory requirement it all comes down to the choice of the senior working out on the treadmill.
And Some Other Features You Might Want
So we assume that now you have a rough idea about the kind of treadmill that you are planning to buy. You already know about most of the features. So is that all? There are some more features you can consider before buying a treadmill.
1. Workout Programs: Unlike normal fitness enthusiast, seniors might be least interested in multiple workout varieties they will rather just step on and walk. But a majority of the walking treadmills for seniors come with many workout programs.
The best treadmills for seniors will have all kinds of adjustments in the distance, incline, interval and cardio workouts. If interested one can choose the types they want and have some variety in their workout.
2. Heart Rate Monitoring: Make sure you are medically fit to use the treadmills as some are advised not to use the treadmills because of health reasons. Heart rate monitoring is a useful feature to understand your health statistics.
Majority of the treadmills for seniors have heart rate monitors attached to the grip that gives a rough reading. This will give you a general sense of your heart health.
3. Folding Capability: Folding capacity is a good feature to save space in your apartment. As soon as you finish working out you can free up that space and this will keep your room spacious.
But this is not a compulsory feature if you have enough space to afford. If you choose one with folding capacity then choose one that could fold on its own with the touch of a button. That will be more comfortable for the elderly.
Conclusion
Going through the best treadmills for seniors review must have boosted your confidence drastically. After all, old age is just a time to give extra care for your body and live happily until the very end.
You must have found a good treadmill for seniors too. Just keep in mind that you do specific exercises for each category of muscles. Cardiovascular exercises can keep you fit in your old age. People of 65 years of age are advised to work out for at least 30 minutes a day with short intervals between 10 minutes workout.
Strength training must also be done twice or thrice a week with treadmill walking. Also, include exercises that will help you keep your body balance. Do all these and we assure you that you will have a youthful old age.
