Benefits of Functional Fitness: Strategies For Healthy Aging

Healthy aging doesn’t have to be a far off dream. With the aid of functional fitness, you have the ability to retain your strength, independence, and sense of well-being.

A recent Loma Linda University study found that regular exercise is shown to slow down the effects of aging. But how do you incorporate exercise into your daily living routine to enjoy these benefits?

You don’t have to take this journey alone. Below you’ll learn about functional fitness, how it works, and the different ways you can incorporate it into your life.

What Is Functional Fitness?

Functional fitness is a type of exercise regimen designed to center increased function in your everyday life. With the aid of these exercises, you’ll be able to more comfortably achieve daily activities such as standing, crouching, or picking up heavy objects.

This type of exercise provides benefits to key parts of the body to encourage smoother movements such as:

• Strengthening the muscles in both your upper and lower body
• Simulating common body movements at home, work, or while playing sports
• Increasing core stability to keep the spine aligned

You Deserve To Remain Independent

A significant benefit to functional fitness is the ability to remain independent. A common fear of aging adults is losing the ability to take care of themselves in their home.

Functional exercises provide you with an ongoing strategy to reduce the effects of aging and keep your life in your hands. A few ways these exercises keep you independent are:

• Keeping up your strength so you can carry groceries or move furniture
• Enabling you to enjoy picking up and holding your grandchildren
• Reducing the aches and pains of getting out of bed or standing up from the bath

Functional Fitness Helps Combat Muscle Loss 

While muscle loss is a normal element of aging, practical exercises go a long way to reducing its impact on your life. Regular strength building exercises ensure you’re still able to complete daily tasks such as:

• Getting dressed in the morning
• Using the restroom comfortably
• Tidying up the house

Strength and Balance Helps Prevent Slips and Falls

Slips and falls are one of the biggest concerns of aging and an occurrence that functional fitness helps prevent. With a combination of flexibility training and balance exercises, you’ll retain the ability to:

• More comfortably lean down and tie your shoes
• Take your dog out for longer walking sessions
• Smoothly swing a golf club