Yeah, this is one of those messages you have probably heard a thousand times about keeping active in retirement in order to stay healthy. However, this is often easier said than done, especially if our work was the thing keeping us active.
The EscapeTrails team have put together 5 easy ways that you can get active and stay active.
Walking
This is an obvious suggestion and is number 1 for a very good reason – you can start it right now! It is something you can build on and is a great way to explore your community, may be something you simply did not have the time to do before retirement. This does not need to be a 10 mile hike on day 1.
To start with just build walking into your routines and you will see the benefits straight away. They experts say 21 days to form a habit so do some of the following and build walking into these routines:
- If you have a long drive walk to your post box to collect the mail don’t reach out of your window when you drive past in the car!
- When you go shopping, walk! If this is a little too far, then perhaps park right at the back of the car park and walk those extra few hundred meters.
- Within a short drive of you there is going to be a great walking trail. Some easy and some a little demanding. A great place to find some great local trails for you is going onto Alltrails.com where you can just type in where you live and then you will be presented with all the trails where you can select from easy, moderate and difficult walking trails.
- If you can take public transport as much as possible this will not only benefit the environment but you will be surprised how much extra walking you will fit in going to and from the bus stop to your destinations.
- For the golfers amongst you, ditch the buggy and walk the course instead.
- When friends come over for tea and cake suggest a walk around the garden or neighbourhood to chat and catch up and then have the tea and cakes as a reward after!
Keeping up with the grandchildren!
At EscapeTrails one of the reasons to retire is to spend more quality time with the family. This often includes the grandchildren. If it does then no doubt you will be on duty from time to time to give the mums and dads a well deserved rest while at the same time having the opportunity to spoil the little ones!
Instead of turning to the cinema, video games or the like. Do something active with them. This will help create special memories and give you a little exercise too. This could be just a trip to the park and push them on the swings, having a light game of tag, kicking a ball around or even a swim. Obviously the activities will change depending on their age, if they are babies involved, pushing the pram around and giving mum a rest would improve your activity levels no end!
Alternatively, it may be something a little more organised. What about a ropes course, a treasure hunt or cycle?
Whatever it is just ease yourself into it gently. Having a three year old I know how demanding they can be if you let them!
Get on your Bike
As long as you still have a good sense of balance, getting on your bicycle can be a great way to get around town or to explore a new place. After all they say that you never forget how to ride a bike!
That being said be careful and wear a helmet. I remember when my mum and dad retired they both bought a bike and I think I was more nervous about them taking this new activity up. However, in mast areas there are plenty of cycle friendly paths that offer a safe place to cycle and often are accompanied by great views and places where we can not normally get to by car.
Take the stairs
I know a little bit of a cheat here as pretty similar to walking. However, it is surprising even when we are active we may choose to take the elevator or the escalator instead of the stairs.
So next time when you are faced with this choice go with the stairs!
Dancing
We all love a good song and no matter how old we get there is always a tune that gets our foot tapping! Why not get back into dancing or if its never been your thing then give it a go. There are oodles of dance classes available and the teachers welcome beginners to advance. It is also a great social activity where you are sure to meet some new people!
Find out why an EscapeTrail is the ideal way to stay active, explore, have fun and be social
At EscapeTrails we are passionate about not only having fun and being social, but also being active as we do these things.
We found that being with friends often involved food and drink (not that these are bad in anyway) and if we were exercising the brain cells at a quiz or a board game evening we were not being physically active.
Alternatively, getting active at the gym often did not involve enjoyment or being social!
So we came up with the idea of an EscapeTrail where you can be active, social and have fun all at the same time (oh and there is still plenty of opportunity to eat and drink at the end or along the way!).
This is an ideal activity for you to do with friends and family, where you will have fun, explore the city and be social. A great activity to allow you to stay active. Check out EscapeTrails.co for more information and our special discounts for our seniors.