Are They Really The Best?

I came across a recent video the other day that the YouTube Channel “Bob & Brad” created. I am a huge fan of their channel, and have consumed multiple videos of theirs over the years. But as someone who has and currently still does work with numerous older adults, I wanted to give my opinion on their top three exercises for seniors. Let’s do it!

The Exercises Themselves

The three exercises that the Bob and Brad channel talk about doing are a split squat or lunge, a calf raise, and a toe raise. These are all exercises that target different parts of your lower body. The split squat or lunge, will primarily work your glutes and quads, while the calf and toe raise will strengthen muscle around your shins and ankles. In a sense, these exercises are a decent choice for seniors, in my opinion, because they do offer a wide variety of movement variations for older adults. I really like that they included the split squat or lunge in this workout, because many seniors have one leg weaker than the other. I feel like doing a bilateral leg exercise leg a squat or deadlift would have also been warranted as well, as these two movements are done numerous times throughout the day. Technically, they did highlight doing the squat or sit to stand at the end of the video (showing you how to test your leg strength,) but didn’t make it an active part of the video.

What Would I Change?

If I was to do this same video, I would probably keep the calf raise. I would instead, make a sit to stand or squat one of the other three movements, in addition to adding a lateral step up. Doing a lateral step up would work the “toe raise” or tibialis muscle slightly, while also offering the older adult the ability to challenge their leg strength in a different plane of motion. Too often, most of the exercises we do go forward and backward. Because of this, many individuals build up overuse injuries because their body is getting weaker when going side to side. All in all, these guys did a great job with the video, offering different regressions and progressions for people of all abilities to try the workouts.

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One Last Thing..

If you are still here, and want to continue to improve your health and knowledge of the gym, regardless of where you are currently at in life, you need to subscribe to our blog. Once you’ve finished doing that, check out the other article I linked below, giving all seniors and older adults a few more exercises to help alleviate arthritis in your entire body!

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