We have reviewed the best workout DVD for seniors. If you are in a hurry, the table below gives a quick snapshot of the top 6.
Contents
Did you know that in the year 2012, there were 43.1 million[1] people in the US above the age of 65, and nearly 60% of them suffered from 2 or more chronic health conditions[2]?
Some common chronic conditions include heart disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and stroke. These chronic conditions have lowered the quality of life of seniors and made them dependent on medicines and treatments.
Proper exercise and regular medication can bring a massive difference in the health of our elderly. Workout DVDs are a great way to inspire our seniors to get up from that recliner and move about to get the right amount of exercise to keep their bodies fit.
Workout DVDs are quite popular these days. Almost everyone has used one at some point or the other. However, not all workout DVDs are ideal for elders. Due to the age factor and health issues, rigorous exercises are not recommended for seniors.
Hence, before buying one, it is critical to make sure that the DVD is meant for seniors.
In this article, we talk about the best workout DVD for seniors. We hope that you will be able to use this list to buy the right DVD for your loved one.
But before checking out the products let us dig deeper and see why our elders need to do exercises and how they can improve their health conditions also, what are the benefits of such DVDs.
Why Do Our Elders Need to Exercise?
As mentioned before, a large percentage of our elder population is suffering from chronic health conditions. Diseases like heart disease, stroke, obesity, and diabetes occur mostly due to unhealthy lifestyles, lack of exercise, and unhealthy food.
Hence if our elders start taking care of themselves, they can help reduce the onset and severity of such diseases. Whoever said that it is never too late to start anything good knew what he was talking about.
Here we have a video that shows how physical activity affects mobility in older adults.
What Exercises Are Ideal for Seniors, and What Are Their Benefits?
Exercises are an essential part of our healthy lifestyle, and when we age, the requirements are ever-changing. Not all exercises are ideal for elders; hence it’s imperative to choose activities that suit them.
If your loved ones have not worked out for a while, starting up again can be daunting. It will be difficult in the early days as they might struggle to cope with the soreness and pain due to stretching out their muscles.
Hence, advise them to start slow, give their body time to adapt again, and keep going once they are on track.
If they start with some simple exercises mentioned below, they might find the path to good health easier:
Water Aerobics
This form of exercise is ideal for seniors. It helps with arthritis and other types of joint pain. It also improves their strength, flexibility, and balance, and due to the buoyancy of the water, it puts minimal stress on their body.
Chair yoga
Chair Yoga is a low-impact form of exercise, similar to water aerobics. It improves muscle strength, balance, mobility, and flexibility. Chair yoga puts very little pressure on muscles and joints as compared to conventional forms of yoga.
We also have a separate article on the best chair exercises for seniors.
It also improves mental health, improves the quality of sleep, and reduces instances of depression. It is a great way to move towards overall well-being.
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Resistance band workout
Resistance bands are stretchy bands made out of rubber or latex. They add resistance to workouts and reduce stress on the body. They are highly user-friendly and ideal for seniors and beginners.
Resistance band exercises are ideal for strengthening the core, improving posture, balance, and also mobility. Read on what are the best exercise equipment for seniors.
Pilates
Pilates is the most recent trend these days. It emphasizes majorly on breathing, alignment, core strength, and concentration. Pilates can help to improve balance and enhance flexibility, thereby increasing the range of motion.
Despite these easy-to-do forms of exercise, and support from an exercise DVD, you may still face some resistance from your loved one, simply because an exercise myth has caught their fancy, and they are refusing to budge from their cozy chairs!
Fear not, the below section on Myth busters will arm you with the right answer to every objection that may be thrown your way.
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Myths And Facts Regarding Exercise And Aging
Myth: I am getting old; there is no point in exercising.
Fact: Regular exercise helps you look and feel younger. Hence you stay independent for longer. It also lowers the risk of all chronic diseases. Therefore, no matter what is your age, exercising is always fruitful.
Myth: There is a great risk of falling down.
Fact: You build your strength, stamina, and balance when you exercise regularly. Also, it helps prevent loss of bone mass, which reduces your risk of falling down.
Myth: I am too old to start exercising again.
Fact: there is no age to start something good; keep this in your mind—adults who exercise show greater mental and physical improvements than their younger counterparts.
Myth: I am a disabled senior hence I cannot exercise
Fact: chair bound people can lift weights, stretch, do chair yoga, and aerobics. This increases their motion, flexibility, improves muscle tone and also enhances cardiovascular health.
Myth: I am weak and have too many pains.
Fact: exercises never increase pain; on the other hand, it helps you manage pain and improve your self-confidence and strength.
How Can Workout DVDs Help Seniors?
Workout DVDs are ideal for seniors because they allow you to exercise in the comfort of your home without having to move around a lot. You need not depend on your instructor’s time; you can start whenever you feel like it.
If there are challenging exercises that your loved ones are finding difficult, they can always pause the video and complete the exercise at your own pace, before moving to the next set.
Videos are always more illustrative than actual classes. Trainers try and give their best to keep the students hooked till the end.
Lastly, you need not feel guilty about skipping a class due to a doctor’s appointment, you can start whenever you like and can skip a session or two if you’re not feeling well, without the fear of having missed out.
This is why, for best results, you should try out the best workout DVD for seniors as the perfect gift to help them get up and get moving!
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Best Workout DVD For Seniors
#1 Grow Young Starter Pack For Seniors
If you are a beginner, these simple chair exercises are ideal for you. These exercises will help you improve your mobility, energy, stability, balance, and much more. Not only this, but it’s also ideal for relieving from arthritis, back, joint, injury, and other kinds of pain.
The DVD is recommended by doctors all over the US and gives you a smooth beginning. It offers foundation, core, cardio, balance, and yoga exercises.
The entire video is of about three and a half hours, so you can easily split your days according to the kind of exercises you do. You can either do one form of exercise every day or take a combination of exercises.
Pros
- It is ideal for losing weight and trimming the body.
- It helps in regaining confidence.
- The DVD is ideal for playing in all the DVD players.
- Ideal for beginners.
Cons
- The set does not contain resistance bands.
- The DVD is not available for deaf people.
#2 Seated Mix Chair Exercises For Seniors
This DVD is ideal for disabled and senior people. It contains almost 30 chair exercises which are quite simple and easy to do. All the exercises are unique and specially designed to give your body flexibility, mobility, and many things more.
You can easily do exercises at your own pace as the speed of the video is lower than usual. The DVD comes with its own set of resistance bands, which can be used to further enhance your performance.
Pros
- Each DVD has almost 60 minutes of video.
- The set includes 3DVDs and one resistance band.
- All these sitting exercises will grow with you as you will grow stronger.
- The chair exercises are designed for every skill level.
Cons
- The DVD comes only in the English language.
- The DVD is not close-captioned for hearing impaired persons.
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#3 Strength Training, Core Coordination And Cardio
This DVD is perfect for senior exercises and is fun to follow. The host keeps the exercising session fun and interesting and quite interactive. Also, he demonstrates all exercises in the seated position or the standing position.
Hence it’s ideal for disabled seniors also. The exercises ensure loss in body weight, flexibility, body-balancing, and strength building. Therefore it can also be called as all-in-one DVD.
Pros
- The DVD is ideal for muscle, core, and strength training.
- It helps to lose excess fat from the body.
- It comes with a resistance band hence enhances results.
- All exercises are easy to do and illustrative.
Cons
- There is no option for fast-forwarding the video.
- Some users felt that the DVD quality does not match expectations.
#4 Weight Loss Express For Seniors And Beginners
If your major concern is obesity, go for this DVD. It contains 100 minutes of video and ideal for losing those extra pounds. It includes cardio and some aerobic exercises where you can lose weight without hopping or jumping.
The exercises strengthen abs, legs, and your entire body. As your endurance and stamina will increase, the program will grow with you. Moreover, the instructor is quite charismatic and cheerful and makes the entire session fun, entertaining, and energetic.
Pros
- All the exercises are uniquely designed to meet the expectations.
- The set includes resistance bands.
- Ideal for weight loss regime.
- Perfect for seniors age 55 and above.
Cons
- There is no close-captioned DVD available for deaf people.
- The DVD is available in English only.
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#5 Simply Seated Energized Series
If you have even one percent doubt that these DVD workouts will not work for you, go for this DVD. The DVD is one of the best among the lot and is ideal to meet all your expectations.
It not only makes you exercising session fun and painless but also fills you with energy after the session as well. All exercises are designed, keeping you and your health conditions in mind and meant just the way you want them to be.
The instructor is the best-in-class who delivers excellently and gives simple instructions. His approach is result-oriented and concentrates on your entire body.
Pros
- The video is ideal for all the lazy people who are looking for some energy in their life.
- The session is quite interactive.
- The length of the video is perfect.
- It has a great impact on seniors after the session.
Cons
- The DVD is only for 30 minutes.
- All the exercises are in the seating position.
#6 T-Tapp Senior Fit Set With 2 DVDs
Are you an elderly adult and looking for some exercise videos to boost your metabolism then this DVD is surely for you. This DVD by T-Tapp is ideal for enhancing strength, flexibility and suitable for people with heart issues.
The exercises are suitable for increasing energy and decreasing inflammation. It also helps in building suitable body posture and building better balance. If you are looking for more positive results by investing less time, trust us, this DVD is for you.
The session includes no weights, no equipment, and no negative impact on the body. Moreover, you also do not need to repeat the sets.
Pros
- The video is quite simple and self-explanatory.
- It is perfect for senior people.
- It gives more results in less time.
- The product is worth the money invested.
Cons
- The video concentrates less on warm-up exercises.
- The videos are too long.
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Conclusion
Age is just a number, do not stick to it. You might be old, but do not sit idle with it. It’s high time to pull up your socks and wear your workout shoes and dance your worries away. Make every day count till the time you are here; hence buy one of these best workout DVDs for seniors and give yourself wings to fly.
In our opinion and research, the T-Tapp Senior Fit Set with 2 DVDs: Senior Fit Workout and Brain-Body Fitness Senior Fit is the best workout DVD for seniors among the various options that we have considered. It has everything you need in a workout DVD for seniors and comes at a reasonable price. It is best suited for a large part of our audience.
If you are looking for a more “value for money” option, you may also consider the CHAIR EXERCISE DVD FOR SENIORS- Simply Seated is an invigorating Total Body Chair Workout. Warm up, Aerobic Endurance, Strengthening, Stretching. You will love this chair exercise for seniors DVDs, which offers excellent features at a very reasonable price point.
While it is our sincere effort to include accurate information on our site and on this page, our articles’ contents should not be construed as medical advice.
Each individual is unique in their physical conditions, and therefore the suitability of exercise and the methods of exercise that are best for them are similarly unique.
Your doctor/medical practitioner is the best person to consult regarding the best exercise regimen and technique to follow, before making a decision.
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