Promoting your long-term health doesn’t have to take a lot of time. A few simple daily activities are enough to maintain longevity.
“We’re all so busy, and yet we have to accommodate the things that are essential to our health,” orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vonda Wright tells TODAY.com.
But even if you don’t have two hours or access to a gym, you can still fit enough activity into your day to promote healthy aging, she says.
And she has three specific exercises that she recommends people do for precisely this reason. “None of these things require technology. They take the excuse out of the equation,” she says.
Longevity Tip of the Day: Try These Simple Exercises to Support Long-Term Health
Wright recommends focusing on these three simple exercises to support healthy aging, which you can do in short bursts throughout the day:
- Balance on one leg while washing dishes, brushing your teeth, or even while walking on the street.
- Jump 20 times “like you really mean it,” Wright says. You can do it 10 in the morning and 10 in the evening.
- Do quick chair squats for 1 minute three times a day to increase your heart rate.
Why it matters
Each of these movements trains your body to age safer and healthier.
“We need to retrain our balance so we don’t fall and break a bone,” says Wright. Balancing on one leg while you do other activities is an easy way to get comfortable with this workout.
Meanwhile, jumping up and down promotes bone health, she says, because it’s an impact activity. The vibration of impact training sends a signal to your cells that leads to bone growth and improved bone density, TODAY.com previously explained.
And chair squats, which require you to start in a standing position and squat down into a chair, will get your heart rate moving to support cardiovascular health. Doing 1 minute of chair squats as quickly as safely possible three times a day is linked to longevity benefits, Wright says.
How to get started
These are short bursts of activity meant to fit easily into your daily routine. If doing the full exercises isn’t feasible for you, Wright suggests starting small.
For added balance, first make sure you’re standing in front of a surface like a counter or sink so you have something to hold on to, Wright says.
And instead of jumping, start by lowering your heels or tapping your feet. “At the end of the day, we want to clear the air and jump,” she says. “We can bring back fun things like hopscotch; draw it on the sidewalk and do it with your grandkids.”
If you can’t stand up and squat in a chair, try sitting down and standing up first, Wright says. And you don’t have to start with a full minute. “Gradually work up to a full minute, as hard as you do,” she says, “and you’ll be surprised how quickly you progress.” »
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