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Flexibility training 

This is something that we all  need to do regardless of our age. 

As we age of course the first thing that we lose is flexibility.  Our muscles. spine, and joints tighten from the force of gravity,  aging of our body and the pounding that we do each day.  This causes injuries, curvature of the spine, and can also cause arthritis in our joints.

So we need to spend time lengthening and elongating out body each day.   This can be done with traditional exercises like yoga which are static or they can also be done with non-static exercises like karate - jiu jitsu etc.  

I like a combination of both methods.  But either method you choose you need to make sure you get your body temperature up so that your muscles are warm and you can then stretch your muscles to that maximum ability.   When you body is cold you muscles are tight and inflexible.  That is the reason the so cold "Hot Yoga" classes are so hot for they heat your body up as you do the stretches. 

I really like to use the pool in the summer for flexibility training.  I can do high knee running from side to side - also high knee side -to side shuffle running to start off.   I also do high knee kicking ands arm pumping when treading water for 30 minutes sessions.  

I then do high kicks as i walk from side to side -  burpees in the shallow end - and squats and kickbacks in the shallow end.  I follow this up with explosive jumps across the pool.

You can use a chair to do a variety of stretching exercises bringing your knee up from the front and the side,  and also then doing slow karate kicks to the front - side - and back.  Do them slow and controlled.  Do not jerk your body as you do them.  Keep balanced and controlled at all times.   We also lose some our balance functions as we age so this is a great set of exercises to do. 

Do not always handle heavy weights all the time.  You need to have some light - form days to take the stress off of your joints and to also keep your body flexible and injury free.  Also this is where cross training comes in ( jiu jitsu) etc to keep your body flexible and to keep from getting stale in your workouts. 

If you are sitting in front of a desk all day make sure to get up every 15 minutes or so and move around and do some stretching.  Do not sit in the same position either.  Change your position every 15 minutes.  I also like to sit on a exercise ball instead of a chair,  The ball takes a lot of stress off of your spine and also stretches your spine out as you move around on it too. 

So add flexibility training to your routine each week and make sure you keep it there for the rest of your life