In this 60-minute exercise video for seniors, Go4Life fitness instructor Sandy Magrath leads older adults through a sample workout featuring a warm up; strength, flexibility, and balance exercises; and a cool down with stretches. Designed specifically for adults over age 50, this workout can be done at home, at work, at the gym—almost anywhere! You’ll need a sturdy chair with arms; two equally weighed objects like dumbbells, soup cans, or water bottles; two tennis balls; a mat; and a towel. The video also includes instructions on how to modify the exercises to meet different needs.
Sandy begins the workout with a warmup and then leads the group through 10 strength exercises in a circuit format (one set of 10 repetitions of each exercise). The workout includes three circuits and ends with four stretches. The three circuits of strength and balance exercises consist of arm curls, overhead arm raises, chair dips, chair stands, side leg raises, back leg raises, toe stands, balance exercises, arm raises, and a hand grip exercise.
To conclude the workout, Sandy coaches the group through some cool down and flexibility exercises. Stressing the importance of stretching after exercising, she demonstrates how to use the towel to stretch the arm muscles on either side. After some ankle and calf muscle stretches, Sandy shows the group how to get down to the floor safely using the support of a chair so that they can stretch the quads. Lastly, the group does the back leg stretch to stretch out the leg muscles. Sandy also shows how to safely get back up from the floor.
The Go4Life Campaign from the National Institute on Aging focuses on encouraging older adults to make exercise and physical activity a part of their daily life. Use the Go4Life Everyday Exercises to practice the four types of exercise that are important for older adults: strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance:
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This video was developed by the National Institute on Aging ( part of the National Institutes of Health (
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