When entering middle age and old age, the body’s metabolism often slows down, leading to easier weight gain even though the diet does not change much. At this time, maintaining light exercise such as indoor walking becomes a simple but effective solution.
Indoor walking not only burns calories, helps balance energy intake and expenditure, but also helps increase blood circulation, improve cardiovascular health and reduce pressure on joints compared to heavy exercise. For the elderly, this is a safe way to exercise, with a low risk of falling due to the familiar and easy-to-control space.
How many times should you walk indoors to lose weight?
The general recommendation for the elderly is 30 minutes of moderate walking per day, at least 5 days/week, equivalent to 150 minutes per week. This is a moderate level of exercise, enough to support weight loss when combined with a reasonable diet.
However, it is important to listen to your body:
- If you are just starting out, just walk for 10–15 minutes, then gradually increase the duration and speed.
- If you are used to it, you can challenge yourself by walking faster, walking for longer, or adding small hand weights to increase the fat burning effect.
How to start walking indoors
Before you start, remember that walking, although gentle, is still a physical activity. Therefore, it is extremely important to consult a doctor, especially if you have an underlying medical condition such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, or high blood pressure. Your doctor will give you personalized advice and help you feel more confident about exercising.
1. Set a goal
When you have a specific goal, it is easier to maintain the habit. If you want to lose weight, track the calories you burn. Or if you want to improve your fitness, pay attention to the time and speed of your walking. If you simply want to keep your body moving, set a goal to maintain a regular number of sessions each week. A small but clear goal, for example “walk 15 minutes every day for the first week”, will be easy to achieve and create a sense of success.
2. Plan your walking
Older people often have a stable schedule, so choose a fixed time each day to make walking part of your routine. You can walk right after breakfast to start the day, or in the evening to relax. In addition, prepare soft music, radio or audiobooks to make walking more interesting.
3. Find space in the house
No need for a large area, just a hallway, living room, or a small yard is enough for walking. If your house has stairs, you can take advantage of it to increase the intensity of your exercise. It is important to ensure a safe space with few obstacles, non-slip floors and adequate lighting to avoid falls.
4. Choose the right shoes
Walking shoes for the elderly need to have soft soles, good cushioning and lightness, helping to reduce pressure on the knee and hip joints. In addition to shoes, you should also choose comfortable, airy clothes for easy movement. A pair of cotton socks also helps to avoid blisters on the feet when walking for a long time.
5. Warm up
Warming up helps the body gradually adapt to movement, reducing the risk of injury. You can perform simple movements such as: rotating the wrist, rotating the shoulder joint, gently raising the knee, walking in place or stretching. In addition, after walking, do not forget to relax the muscles with some stretching movements to reduce pain the next day.
6. Choose the right indoor treadmill for you
If you live in a small apartment or want to walk regardless of the weather, a treadmill is a convenient solution. For older people, prioritize machines with sturdy handrails, wide running belts, and low-speed modes to ensure safety. Some machines also have heart rate monitoring, calorie tracking, and app connectivity – which are useful for managing your workouts.
7. Consider the intensity
You don’t have to go really fast to be effective. Start at a moderate pace where you can still have a comfortable conversation without getting out of breath. Then, to burn more calories, you can alternate 1–2 minutes of fast walking between slow walks. Additionally, incorporating light exercises like squats, knee raises, lunges, or waist twists during your breaks will also help strengthen your muscles and support weight loss better.
8. Stay motivated and track your progress
Motivation often wanes over time, so keep it interesting by:
- Keeping a workout diary or using a health tracking app.
- Set “small milestones” such as 1 week, 1 month and reward yourself with a small gift when you achieve them.
- Invite friends and relatives to join you to exercise and chat.
- Diversify your habits, such as changing the walking space in the house, or try walking while listening to music, watching TV to reduce boredom.
Thus, with just a few small adjustments, the elderly can completely start walking indoors safely, maintain sustainability and achieve clear weight loss results.
