Regular exercise helps seniors maintain their strength, balance, mobility, and independence. Contrary to popular belief, poor balance and muscle weakness are often linked more to inactivity than aging itself.
A regular group exercise program can have a significant impact on the physical and mental well-being of residents. While some may choose not to participate, creating enjoyable and engaging sessions can help encourage involvement.
The Benefits of Exercise for Seniors
The old saying is true: use it or lose it!
Regular exercise can:
- Improve strength, balance, and mobility
- Lower blood pressure
- Boost metabolism
- Reduce the risk of chronic health conditions
- Enhance mood and self-confidence
- Improve sleep quality
- Support independence
Even gentle exercise can make a significant difference to physical and mental well-being.
How to Encourage Participation in Group Exercise
Be enthusiastic and engaging when leading group exercise sessions. Positive energy is contagious.
Here are a few things you can try:
- Explain the benefits of exercise.
- Reassure residents that there is no minimum fitness level required.
- Address concerns about injury or not being able to keep up.
- Remind them that getting started is often the hardest part.
- Invite them to watch a session before joining in.
The more positive and welcoming the experience feels, the more likely residents will be to participate.
Use Props to Make Exercise More Engaging
Props can make exercise more enjoyable while helping improve hand strength, coordination, and dexterity.
Consider using:
- Scarves - Related: Circus Fitness & Fun and Scarf Exercises
- Ribbons or streamers - Related: Music & Motion Ribbon Exercise
- Paper plates
- Bottles
- Maracas
- Stretch bands
- Hats
- Balls
- Resident made props
Ask residents for suggestions, or involve them in making and decorating props during an arts and crafts activity.
For Example:
- Decorate paper plates to use during exercise sessions.
- Add ribbons to a bottle to create visual movement. You can also add water to increase the challenge if appropriate.
Use Music to Lift Spirits
Music can lift spirits, encourage movement, and make exercise sessions more enjoyable.
Use background music or sing-along songs depending on your routine and the preferences of your group.
Familiar songs can also spark memories and help residents feel more engaged.
Keep Sessions Short and Engaging
Many seniors may not have the endurance or interest for long exercise sessions. Short, enjoyable routines are often more effective.
Consider combining exercise with:
- Sing-alongs - Related: Gentle Seated Movement with Music and Singalong & Exercise
- Trivia questions - Related: Trivia Fitness Fun
- Reminiscence activities - Related: Balloon Games and Boogy Ooogy Dance Class
- Simple cognitive challenges - For example, ask residents to count forwards and backwards to 10 or 12 by ones, twos, or threes while exercising.
If residents are enjoying the activity, a shorter routine can always be repeated.
Tips for Leading Group Exercise Sessions
Before starting, remind residents to stop if they feel tired, uncomfortable, dizzy, or experience pain.
Encourage participants to do what they can, even if they cannot complete the exercise as demonstrated. Any safe movement is better than no movement.
Position yourself where everyone can clearly see your movements. Move around the room as needed to provide encouragement, assistance, and gentle cues.
After every two or three exercises, take a short break and encourage residents to take a few slow, deep breaths.
Adapt exercises to suit different ability levels and offer seated alternatives where needed.
Watch participants throughout the session and provide encouragement rather than focusing on perfect technique.
Sample Exercise Routine
Here is a simple 15–20 minute seated exercise session that can be adapted to suit different ability levels. Always check with clinical staff before introducing a new exercise program, as some exercises may not be suitable for every resident.
Use music and props where appropriate to help keep residents engaged.
1. Warm-Up (2–3 Minutes)
Begin with gentle movements to prepare the body for exercise:
- Turn the head slowly from left to right.
- Look up toward the ceiling, then down toward the lap.
- Roll the shoulders forwards and backwards.
- Stretch the arms out in front and overhead if comfortable.
- Slowly lift and lower the feet.
2. Upper Body Exercises (5 Minutes)
Choose 4–6 exercises and repeat each 8–10 times:
- Arm raises
- Bicep curls
- Rowing a boat
- Swimming strokes
- Side arm raises
- Arm circles
- Hand clapping
- Waving
- Throwing a ball
Add music, sing-along songs, or props such as scarves, ribbons, or paper plates to make the exercises more enjoyable.
3. Lower Body Exercises (5 Minutes)
Choose several of the following:
- Marching on the spot while seated
- Knee lifts
- Leg extensions
- Gentle kicks
- Side leg movements
- Heel and toe taps
- Pretend bicycle riding
Encourage residents to move at their own pace and participate as much as they comfortably can.
4. Hand and Finger Exercises (2–3 Minutes)
Help maintain dexterity with simple hand movements:
- Open and close the hands
- Make a fist and release
- Touch each finger to the thumb
- Pretend to flick water from the fingertips
5. Cool Down and Finish (2–3 Minutes)
Finish with gentle stretches and deep breathing.
Consider ending with a favourite sing-along such as:
- "When the Saints Go Marching In"
- "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)"
- "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"
If residents are enjoying the session, finish with a simple movement game such as balloon batting or seated kickball.
Bringing Exercise and Fun Together
Group exercise sessions do not need to be complicated to be effective. In fact, the most successful sessions are often the simplest. A combination of gentle movement, music, props, and social interaction can help seniors stay active while making exercise something they look forward to.
Whether you are leading seated chair exercises, balance activities, or gentle movement programs, the goal is the same: to help residents maintain their physical function, build confidence, and enjoy being active.
By keeping sessions positive, adaptable, and engaging, you can encourage more residents to participate and experience the many physical, mental, and social benefits that regular exercise provides.
Looking for more exercise ideas? Explore our full collection of exercise activities for seniors.
Activity Director
Do you have a list of songs to play during the session? Thank you so much for all the great ideas. :)
Hi David
Thank you so much for your interest
This depends on the level of function of the group
Pick songs that get people moving
I like to have the participant sing songs
Make sure to use songs that the participants like
Hi there, the second verse to Daisy Daisy is, Harry Harry here is your answer true, I'd be crazy if I married the likes of you. There won't be any marriage if you can't afford a carriage, cos I'll be dammed if I'll be crammed on a bicycle built for two.
Hi Angela
Thanks for that and will be very helpful
This exercise for seniors has a great idea and very useful in my group exercises.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for your feedback Bernadette!
Hi Kim
Thanks for sharing this information
We use pool noodles cut in half in several ways. If we play balloon volleyball the noodle extends their reach. We also use them in general exercise i.e. side to side when they are rowing a canoe. If we are raising our arms right and left we hold the noodle to "touch the ceiling" . We practice "hand over hand to climb our noodle" squeezing as hard as we can.
Be sure to have a variety of colors on hand - it gives them a choice when they seldom get to pick something.
Hello Susan, reading your comments on group exercises, for most of my 30 years volunteering, that is what I have introduced to my clients, being musical and fortunate enough to be able to play the piano, and being an oldie myself, knowing lots and lots of old songs, i have found that this is the best remedy anyone can get. I remember sitting down with a lovely old man who had dementia, he could'nt remember that he had just drank a cup of tea, but when I played an old song for him, he knew all the words, people come to life, this is a good segment , one I believe in, thanks for getting it out there. I have quite a few funny stories, true ones,one being I play the piano at nursing homes and up at the local hospital, and one day I was playing the piano at the hospital and the Doctor came out and said" you had better come here more often my patients blood pressure has just gone down," and the other one was I was playing the piano at the local nursing home when the nurses brought a bed down from the ward and put it by the side of the piano, who was in it I could'nt see, he or she was covered up with a sheet, I started playing a song, a Scottish one, when all of a sudden the body in the bed rose up, shouted "I love that one", frightened me to death, and then lay down again, it was really funny, music does funny things to people. What a great life I have had volunteering and so pleased to be still be doing it.
Hi again Gwyneth
Thank you for sharing this, you obviously made many people happy
I agree music is so important - it is wonderful that you were able to play the piano and do it as a volunteer.
Thank you thank you thank you
Thank you for all the ideas I work for an adult day care center and need all the ideas I can get,
Hi Madeline, thank you for taking the time. Your feedback is really appreciated.
Yes Cathy
You are right
I believe "Daisy, Daisy" is "bicycle built for two" LOL fun song and Im going to try this in our Memory Unit exercise.
Daisy Bell
1892
Chorus:
Daisy, Daisy give me your heart to do
I'm half crazy, hopeful in love with you
It wont take a stylish marriage
I cant afford the carriage
But you'll look sweet upon the street
on a bicycle built for two
Daisy Daisy is a very old song.
The words we sing at our Day Care Centre are:
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do
I'm half crazy, all for the love of you
It won't be a stylish marriage
I can't afford a carriage
But you'll look sweet, up on the seat
Of a bicycle made for two
Whatever the words it's still fun.
love the article on exercises for the elderly. I'm getting ready to start a chair yoga class and love all the pointers!!
I bought small kid’s rubber balls for our seated exercise group. They roll them down the front of the legs to feet and back to lap, lift them overhead, around their trunks passing from hand to hand, between their knees and squeeze, under one foot rolling forward and back or in circles. Also use long wooden dowels with rubber stoppers on the end. Sitting you tip the stick forward and back, make circles, lift the stick up and down like spear fishing, paddle, write words in the floor, etc.
Wow, thank you for all the ideas.
I must start with group activities and doesn’t have a clue where to begin.
The elderly doi g exercises in the gym with bikes and treadmills but due to various work reasons we must steer away from the gym.
Any ideas please of what I can do to keep them interested will be appreciated.
Thank you.
I teach chair exercises for three homes, three days a week. Each session is 20 minutes All that can participate, love it. We start with Yoga warmups, then start with the head, neck, arms, core, bending over, for the lower back, kicks, ankles and they circles, with legs extended. This is a B & B session, working on their bodies first, then their brains. They also love being challenged by the cognitive exercises and use many from this site. We wrap with stories from the "Chicken Soup" books and I make sure, I speak with each resident, individually. It is a win/win session.
York Retirement, Southern Orange County, California
Hi Sherry, thank you for sharing. Congratulations on doing a wonderful job. Do you use music? What sort?
Excercise is such a great thing. i have my usual participates but try to get the residents out that sit in their rooms too much. Gotta make it interesting. Like the idea of frisbees. We use balls and have done paper plates and rubber bands. We always follow with a drink and then activity. That's why I Love this site. Have used so many things off here and the possibilities are endless. Thank You !!!
Sue, I had found an exercise site on the internet which we would put onto a big TV screen. The lady used paper plates. We also have stretch bands which we just make up our own routine with. You can't have the music too fast or the residents do not like it but with a slow beat, they get the motion they need and everyone is more happy about attending class every day
Hi Barb
Could you explain how you use paper plates and rubber bands in your exercise group, I’d love to give this a try
Many Thanks
Sue
Hi Barb, your exercise classes sound like a lot of fun! Thank you so much for your feedback and kind words, we appreciate it so much!
We play and do actions to the Macarena. Hand, palms, shoulders,ears, tummy, hips, wiggle wiggle, clap. They love it. Also march to "When the saints come marching in" and the chicken dance sitting down. Lots of fun.
Do any of you offer a reward to the residents for participation in exercise groups? We were giving out "auction bucks" and then the residents could collect them to shop at a quarterly country store we put on. It had its up and downs and now we are looking for a different idea.
Hi Darlene, one idea is to focus on the social component of exercises. For many elders, socialising is as (or more some) important as the physical benefits. Have a novelty food or drink every week after the exercises (tea tasting, foreign biscuits and cookies). Also, invite an enthusiastic personal trainer to talk about the benefits of exercises and hopefully inspire your clients to keep coming back. Best wishes.
All exercises are good,we do them all,I was a dancer & play the Piano,the sitting on chairs go down well.hold legs up point toes down then up,down up.while legs are up twist ankles round & round each way.Gently,slowly raise arms up in front while breathing IN, lowering arms down Out,4 times. repeat to breathing IN, then move arms out to the sides holding the breath,breathing out with arms coming back to front & back down,4 times.Close eyes relax all muscles fold hands on lap,let shoulders drop,breath in &out a few times,this is the slowing down we use to finish Exercises.Use Music always, especially the old songs.
Thanks Shirley
Wow, this article and the suggestions in the comments are great! Thanks so much!
I "borrowed" an idea from an activity supply catalog and adapted it for our tenants: On a lightweight and large children's ball (solid color), I wrote different movement suggestions. For example: "Do the actions to one verse of "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" or "Shake hands with the neighbor to your right". Then we throw the ball to each other (gently!) and wherever the tenant's right thumb lands on the ball, he or she reads the printed suggestion underneath out loud and "leads" the action! All of this can be done while seated. Tenants can even kick the ball to each other, and then when they (or if they can't bend well, I) pick up the ball, whatever suggestion is under their right thumb, that's the action we do!
Great ideas, thanks for sharing Nori!
Thank you! This is really good and will be very helpful!
Thanks for the creative info! Just what we needed!
I went to thrift stores and collected Frisbees as props. We pretend like we're driving and the frisbee is our steering wheel. We need to turn our necks to do our shoulder checks etc... There are a variety of other activities you can do with them as well. I also use thera-bands to strengthen and add variety. With a good joke at the beginning, good music throughout and a back rub at the end, it's a winning ticket. By offering variety and social interaction, I was able to take the group from 4 to 14 participants in 2 weeks time. You could also take PVC pipe, fill with sand and cap each end to create varying weight bars.
Residents love these!
Edie N.
Oshkosh, Wi
Wonderful Edie! Thank you for sharing!
I was always a big proponent of exercise.
After a time I like to vary the routine to keep it fresh.
I loved the exercise article! I enjoy doing a morning and afternoon exercise session with my residents. I never thought of using props. What a great idea! Andi love the idea of singing the various songs and the counting. Excellant!!! I'll be eager to add new life to my routine! Thank you and I'm so enjoying all the wonderful ideas in this forum! :)
Fantastic!
Thank you Susan.
We are always looking for ways to promote exercise program, and you have given good examples.
Appreciated,
the recreation/activity staff at Columbia House
This is great! Thanks so much!!
Susan has submitted a new article: How To Run Group Exercise Sessions For The Elderly