10-Minute Strength Training Exercises for Seniors: Exercises and Routines to Build Muscle, Balance, and Stamina Paperback – March 12, 2024

I'm not a senior and I can lift heavy when the mood strikes. So why did I get this book? Well, it's not uncommon to go through times when you want to keep the body moving, but you don't necessarily want to push your body to the limits with crazy-high heart rates, puddles of sweat, and big weights. This book makes exercising accessible and uncomplicated, and when you take away "seniors" from the title that sentiment (plus the workouts listed) will applicable to really anyone.Honestly, the most age-specific sentiment of the book is the illustrations, which all feature retirees. And that's no problem because they're nice illustrations that show different body types, diversity, and--probably most important--they all have a gentle smile and look happy to be moving, rather than super serious. (Because we all know certain YouTube fitness personalities who equate doing a workout with going through the fire of battle or some over the top comparison....)Okay, about the book:The first half of the book offers lovely illustrations and tips on how to do each exercise. The back half provides you with a daily routine that shows you a reminder illustration of each move, the rep count (usually the standard 8-12 for 2-3 sets), and gives the page number so you can easily re-reference a move if you need any reminders.I do love the book's uncomplicated, straightforward style. There's 4 moves per workout that are practical and functional. I stress this because as much as there is on YouTube, it's easy to get caught up in instructors who preach complex "party trick, wow-factor moves". Sure, it's fun to see what the body can do, but there's so much to be said for your standard compound movements. As someone who grew up in gymnastics, cheerleading, and a bit of dance, parts of my body are most definitely hypermobile and I need to be careful with those "wow factor" moves that feel okay while doing but I regret the rest of the week. Instead these are your traditional exercises.When it comes to the weight lifting aspect, the weights they show are of people using soup cans or water bottles. Of course you could modify with heavier weights, but the vibe of the book is more fitness and strength to protect your bones, keep you moving daily (i.e., not maxing out on the regular), and sustainable fitness that will carry you, well, into your senior years.I personally aim to do one of these workouts 4x a week without weights or light 1-2lbs, and then once or twice a week I'll do a harder, heavier workout from YouTube. See, I don't totally hate YouTube fitness ;) And side note, even doing the arm workouts without weights lets you focus on correct movement, mobility, and bilateral discrepancies, so it's not pointless.Overall, this is a fabulous book that's approachable and serves as a great reference. And if you like to know what you'll be doing in a workout before you start, it'll just take a minute to review the pictures and read any reminders. Compare that to fitness videos where unless you watch through at a fast speed you come in unaware of the next moves, pacing, etc. I mention this because if you're like me and do need to amp yourself up to workout, knowing what's on the docket so to speak can take some of that underlying anxiety away and make it mentally easier to set aside the time and just get your 10-20 minutes in.

This book is perfect for my 50-something age! I love the illustrations, beautiful colors, nice font size. The breakdown of the exercises is nicely described and illustrated, with pictures of people that look like me and people like me. The 4-exercise 10-minute programs are relatable and not too difficult to do, but still effective. I've been doing the 4-exercise programs daily now for a week, and I'm already feeling stronger and more energetic! Highly recommend.

I got this book from the library and liked it so much that I ordered my own copy the next day.The author, who is a physical therapist, gives clear, concise descriptions of what the purpose or focus of each exercise is, and he obviously understands limitations and concerns of older people, so he mentions advantages or how the exercises will help and increase strength, flexibility and help us remain independent.Illustrations show how to do each exercise. About 3 of the illustrations didn't quite match the text explanation, so I had reread once or twice to figure out what the image should have shown. The intense skin colors of the people in the illustrations were overdone and distracting, but were certainly "inclusive," and I'm glad they weren't all women or white people.One thing that would be helpful as a related option: Tall cards. To me, it's far too cumbersome to use a book for reference while learning new movements. If the book is spiral-bound, that helps. But even better: glossy, wipe-clean, light cardboard cards for each exercise with all of the same information that's in the book (images could be on the back if necessary).My adaptation is using 4 different colors of page markers to identify the target / purpose of the exercise and a 5th color to tag which ones use dumbbells, so I can do those together. For example, blue tags mean Balance or Bones, and orange tags are for exercises that involve weights or dumbbells. The photo shows what I mean, I hope.

This book is helping me to resolve age related issues that have been creeping up on me as I get on in years.Easy to understand text with pictures to match the exercises.

I am not a senior. I am middle aged, but morbidly obese. I purchased this because I find a lot of exercises to be too challenging for my (lack of) fitness level. I thought that perhaps a book of exercises designed for seniors would be filled with "easier" exercises that I could learn to do. Most of the exercises in this book are ones that I am capable of. I still am struggling with the motivation to be consistent, but that is on me. This book was a great tool to give me ideas for different exercises to try.

I've been going through this book not picking up the pace as I get more used to the exercises. I'm 71 and it has helped me start working on getting my body back into better condition

This book is great if you hate to spend a long time exercising. I pick it up when I have ten minutes a few times a week, do a quick warm up and find the workout I want to do. It motivates me to exercise and I see results starting to happen in strength and balance. I am 67 and can do the workouts easily!

Good