Examples of Endurance Activities

Examples of activities that are moderate for the average older adult are listed below.

Moderate

• Swimming
• Bicycling
• Cycling on a stationary bicycle
• Gardening (mowing, raking)
• Walking briskly on a level surface
• Mopping or scrubbing floor
• Golf, without a cart
• Tennis (doubles)
• Volleyball
• Rowing
• Dancing

Vigorous

• Climbing stairs or hills
• Shoveling snow
• Brisk bicycling up hills
• Tennis (singles)
• Swimming laps
• Cross country skiing
• Downhill skiing
• Hiking
• Jogging

Fitness Fact

When astronauts come back to earth after extended space missions, they sometimes can't walk or perform other physical activities very well, at first. Because the weightlessness of space makes it possible for astronauts to push and pull objects without effort, their muscles become weak. Back on earth, the same principle applies to the muscles of sedentary older adults: If you don't use them, you lose them. The good news is that, at any age, almost any older adult - or astronaut - can improve strength through exercise.