Why Woodworking is a Healthy Hobby for the Active Senior

The older you get, the more difficult it becomes to do some of the more basic things that you’ve been doing your whole life.

And this includes the things that you do for enjoyment, especially for those who were particularly energetic or sports-oriented in their youth.

But it is important to keep active. And even if you can’t run or cycle or anything that requires a lot of movement and physical ability, exercise is essential too.

The fact that your old actually means that exercise is even more important. Your body has been worn down over the years and your bones, muscles and various systems need maintenance.

Without exercise, your cognitive function could suffer, your physical strength will dissipate and you will feel less of a sense of purpose.

Humans are happier and healthier when they have goals to work towards and this isn’t going to change with age.

Of course, you are limited in what it’s possible for you to actually do in terms of physicality, but there is some great hobbies you can take up that will be good for your health.

Woodworking is one of those hobbies. Woodworking is a hobby that you can take up pretty easily, is rewarding and fun, and will also serve as exercise.

Here’s some of the reasons why:

Creativity:

Having a creative output is great for maintaining your mental function. Woodworking offers you the opportunity to do a lot of creative things.

This is especially true if you have woodworking as your hobby and not as your job. There is no restrictions on what you make or how you make it.

You could make regular things like tables and chairs and put your own spin on them, or you could very creative with other household items or accessories.

You could make things like bookshelves, wooden stools, cabinets, media boxes. There is an endless list of creative projects that you could try.

And if you were stuck for ideas, people have been partaking in this hobby for generations and there are many guides and tutorials online for interesting, creative projects.

Crafting is a way to flex your brain muscles and ensure that you keep yourself sharp by constantly having to think and plan.

With the possibility of various forms of cognitive decline, such as dementia, increasing as you age then this gets more important with every passing year.

To get the full benefit of this, you want to have a good collection of tools. Make it easy for yourself to tackle any project you will set your mind too.

Of course, the obvious ones like drills, hammers and screwdrivers are important, you’d be surprised at how beneficial a high-quality saw is.

A miter saw would be a good investment. Here’s a guide from Woodwork Boss on the different types of miter saw that you could buy.

Exercise:

I’ve mentioned this a few times already but it can’t be understated. Regular exercise can add years to your life.

In terms of what sort of exercise you’ll be doing with this hobby, it’s the kind that’s effective despite not requiring a huge amount of movement.

Just using a standard handsaw for example is an pretty strenuous activity. If you’ve ever done it you know that it gets your heart rate up pretty much from the word go.

So you might not think that woodworking could possibly be all that good for cardio, but elements of it, sawing being one of them, will do the trick.

And what’s really great about it is that you can actually do it while sitting down. Getting cardio while sitting down sounds like a sweet deal right?

In addition you are using your hands and your arms constantly, so you might just be handling a screwdriver or cordless drill, but your upper body strength will build with every project.

It’s also a step above a lot of exercises such as jogging and swimming because it is a goal-oriented activity.

The urge to stop is lessened by the knowledge that if you do stop, you’re leaving something unfinished.

Something that’s big in Australia lately is community shed building. This is a program that allows seniors to volunteer in building sheds for people.

This is a great program because it’s a big project that is guaranteed to serve as exercise and is also a long-term goal.

Building a full shed will take time and so it will be consistent, regular exercise for anyone who takes part in it.

Maybe this should be something that the rest of the world could follow Australia in starting up for our senior communities.

Homemade Gifts:

One thing that’s pretty common among seniors, is that most of them have an awful lot of family members.

From kids to grandkids to in-laws, there’s a lot of family and when it comes to the gift-giving season, they have to think about each of them.

They’ve all got birthdays too. So instead of shelling out so much money on gifts for their entire family, a senior could kill two birds with the ones tone and make gifts for people.

There’s woodworking projects that make excellent gifts. All of that furniture that we talked about earlier would go appreciated.

A wooden garden bench, a wine rack, a lamp, any of these things would make great gifts and for the grandkids, you could make toys.

A toy made by a loved one will be something that a kid can look back on for years to come as a reminder of their grandparent.

Conclusion

When it comes to seniors, there is few hobbies that have the benefits of woodworking. It will help seniors in a wide variety of ways.

While things like reading, card games, bowels and various other activities that are popular among seniors are all good, none offer the exercise value that woodworking does.

Further Links

Australian Mens Shed Association

Pug Mens Shed