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A little recreation never hurt anyone. In fact, the activities people choose to engage in during their free time can promote and safeguard their long-term health.

Roller skating is a recreational activity often associated with children, but it can be enjoyed by people of all ages. And though roller skating devotees may already know how beneficial it is for their bodies, novices might be surprised to learn just how much lacing up their skates can do for their overall health.

Roller skating and balance
Roller skating requires pushing off and forces individuals to rely on their gluteus maximus. The online medical resource Healthline notes that the function of the gluteus maximus is to extend and laterally rotate the hip. When glute muscles collaborate as a person roller skates, that improves body stability, helping people to maintain better balance, even when they're not skating.
Roller skating and your core

The Mayo Clinic notes that core exercises train the muscles in this area of your body to work in harmony, ultimately leading to improved stability. When roller skating, individuals rely on their core muscles, making this a core-friendly exercise. If improved stability isn't enough to get people to lace up their skates, it's worth nothing that the Harvard Medical School indicates that a strong, flexible core can benefit the body in numerous ways. For example, low back pain sufferers may be interested to know that exercises that promote well-balanced, resilient core muscles can help to prevent low back pain.

Roller skating and weight loss
Anyone who has ever been roller skating likely knows that it's easy to break a sweat once those skates are laced up. In fact, Healthline notes that a 160-pound individual who skates at a consistent intensity for 30 minutes can expect to burn around 267 calories. Burning calories can help people lose weight, making roller skating a worthy activity for individuals who want to add some fun physical activity to their weight loss routines.

It may have been a while since adults last laced up a pair of skates. But roller skating can be a great activity for anyone looking to get healthy and have a little fun along the way. 

Though pecans may not land on most people's radar unless they're served in pies, this valuable nut packs quite a nutritional punch. According to the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation, a 1-ounce serving of pecans provides 11 percent of the daily recommended intake of dietary fiber. The ITNCNREF also notes that pecans are a great source of healthy fats, as 60 percent of the 20 grams of total fat found in a 1-ounce serving is from monounsaturated fat while 30 percent is from polyunsaturated fat.

Physical activity is an important component of overall health. Health experts advise that exercise can increase lean body mass, prevent conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, improve balance, and positively affect mental health/cognition. Exercise also can foster socialization with others, helping people overcome boredom and isolation.

As individuals get older, they may not be able to participate in all of the activities they enjoyed as youths, but that doesn't mean older adults must resign themselves to sedentary lifestyles. There are plenty of entertaining ways to remain physically active that can accommodate any limitations a person may have. Explore these methods for staying active.

Explore senior center offerings
Community senior centers often fill calendars with a vast array of activities, some of which can include physical activities. Hikes, walking tours, dances, and other activities all serve as entertaining ways to get out and about while meeting some fitness goals.
Garden or do yard work

The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotions says adults should get 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. Raking leaves, mowing the lawn, digging in flower beds, trimming bushes, and other outdoor tasks could help a person meet this quota in a way that doesn't seem like exercise at all.
Play games with grandchildren

Little kids may inspire older adults to be more active, as it can be difficult to keep up with those youngsters. Take infants or toddlers for walks or push them in strollers. Attach a child seat or towing carriage to a bicycle and ride around the neighborhood. Play games that require movement, such as hide-and-seek or Marco Polo in the pool. If it's snowing, have a snowball fight or make a snowman in the yard.

Take up a new hobby
Find hobbies that incorporate physical activity. Perhaps learning to salsa dance or taking Zumba® will be fun? Pickleball has caught on across the nation. The sport is a mix of tennis, racquetball and badminton that caters to all ages. Joining a bowling team is another way to get active and meet new people.

Physical activity is important at any age. Seniors can explore fun ways to stay in shape and be active to reap all the benefits of exercise.

Pushing oneself physically can be exhausting and demanding. But whether you're a seasoned athlete, a part-time fitness enthusiast or even someone who lives a largely sedentary lifestyle, you can find ways to dig down and improve your overall endurance.

Many athletes find pushing their bodies past certain boundaries to be empowering. Letting complacency set in is easy, but finding the motivation to press on and push ahead takes mental determination. The following are a handful of ways to push past physical glass ceilings and improve endurance.

* Join a marathon. The statistics reporting site StatisticsBrain.com states that only 0.5 percent of the U.S. and Canadian populations have ever run a marathon. Running on the treadmill at the gym or a couple of miles around the track is excellent exercise. Runners can take their passion a bit further by enrolling in any of the hundreds of marathons and half-marathons held annually. Crossing the finish line after running 26.2 miles is a rewarding feeling, and few activities do more to improve endurance than running a marathon.

* Try a new gym class. Pushing yourself physically may mean getting out of your comfort zone. Gyms typically offer an array of classes to appeal to as many members as possible. Take advantage of these group classes or personalized training sessions. Explore barre workouts, TRX® and ViPR®, which involve loaded movement and strength training paired with cardiovascular workouts.

* Increase workouts gradually. It can be daunting to think about greatly improving your endurance levels. But taking a gradual, incremental approach to improving endurance is both safe and effective. Also, when engaged, mentally divide the workout into smaller chunks of time. This way you have several smaller goals to accomplish, rather than one large goal. This can make it easier to digest a tough workout.

* Use friends to keep you motivated. Having friends workout alongside you can keep you motivated. Workout buddies may offer the encouragement necessary to keep pushing through. Another motivating factor is bragging rights afterward.

* Have a good emotional connection. A desire to have a great body may not be enough to motivate you to workout and push harder. If not, think of a better reason to exercise, and it may be the mind over matter you need. Many people find inspiration from family health history risk factors or through the goal of reversing negative health reports from doctors' offices. These motivating factors will help you press on and push harder.

Continuing to surpass fitness goals is something to include in this year's list of health resolutions.