Seniors Group Strength & Fitness Exercise Training
Heading into the later years of your life can be an exciting time. Retirement is on the cards, you may have been blessed with grandchildren or you may want to hit the road and explore what this beautiful country has to offer.
It can, however, be a time where fear can creep into your life. You may be on numerous medications for different conditions, struggling with aches and pains, or feel isolated because you no longer have the confidence in your body to participate in social activities such as golf or even walking. You may worry about what the future holds and if you’ll be well enough to simply enjoy life.
Family, friends and the media often tell us that aches, pains and increasing amounts of medications are a ‘normal’ part of getting older. I am here to tell you that it NOT normal and you CAN thrive in your older years.
It Starts With Having A Good Plan
You just need a good plan based on proven methods and techniques that are helping hundreds of people in their late 70’s do everything they want do in life.
This is what our Stronger For Longer Group Training program is all about and we can show you proof of real clients who train with us today doing incredible activities and exercises without fear and limitation.
Watch the video of Laurie Ford a client of ours who is 87 years old this year who trains in the Stronger For Longer class twice a week.
The Most Important Question To Ask An Older Adult If They Are Not Sure If They Need To Exercise
When I talk to older people about the need to come and do some training with us, and they tell me they are too old, or they don’t need it, I ask them these questions.
Which of these two possible scenarios do you prefer?
1. One, you live to 100 years but during the last 10 years you cannot care for yourself and must rely on family, aids, healthcare workers, etc?
2. Or two, you may only live to 85 or 90 years BUT they are fully capable and healthy right up until the day that they die suddenly in their sleep?
I have never had anyone yet choose option #1. They always choose #2.
So one of our primary goals as Personal Trainers in Melbourne area is to maximize functional capacity and see if we can alter a person’s aging trajectory so that they can maintain optimal function and quality of life. The current method most people are told is to go for a 30 minute walk once a day?
Although great to do, this will not make any significant difference at all.
The key is to improve strength by adding muscle, but not the way that most people think of, like some muscle bound guy like Arnie getting squashed on a bench press.
It is all about improving Functional strength.
These are exercises that mimic daily activities and for older adults will require certain levels of balance, coordination and even agility.
Watch the video below to see Laurie complete several examples of this.
Strength Training Is Critical For The Older Adult
Why do some people in their 70’s move so easily and still play golf and even run, yet other people of the same age are restricted to a walking frame or wheelchair?
Is it due to bad luck or genetics that some people are chronically disabled early and some are not?
In some cases it may be the case but very rarely. I have seen people in the 60’s recover from spinal cord injuries and severe car accidents with partial paralysis be able to recover and complete push ups, lift 60kg deadlifts and walk upstairs unassisted with ease! It was not luck they recovered as they spent considerable time to rehabilitating their body by rebuilding their stability, strength and movement.
I have also seen people in their 60’s with no previous injury or accident be placed in wheelchairs and barely able to get out of a chair!
The danger of Sarcopenia, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and bone density loss contributing to falls cannot be overstated, and these factors can be well managed and even prevented by applying a well-designed strength training program. Peak bone mass is reached at around 25 years of age and normally remains relatively stable until around the age of 50. However after the age of 50, progressive losses of bone mineral density begins to occur and as bones lose their density, becoming weaker the risk of fracture during regular activities increases.
Resistance training can actually increase calcium flow and allow muscles in older adults to perform like muscles many years younger.
Research has found that multi directional exercises with load improve bone density and bone strength faster due to the fact that they incorporate so many of the structural lines needed for everyday life moving. By forcing challenges with these exercises with either load or speed these lines adapt and create a structural change to the bones.
This is another reason why we must teach senior’s functional exercises like squats, lunges and deadlifts.
Preventing Falls
Hip fractures are the number one cause of nursing home admission. Here is a scary statistic. Approximately 50% of those who suffer a hip fracture never fully regain their mobility and independence and 50% of those die within the first year. Falling for an older adult is a very serious matter, and a life threatening situation. The good news is it can be easily prevented and I will show you exactly how in our program.
Falling caused 31% unintentional injury deaths in 1999, and are the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma ( 1.6 million treatments, 370,000 hospitalized).
There are many reasons for people losing their ability to maintain optimal stability and balance. We like to term this the “Use it or lose it” theory. This means that they begin to lose abilities and senses due to not using them as much. As we have already discussed, the loss of muscle is a significant contributor here, because as you sense the loss in strength and begin to avoid activities, you now begin to lose skills and other abilities such as balance, agility and co-ordination.
Functional strength and balance go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. A slowing of neural conduction speed only really matters because the body’s reflex movement is potentially a slower response time for the initiation of muscular movement. That may put someone at risk of injury when put in a situation of danger. A classic example is in the case of a trip or a slip.
When this occurs a very rapid response must occur so that the individual can adjust their center of gravity, step forward, grab a stationary object, turn or just put their body into a safer position to brace for the fall.
A slowed response can make the difference between an injury or life-threatening incident and a “gee that was close” situation that leaves you believing you were lucky.
What I will show to you here is that it was not luck that saved you, but your ability to move correctly in tune with your nervous system and musculoskeletal system from training it for this day!
It is not luck at all!
This is what we teach you in the Stronger For Longer classes.
Watch the video below to see Laurie complete more exercise examples of this.
When & Where Are The Classes Held?
The classes will run for 60 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday at 10am in our private studio 10 / 18-20 Redland Drive Mitcham.
How Much Do These Sessions Cost?
The sessions are 60 minutes long and cost $20 per class.
To join the class fill in the form below.