How to Build a Great Exercise Program for Older Adults
Hello Strength School-ers!
How to Build a Great Exercise Program for Older Adults
Today I want to briefly talk about some key ingredients for a great exercise program for older adults. Who are 'older adults'? I don't really have a specific age cut-off in mind. You can get the 'senior discount' at many restaurants when you are 55. You can start drawing social security at 62, or 67 for full benefits (and by the time I reach my 60s, that'll probably be 75 or so). And the average age of all clients at Strength School is about 50. There is no exact number, but this info is relevant for anyone 50 or older. And for those of you a bit younger, this information can be valuable for someone you know, such as a parent, grandparent, friend, or coworker. Here are four key components that need to be in a great exercise program for older adults.
A simple traction-based exercise for older adults in the gym. As the ladies walk, the bands pull downward on their hips, stretching out the lower back safely and gently.
All exercises revolve around your current health as you age
As we age, our bodies naturally deterioate - they 'betray' us as one of our long-time clients has put it. Plus, many people have accidents, injuries, diseases, and other health challenges on top of the usual aches and pains of the aging process. A great exercise program is built around your current health, first and foremost. There will be some exercises that feel great, and some that just don't feel right. This is highly individual. And often times very tough to coach.
A high percentage of exercises for seniors must be traction based
You want exercises that help to stretch (safely) the muscles around your joints. For example, reverse hyper extensions help stretch the lower back and hamstrings. The opposite of a traction-based exercise is a compression-based exercise, or something that pushes a part of your body together - for example, leg presses or squats. Traction-based exercises will improve posture, which is important because over our lifetime, posture naturally declines with loss of strength, muscle mass, bone density, the effects of gravity, and more. The picture above is a few years old, but it shows a super simple traction-based exercise - walking with heavy exercise bands around the feet and the hips. As the ladies walk the bands pull downward on the hips, helping to safely and gently stretch the lower back.
Building strength and muscle must be done every workout, every week, forever.
Why? As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass and strength - that process can begin as early as your 40s. And as you lose muscle and strength, your bones get weaker, your joints become more susceptible to injury, and your metabolism drops big time! When you eat carbohydrates, and your body converts those carbs to sugars, the main place to store any excess sugar is in your muscle cells. And if you don't have much muscle, it stores as body fat.
Flexibility for Older Adults!
As we age, our bodies produce less and less collagen and we become stiffer (that's also a reason why we get wrinkles, thin skin, etc.). Thus, flexibility becomes more important as we age. However, you don't need to spend 20 or 30 minutes stretching because a) it's boring, b) it's boring, and c) you can improve your flexibility while getting stronger with the right exercises. For example, back extensions stretch out the lower back and hamstrings, and they also help those areas get stronger.
A few of the ladies after their workout at Strength School on the southside of Indianapolis.
Do you know someone in their 50s, 60s, 70s, or 80s who might be interested in this type of information? Please share this with them. And they are welcome to call us and find out more about our exercise classes for older adults - our contact information is at the bottom of this email.
Have a great week!
-Shane
Martinsville Gym
165 Morton Avenue, Martinsville, IN 46151
765-341-0512
Indy Southside Gym
5545 South Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46217
317-746-9118