In this lesson you will learn how to leverage exercise to address some health concerns for older adults.
- Focus on how the FITT Principle can guide members to improve their overall health.
- Think about how members benefit from exercises that incorporate work for cognitive health and how you can include these within your class.
- Answer the 4 questions on this lesson in the unit study guide.
Age is more than a number. Biological age classifies age according to biological processes instead of the calendar year. Though not a finite term or definition, on average, people who exercise regularly have a lower biological age than non-exercisers of the same chronological age.
The definition of physical fitness is the ability to perform all daily work and leisure activities. To make exercise meaningful for older adults, we focus activity around health, function, and skill versus exercise for sports performance.
Benefits of exercise for older adults include:
- Helps maintain the ability to live independently and reduces the risk of falling and fracturing bones.
- Reduces the risk of dying from coronary heart disease and of developing high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes.
- Can help reduce blood pressure in some people with hypertension.
- Helps people with chronic, disabling conditions improve their stamina and muscle strength.
- Reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, and fosters improvements in mood and feelings of well-being.
- Helps maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
- Helps control joint swelling and pain associated with arthritis.
Participant Experience
Meet Dean.
Before enrolling in the SilverSneakers program Dean was dealing with issues related to his arthritis such as joint pain. His range of motion was starting to decrease little by little and it was impacting his ability to do common tasks around the house like reaching for the coffee on the top shelf of the cupboard.
After 6 months of attending SilverSneakers Classic once a week, SilverSneakers Yoga twice a week, and SilverSneakers Splash once a week Dean is doing much better.
“I no longer have issues reaching up for things like my morning coffee and can even manage my pain from arthritis more easily with less medication. I still have some pain and for that, I work with my doctor, but the improvements overall have been great.”
Think about the role you play in helping members achieve the benefits listed here.
What are some exercises you can include in your class to improve cognitive health?
The FITT Principle
FITT refers to the frequency, intensity, time and type of physical activity required to achieve health benefits.
F – Frequency is how often the work is performed
I – Intensity is how hard the work is
T – Time refers to the duration of the activity
T – Type is the mode of exercise
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides the following exercise recommendations for older adults:
In addition to aerobic endurance, muscle-strengthening and balance training, older adults will also benefit from activities designed to improve flexibility and cognition. Therefore, we also suggest the following be included:
Flexibility
- Incorporate flexibility training 2-3 times per week to improve range of motion
- Hold stretches 30-60 seconds
- Neuromotor exercises can improve the brain-to-body connection
- Incorporate training for motor skills by performing drills to improve balance, power, speed, agility, and coordination
- Perform exercises to improve cognition a minimum of 2-3 times per week
SilverSneakers signature classes focus on a variety of health- and skill-related benefits and can help our participants meet the requirements outlined above. To maximize the health-related benefits, encourage participants to enjoy a variety of class formats.
For example, to meet minimum requirements:
Signature Format
Health-Related Goal
Recommendation
Classic
Muscular strength and endurance
2x per week on non-consecutive days
Yoga
Flexibility and balance
1-2x per week
Circuit
Cardiovascular endurance
4-5x per week for 30 minutes each session
For even greater benefits:
Signature Format
Health-Related Goal
Recommendation
BOOM MUSCLE
Muscular strength and endurance; cardiovascular endurance
2x per week on non-consecutive days
BOOM MOVE
Cardiovascular endurance
2x per week
BOOM MIND
Flexibility and balance
2x per week
To better understand how to target specific health-related improvements, let’s examine the major systems of the body and how they are affected by exercise.