The SilverSneakers fitness program is designed to provide safe group exercise experiences for adults 65 and older. In addition to accessing amenities at more than 14,000 participating locations across the country, many older adults participate in SilverSneakers and SilverSneakers FLEX® approved group fitness classes.
As an instructor, you generally do not receive detailed health history information for each class participant. Ongoing group exercise classes have different class attendees each week. You likely have participants in your class who are new as well as those who have been regular attendees for many years. For long-time participants, you may witness changes in health over the course of their attendance. With many SilverSneakers group classes averaging 25 class participants, and some classes exceeding 30 or more, it is unrealistic to expect a group fitness class be specifically tailored to each participant’s needs.
When you teach SilverSneakers signature classes, or those approved for SilverSneakers eligible members, you must be prepared to accommodate the varied skills and abilities that are present in each class. Instructors who are well informed about common physical conditions experienced by SilverSneakers class participants are better able to provide appropriate progressions and regressions for prepared exercise and movement, empowering each person to self-select the best variation of the exercise for his or her personal needs.
Many, if not most, of our class participants are managing at least one chronic condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, osteoarthritis is considered the most common form of arthritis, affecting 30 million adults (CDC, 2016). Pain and disability resulting from osteoarthritis of the hip is the leading cause for hip replacement surgery.
The number of total hip replacements (THR) performed in the United States has increased dramatically. The number and rate of hip replacements in patients 45 years of age and older increased from 138,700 in 2000 to 310,800 in 2010 (Wolford, Palso & Bercovitz, 2015). A prevalence study conducted by the Mayo Clinic shows that in 2010, an estimated 2.5 million people in the United States live with a hip replacement (Maradit-Kremers, Crowson, Larson, Jiranek, & Berry, 2014).
Daniel J. Berry, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and the lead investigator on the team describes the importance of understanding the prevalence of THR by stating: “These numbers underscore the significant positive impact on health and quality of life that total joint replacement surgeries have made…keeping a substantial part of our population mobile despite severe arthritis.” For perspective in understanding the chronic conditions our class participants may be managing, he notes “There are approximately 1.5 times more people living in the U.S. with a knee or hip replacement as there are people living with heart failure.” (Maradit-Kremers, Crowson, Larson, Jiranek, & Berry, 2014).
Being adaptable will help you create a positive class experience for your SilverSneakers participants, despite any conditions they may be living with. In the next lesson, we’ll review the role and responsibility of the group exercise instructor.