Fitness

Last month’s blog post, “At the Heart of a Senior’s Health is Good Nutrition”, focused on why healthy eating is so important to a senior’s quality of life and how even slight dietary changes can decrease the risk of certain diseases. Well, the same is true for staying active. According to the Weight Control Information Center, regular physical activity may help prevent or delay the onset of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and colon cancer. It can also increase a senior’s energy and boost their mood. As a person ages, the metabolism naturally slows down making maintaining a healthy weight a challenge. Proper nutrition combined with exercises that increase the metabolism and build muscle mass will help to burn more calories. Perhaps you’ve heard this from your doctor, loved one or from a personal trainer at one of our senior housing campuses, but you don’t know where to begin. You’re not alone. Many seniors feel discouraged by ongoing health problems and pain or concerns about balance or falls. The truth is, no matter your age or physical condition, you can benefit from exercise. The key is to develop a plan that gets your body moving and builds upon the hurdles you overcome and successes you achieve.

Developing a Fitness Plan
Before you make any changes in physical activity, consult a medical professional. They can provide guidance on maximum heart rate, warning signs of distress and even the timing of medications and meals around your exercise schedule. Saint Therese in Minnesota offers fitness services through Wellness Centers in both our New Hope and Oxbow Lake senior care centers. The licensed physical therapists, therapist assistants and exercise physiologists in our long-term care facilities can help you develop and maintain an exercise program for your condition and goals.

Incorporate cardio and strength training exercises to build endurance for everyday activities such as walking, stair climbing and house cleaning. Saint Therese offers state-of-the-art fitness equipment in our Wellness Centers to help build muscle with repetitive motion and external resistance methods which prevents the loss of bone mass. Consider taking a group exercise class. It’s easier to maintain a fitness plan with support.

Falls are the leading cause of death from injury among people 65 and over (according to www.ihlcaregiver.com) and many falls are preventable with balance training. Practices such as yoga and tai chi are posture exercises that increase confidence with balance. For a more “high tech” approach to gaining balance, try the NeuroCom EquiTest assessment and rehabilitation system, available in the Saint Therese Balance Clinic. This system uses the same technology used to measure equilibrium in NASA shuttle crews.

If aching joints or injury is preventing you from starting a fitness routine, consider water therapy. Water aerobics or even slow, repetitive movements in water builds muscle without breaking down joints and tissue. Opening soon, a warm water pool at Saint Therese at Oxbow Lake in Brooklyn Park, MN.

Many seniors turn to massage to relieve aches and pains but passage can actually be part of your workout. Massage therapy can reduce pain around joints and muscles, making it easier to use full range of motion during exercises. The Mayo Clinic reports that massage therapy can actually improve circulation which is especially important if you have diabetes which reduces blood flow to the tissues of your lower legs and feet. The personal trainers at our Saint Therese of New Hope senior apartments, assisted living and nursing care campus offer pain relief solutions such as moist heat and relaxation therapy.

If the thought of “working out” takes you back to the days of tight spandex and body crunching exercises of the 1980s, think again. Think about activities that you enjoy and incorporate them into your day. Some examples are:

• Take pictures of nature while on one of the community's many walking paths.
• Walk around the mall and window shop.
• If you used to love tennis but now find it too intense, try pickleball or badmitten.
• Watch a favorite television show or read a book while walking on the treadmill or riding a stationary bicycle.

At Saint Therese, our seniors enjoy life because of inspirational services we offer such as unique exercise programs which help them achieve their optimal health and well-being and to live life to the fullest at any age.