Older people might participate in exercise for health reasons, but most of all they attend for fun and social interaction
marco narici
professor • institute for biomedical research into human movement and health, manchester metropolitan university
“A
major obstacle is getting older people to health clubs and I’d
advise working with local councils to organise facilities and transport, such as a minibus directly to and from the gym. Once there, the key to motivation is
social inclusion and staff interaction. We conducted a year-long study on people
aged 75-plus and found that their main reason for exercising was not because they wanted to be bigger or stronger – although being able to get on with daily activities was important – but because they wanted a break from isolation. They wanted to get out of the house and interact with people. We recommend a dedicated group exercise class held in a
separate room so they’re not intimated by younger members. However, many clubs just offer resistance training, because they don’t want to hire a class instructor. While resistance training on machines is important, it’s only part of a holistic approach. Other elements should include moderate intensity aerobic exercise, flexibility/stretching and postural exercises such as t’ai chi. Participants would need to train at least three times a week for a minimum of 20 minutes, but optimally for 30–40 minutes.
”
april 2010 © cybertrek 2010
karl knopf
professor of adaptive and older adult fitness • foothill college, los atlos hills, california
“I
would start off with five minutes of physical activity a day and add on a
minute to each session every week. This may sound crazy, but all too often exercise specialists, who love fitness and find it easy thanks to their young bodies, say you need to do 20 minutes – and then older adults injure themselves and don’t go back.
When working with the elderly, it’s critical to have a considered
approach to fitness. I run an Adaptive Fitness Therapy course at Foothill that trains professionals to bridge the gap from therapy to fitness, and over the past 10 years enrollments have doubled. Twice a week, I also lead a ‘Sit and Be Fit’ class for about 50
people who range from 68 to 93 years old, where we perform various exercises on and around a chair. We’ve now worked up to 90-minute sessions. Initially I thought people were coming to get fit, but now I know they’re coming for fun and social interaction. People repeat things they find enjoyable and I don’t think
there’s anything more pleasurable than using a person’s name – people, older adults especially, want recognition. If you translate this to the gym, they want a warm welcome. Above that, however, they want respect.
”
Read Health Club Management online healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 25
PICTURE: WWW.CLAIRETOPLIS.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76