BENEFITS OF EXERCISE


Older adults (seniors) who exercise on a regular basis report an overall sense of well being. They often comment about how much easier it is to go about their daily tasks since they have begun exercising. They also express an increase in their flexibility and an increase in their heart and lung capacity. They find that their movements are less inhibited by lack of oxygen to their lungs. Seniors also feel that they have achieved a personal sense of progression in their lives.

Exercise programs should be part of the regular scheduled recreation programs at your facility or community center. By placing regular scheduled programs into each day of programming you will see that there will be great benefits to your participants and they will feel a sense of satisfaction. The recreation staff must remember that exercise can take on many forms and should not be limited to traditional exercise programs. Activities such as bowling or carpet bowling, badminton, volleyball or (balloon volleyball), badminton, gardening, walking and many other activities provide a great amount of exercise and should be considered as part of your participants exercise program. Even within the traditional exercise program you can add various pieces of equipment to your programs to help motivate your participants and keep them active. (Chapter 4 Equipment)

The term “exercise” is often a “turn-off” to participants who reside in lodges, personal care homes or long term care facilities, even seniors in the community who have stayed away from exercise programs feel intimidated by this word. Renaming the programs will often make the activity attractive to more individuals. Titles such as i.e. “Stoop & Stretch,” “Men’s Sweat,” “Flexercise” or “Aerobics” (although it is almost impossible to achieve aerobic actions with this population. Again depending on which seniors population you are working with) have been used.

As with any recreational activity some participants will easily join in and others will want to sit along the sidelines watching. It is important to encourage the participants to ‘come and watch’ if the participant does not wish to actively participate. Older adults are often leery about trying new activities, a suggestion might be to offer a demo class before starting the program and allowing all to come out and see what it’s all about. By doing this might encourage those you have been trying to get involved to try the class out and see that their peers are having fun staying active.

Remember: When putting together various activities for your participants you wish you could consider everyone’s needs, unfortunately that doesn’t always happen. You want to stress to those who are leery that staying active is fun and benefits one’s body. Your programs will meet the majority of your participants, and lure the curious out and maybe one day will partake in one of your classes.