Achieve your Fitness Goals and Rediscover your Passion

“Your Fitness Goals Become Ours”

AgeSTRONG Certified Trainers Put the Fun Back in Senior Fitness Goals

Before we convince you “fun fitness” is not an oxymoron, before we prove it with five easy and effective exercises to help you stay healthy and independent, we have a question for you:

Have you lost the ability to do that one “favorite thing”?

That hobby, vocation or sport that used to make your heart leap with joy. If so, you may be able to relate to Lydia’s story.

Lydia was a nurse who loved adventure and travel. Especially in the snow. A proud Minnesotan, Lydia never heard a snowy forecast she didn’t love. And Minnesota has more than 100 days of those.

Fast forward a few decades and Lydia, now 80, is a resident of an independent living community near Seattle. She’s slowly recuperating from her bilateral knee replacement surgery when she hears about an upcoming trip for residents.

It sounds like a dream — a four-hour snowshoe trek through the Cascade Mountains, east of Seattle.

Lydia gazed down at her knee and thought, “There’s no way I can go.”

 

AgeSTRONG’s “Dream Makers”

There’s. No. Way. Those are fightin’ words for personal trainer and fitness specialists like Lisa Brudvik, now part of our personal coaching team in Consonus Healthcare’s AgeSTRONG wellness and rehabilitation program. Lisa’s clients benefit from her background in coaching women’s triathletes, personal fitness training, her degree in exercise physiology, and a clinical internship at Duke University. Lisa is also a certified instructor for SAIL—Stay Active and Independent for Life balance program that’s’ proven to reduce risk of falls and improve quality of life for seniors. That’s a lot of experience she pours into her clients!

“At AgeSTRONG, we use our education, professional training and experience to support your work achieving fitness goals, maintaining independence and managing symptoms,” says Lisa. “With Lydia, that began by building a trusted relationship, listening to how much this trip meant to her, being realistic about her current condition and what it would take to get her in shape for four hours of snowshoeing with no real chance to sit down.”

 

AgeSTRONG Redefines “Limitations”

Lisa customized a training program simulating Lydia’s upcoming adventure: building endurance on the treadmill, walking with trekking poles to get her arms in shape, conditioning to reduce the chance of falling and sharpening her mental game, namely, reducing her concerns about falling.”

Lydia fully participated in that four-hour snow shoeing trip, got back on the bus, gave Lisa a hug and said, “I never thought I’d ever be able to do that again!”

“The joy in her face!” recalls Lisa. “She raised the ceiling on how she defined limitations. That spread to other areas of her life. Soon she was traveling solo, back and forth, to her beloved Minnesota snow.”

 

Celebrate National Senior Health and Fitness Day, May 31

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, older adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week as well as muscle-strengthening activities twice a week. And May is the perfect time to get back to doing the things you love most. In honor of National Senior Health and Fitness Day, the largest health and wellness movement for seniors in the US, here are 5 fun and highly effective exercises, complete with YouTube videos for you to follow. (Always check with your physician before starting any exercise program.)

Let’s go!

 

 

#1 Yes To Yoga

Flexibility, low impact, joint-friendly, stress reducer, mind-body connection. What’s not to like about Yoga. Get your Zen on with these exercises. Namaste!

#2 Tai Chi Toning:  Just like the ancient Chinese martial artists, you too can achieve inner calm, balance and flexibility with this “dance between the mind and body.”

#3 Walk Your Talk: You say you want to get fit? Then start walking. Your legs are two of the best pieces of exercise equipment you can put to use, even if you’re just walking around your home.  

#4 Make A Splash:  Get inspired by an old Esther Williams movie then find yourself a water aerobics class or check out these videos. Make waves with a low-impact resistance/strengthening and aerobic workout, with zero risk of falling.

#5 Muscle Up: You lose muscle mass as you age, but you’re never too old to add strength/resistance training to your fitness journey.

There are numerous other ways to stay fit –– dancing, gardening, pickleball, biking, bowling, birdwatching and more. Just get moving!

 

In Conclusion:

“Remember, this isn’t just about physical fitness,” says Lisa. “At AgeSTRONG we focus on the wellness of the whole person. It’s all connected –– your sleep, nutrition, exercise, motivation, mental health. With a customized fitness plan, you can regain the ability to do the things you love. And you can have fun at the same time –– so dream big!”

Visit the National Senior Health and Fitness Day website for more information, including local events, healthy eating tips and more exercise ideas.

Consonus Healthcare offers customizable wellness and rehabilitation programs, which can be found in senior living communities across the US including Marquis facilities. Visit Consonus Healthcare’s website to learn more about AgeSTRONG.

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