Move A Little, Gain A Lot – Part Two

Keeping you fit as a fiddle and on your feet, is a huge focus at Consonus Healthcare.

 

Balance Helps Prevent The Number One Cause of Senior Deaths –– Falling

Falls are preventable and shouldn’t be accepted as just a normal part of the aging process.

In Part 1 of Reducing Your Fall Risk, you learned that better balance is the key to reducing your fall risk and how warmup/cool down exercises and improving your sensory abilities are the first steps in improving balance.

Read on to add the last two tips to your fitness program.

These exercises are recommended by the CDC, the Physical Activity Guidelines for America and from our own Sarah Shearer-Smith, PT, DPT, GCS, CEEAA, RAC-CTA. Sarah is Consonus Healthcare’s long-time Northwest Director of Clinical Services and one of a small number of clinicians in the US who is recognized as a trained geriatric specialist in physical therapy.

 

(An important disclaimer: Consult with your doctor before beginning or changing any activity program.  Physical/occupational therapists can also be invaluable supports and experts: helping to identify which condition- or disease-specific guideline might be safest for you, what are the safest and most comfortable positions and modifications for exercises, if there are best times for exercise due to certain medications, and what are the recommended types/intensities/frequencies/and durations for each exercise.)

 

Tip #3 Aerobic Activity

The founders of modern-day fitness, from Jack and Elaine LaLanne and Richard Simmons to Jane Fonda and Denise Austin each developed their own brand of aerobics. But they all involve raising that heart rate. Here’s a way to keep it simple and get a moderate-intensity workout, as recommended by the CDC.

Sunday

30-minute brisk walk

 Monday

30-minute brisk walk

 Tuesday

30-minute brisk walk

 Wednesday

Weight Training

 Thursday

30-minute brisk walk

 Friday

30-minute brisk walk

 Saturday

Weight Training

 

This totals 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity + 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity.

How do you determine if you’re over-exerting yourself? Take the Talk Test. According to the CDC, if you’re doing moderate-intensity activity, you can talk but not sing during the activity. Vigorous-intensity activity is where it’s difficult to say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.

Don’t be hard on yourself if you can’t complete the activity at “moderate” intensity or for 150 minutes. It’s important to be as active as your abilities allow even if that’s a lighter intensity and smaller, shorter workout session.

 

Tip #4 Strength Shaping

General guidelines are for two or more days a week (usually instructed as 2-3 days a week), with days of rest between, so no back-to-back days for muscle. The focus should be on exercises that focus on major muscle groups versus isolating individual muscles.

 

Strengthen Your Muscles and Joints

Here are two exercises to boost the muscle groups and joints most critical to your balance and stability: the ankle (dorsiflexors and calves), the quadriceps (knee extensors) and the glutes (hip extensors). Complete these exercises standing at a counter or table with your eyes open. Keep that chair behind you for added security.

  • Heel/Toe Raises: We can lose up to 20 degrees of movement in our ankles as we age. This exercise keeps our ankles and calf muscles flexible and strong. Slowly shift your weight forward to your toes and raise your heels up and off the ground. Then reverse, slowly shifting your weight backward towards your heels and lifting your toes up and off the floor. Try to hold each position 3-5 seconds.
  • Mini Squats: Slowly bend your hips and knees as if you were going to sit in the chair behind you, but just as you’re about to sit, stand up slowly. Repeat 5-10 times.

There you have it! You’re on your way to side-stepping falls and staying independent and strong!

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