Older Adult or Senior Fitness: Exercise Is the Best Medicine for Fall Prevention and Quality of Life As We Age

Exercise for older adults is now being recommended not to help folks live longer but to live better, more fulfilling, more vibrant, and safer – that is, lesser risk of falls- than any medicines your doctor can offer.

My friend, Megan Senger, a freelance writer on fitness and wellness, just got an article published in the IDEA monthly magazine, IDEA Fit (Feb. 2015). It features a few experts, including me, so I”ll share it here although it will only be available for non-IDEA members for one week. The advice is simple, for the older adults and their trainers, but well worth reading. In a nutshell, getting older, even if you have been staying in shape, is a process we all hope to do more of. Getting unfit, however, is a process we can avoid by staying in shape. And exercise is the only way to do that, particularly resistance exercise.

It improves muscle quality and slows sarcopenia; improves or maintains bone quality slowing osteoporosis; it restores some semblance of balance and functional fitness; it reduces your risk of falling; and, amazingly, based on some more recent research, it actually slows cognitive decline!!!!

So read this article. It’s got some solid research behind it as well as the input of four experts – I guess I count, right?  And find a personal fitness trainer who can help you or your family member start a progressive exercise program based on your particular needs and goals. At STEPS, we do this by engaging in a thorough health history before establishing the methods by which a trainer will help you get started. The traditional PAR-Q that many trainers use is insufficient for the senior population so beware a trainer or gym that uses that alone. Like medicine, exercise must be meted out properly. Pick your provider well.