Senior fitness activities

The core principle of fitness for the elderly has never been to pursue exercise intensity and benchmark the training standards of young people, but to adapt to one's own physical condition, take into account social and emotional needs, and find a comfortable rhythm that can be maintained for a long time while maintaining the bottom line of safety. This is currently generally recognized by the sports academic community, frontline community services, and the elderly group themselves, and is the logic of elderly fitness that has the highest health gain.

Uncle Zhang in the small park downstairs from my house stepped through this pit a while ago. He had previously watched a short video and saw someone practicing the advanced version of Baduanjin, saying it could lower blood pressure. After practicing for three days, his waist broke out and he had to lie down for half a month before going out. Later, he stopped blindly watching videos and followed the trend. He played flexball with his old friends for 20 minutes every day, and took the initiative to be the team's scorekeeper. Now his blood pressure is very stable, and even his previously reticent personality has become much more cheerful. When he meets people, he always says, "I used to think that the harder I practice, the healthier I will be. Now I realize that the biggest disadvantage is to show off your ability."

Regarding how to practice fitness for the elderly, there are actually two different ideas in the circle. Researchers in the field of exercise physiology pay more attention to actual benefits at the physiological level. According to statistics from domestic sports medicine journals, one in three people over the age of 60 suffers from insufficient muscle mass. To put it bluntly, their legs are weak and weak, and they are prone to falling if they stumble a little. Lifting a mineral water bottle filled with rice and squatting against the wall for one or two minutes two afternoons a week can reduce the risk of falling by 40%. This is a conclusion that has been repeatedly verified. They generally recommend that the elderly should add some low-intensity resistance content to fitness, otherwise the rate of muscle loss cannot be stopped by just doing aerobics.

But community workers who deal with the elderly every day think differently. A community cultural and sports officer I know said that if you tell the aunts and uncles that you need to practice resistance and measure your heart rate, eight out of ten people will find it troublesome and turn around and leave. It is better to organize activities such as square dancing, goalball, and softball that can get together. Even if everyone is playing ball and chatting for ten minutes about Zhang's parents and Li's shortcomings, it is better than anything else if they are willing to come every day. She has a statistic in her hand. The elderly people in her community who have danced square dances for two consecutive years have a cardiovascular index passing rate of 27% higher in annual physical examinations than the elderly people who move only occasionally when they think about it. "The benefits of being in a good mood are really no less than those of pure exercise."

I talked about this with Dr. Chen, a rehabilitation therapist at a community hospital a while ago. He has seen many cases and said that many misunderstandings are actually caused by people not being sure about their own physical conditions. There was an aunt who watched other people walking 20,000 steps a day and posted them on her social media. After walking for a week, fluid accumulated in her knees. There was also an old man who had high blood pressure and insisted on competing with a young man to see who could do more push-ups. He almost fainted. His current advice to the elderly has always been to "try 10 minutes first." If you want to try brisk walking, walk for 10 minutes first. If you feel comfortable walking for a week, add another 5 minutes. Don't get too excited when you start, and don't compare your progress with others.

Don't tell me, many old people's fitness methods have already jumped out of everyone's inherent impression. Aunt Li from our community was dragged by her old sisters to join the cheongsam catwalk team last year. She was too embarrassed to go out at first, but now she trains three times a week without fail. The navy blue cheongsam she wore had a small peony embroidered on the neckline. She also went to the city's middle-aged and elderly cultural festival a while ago and won the third prize. She herself said that every time she walks in a show, she has to raise her head, straighten her chest, and tighten her core. After practicing for more than half a year, her hunchback has improved, and even the chest tightness she often suffered from before has disappeared. "Who said that you have to run and jump for fitness. My catwalk is also a serious exercise."

But now when it comes to fitness for the elderly, there is another unavoidable controversy, which is the issue of disturbing people. There used to be a square dance team in our community that danced at the gate of the community at six in the morning with loud speakers on. The office workers upstairs complained several times, and the noise was so loud that the police were almost called. Later, the community coordinated to the open space in the northwest corner of the park and provided directional speakers. The sound could only be heard in the activity area, and both parties were satisfied. Now the team has formed a group, and they organize trips together during holidays and festivals. It has completely become a small social group.

To be honest, is there any unified standard for fitness for the elderly? If you like to be quiet, stretching your arms and legs at home, tending two pots of flowers, and walking around the vegetable market for half an hour with a vegetable basket are considered activities. ； If you like fun, you can play croquet, ballroom dance, or join the cheongsam catwalk team. As long as you don't compare with others and don't insist on practicing movements that are beyond your tolerance, the best fitness activity is if you can persist happily. After all, as a person ages, being healthy and comfortable is better than anything else.