Golden And Fit: Virtual Fitness Resources For Older Adults

Sophia Young https://www.thehomeconcierge.ca 3m 866 #virtualfitness

The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.

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The COVID-19 pandemic put restrictions on everyone, especially in doing our own daily routines. Working out, for instance, became limited in everyone’s homes because of the sudden close contact restrictions between people. This response posed a slight hindrance in keeping your elderly loved ones from having a healthy and active lifestyle by changing heavy work fitness activities into simple and safe exercises.

Seniors whose ages are at least 65 years old are recommended to take at least 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic exercises weekly. Amidst the pandemic, they need to continue engaging in physical activities to prevent health problems that may come at their age. If you have a family member, a friend, or an acquaintance whose age range is 65 years old and above, here are some virtual fitness programs and resources you can recommend which can be perfectly suited for them.

Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less

This virtual program features 15-week online weight management that primarily focuses on weight maintenance. It is perfect for your older adult friends who are having a hard time with their eating habits, engagement in an active lifestyle, and body weight. It also uses strategies backed by considerable evidence proven effective for maintaining and achieving an ideal body mass.

Training sessions are held online, perfect for the current situation. All lessons promote mindful living about healthy habits, physical activities, and proper nutrition. Instructors are professional nutritionists that conduct one-hour group classes, making the lessons interactive and effective.

Enhance Fitness

If you’re looking for a low-cost virtual fitness resource for your seniors, Enhance Fitness may be the one for them. Formerly called Lifetime Fitness Program, this virtual fitness resource focuses on exercises, other physical activities, and fall prevention, perfect for older adults with frail to fit bodies.

Sessions tackle four areas to promote healthy aging and active lifestyle: low-impact cardiovascular exercises, balance work, strength training, and stretching. Fitness instructors are versatile and skilled enough to modify physical activities best suited for each participant in the class. They also have fitness assessments at the end of the 16-week program with regular intervals to continue the achieved benefits of your older adults peers and family members from the sessions.

Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL)

Are you keen on virtual fitness programs that are led by different fitness and health professionals? SAIL conducts their one-hour sessions three times a week. Each class focuses on various physical activities that are beneficial for older adults aged 65 years old above. It includes warm-up exercises, aerobics, balance exercises, strength training, and stretching sessions. Instructors are all fitness coaches, nutritionists, therapists, and other medical and fitness-related workers.

This virtual program also conducts its health and fitness surveys to monitor the progress of the participants. Fitness checks are done once every three months and during the first two weeks of the class schedule. Classes also include fall prevention education, promoting awareness and instilling necessary knowledge to protect and keep the well-being of the seniors.

Active Choices

Active Choices is the perfect virtual fitness resource if you want to push and help your older loved ones to have an active lifestyle but prefer individualized classes. Their classes can also be conducted using their unique telephone-supervised programs on top of their regular online sessions. It has a 6-month to a 12-month timetable that caters to adults and older people.

Their sessions include physical activities that promote a fit and active body while also considering the benefits it can bring to the mental health of the person. All physical and mental positive outcomes are all because of their healthy diet and stress management interventions. Active Choices offers remote guidance, supports, and flexibility to the participants to give them the freedom of choosing their own schedule for individualized programs.

Fit and Strong!

Fit and Strong! is a top-tier virtual fitness resource for your senior friends suffering from osteoarthritis. It is an evidence-based group program designed to help elders engage in an active lifestyle, improve their health, and relieve body stiffness and pain due to arthritis. Their sessions are typically 8-weeks long and are expected to improve joint pain, stiffness, lower extremity, and mental-related health aspects.

Classes are usually delivered twice or thrice per week, with each session lasting about 90 minutes. Fit and Strong! features multiple physical activities that tailor flexibility, low-impact aerobics, strength exercises, and informative self-management and behavioral change discussions. This virtual program is effective, less expensive, and perfect for people with mobility issues.

Geri-Fit

Suppose a virtual program mainly for rebuilding lost strength caused by the aging process is what you’re looking for. In that case, Geri-Fit focuses their 45-minute sessions on increasing the strength, balance, flexibility, and mental outlook of the participants. It is specially designed for older adults that want to have an engaging and active lifestyle while also building up body strength.

The Geri-Fit virtual program has two 45-minute classes weekly until the 4-week session is over. Certified fitness facilitators conduct all sessions to guide your older friends to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. This virtual fitness resource also incorporates health management and education in various chronic diseases prevalent among seniors, such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, body pain, and more.

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