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Exercises
for the Elderly
Exercises for Seniors
Weight Loss Exercises,
Exercises for the Elderly, a
lecture by Dr. Bill
Westcott, explains strength
training benefits to John
Knox Village residents. He
is a fitness research
director at the South Shore
YMCA in Quincy,
Massachusetts, and co-author
of the new books "Strength
Training Past 50" and
"Strength Training for
Seniors."
This is a reprint of his Exercises for Seniors lecture.
Introduction - exercises
for the elderly
During the past decade, several studies have established that
strength training is a safe
and beneficial activity for
adults of all ages (Fiatarone
et al., 1990; Butts & Price,
1994; Campbell et al., 1994;
Pratley et al., 1994;
Westcott & Guy, 1996).
The basic studies showed that Weight Loss Exercises geared towards
building strength are
effective for increasing
muscle strength and size in
senior men (Frontera et al.,
1988), senior women (Nelson
et al., 1994), and even
nursing home residents (Fiatarone
et al., 1994).
Other research, much of which was conducted with senior subjects,
revealed that Weight Loss
Exercises for Seniors
reduced resting blood
pressure (Harris & Holly,
1987), improved blood lipid
profiles (Stone et al.,
1982), increased
gastrointestinal transit
speed (Koffler et al.,
1992), enhanced glucose
utilization (Hurley, 1994),
alleviated low back pain (Risch
et al., 1993), increased
bone mineral density (Menkes
et al., 1993), eased
arthritic discomfort (Tufts,
1994), relieved depression
(Singh et al., 1997), and
improved postcoronary
performance (Stewart et al.,
1988).
None of these studies reported any training related injuries, and a
large scale project with
more than 1,100 participants
reported that 95 percent of
the adults and seniors
continued to strength train
after completing the program
(Westcott & Guy, 1996).
Based partly on the success of these studies, we designed a
strength training protocol
for elderly nursing home
residents who were
essentially non-ambulatory.
Our research objectives were
to determine how a 5_station
training program would
affect the patients' body
composition, muscle
strength, joint flexibility,
and functional ability.
Subjects - Exercises for Seniors
We started the study with 27 physician referred patients (18 women,
9 men) who resided at the
John Knox Village Campus
(which includes the Med
Center, Assisted Living, and
Independent Living
facilities) in Orange City,
Florida.
Nineteen subjects (14 women, 5 men) completed the 14_week strength
training program. Two
residents passed away during
the course of the study,
four encountered illnesses
that prevented them from
training, and two
discontinued the program for
personal reasons.
On average, the subjects were 88.5 years of age, 63.7 inches in
height, and 130.0 pounds in
weight. However, the men
were considerably taller
(66.9 inches to 62.6 inches)
and heavier (164.7 pounds to
117.7 pounds) than the
women.
Results - Exercises for the Elderly
The results of the exercises for seniors were impressive...each
person that finished
improved body composition
and increased muscle
strength. Joint flexibility
was largely unchanged to
slightly improved.
This is very encouraging news. Finally, proof that exercise is
beneficial no matter what
your age!
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