The other day we looked at how age affects body composition, correcting it even if there are no weight changes, and sport is the best preventive and therapeutic agent present in diseases such as osteoporosis. I was talking about it. Today we will talk about what older people can do in the gym to improve their health and quality of life.
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What is the third age?
In general, we understand people over 65 years of age at three years, but some authors distinguish between two non-aging periods at this stage of life.
The third age begins almost when the person leaves work and ends when social dependency arises. The fourth age begins at the end of the previous stage and lasts until death.
What kind of physical activity should older people do?
One of the great evils that plagues our society today is the sedentary lifestyle. This is a risk factor that extends from childhood to the elderly.
This is because the loss of age and capacity tends to increase the sedentary and meditative lifestyles of older people, especially if this person has never been physically active before. It is an even greater risk factor.
Assessing a person’s health is a reliable indicator of health and life expectancy. Therefore, prescribing a training plan for older people that focuses on the development of strength, aerobic capacity and flexibility is a very important tool to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death. Of factors and all causes, without considering health savings.
Therefore, these individuals should focus on strength and aerobic training to improve or minimize flexibility.
What is the ideal dose for each type of exercise?
According to the American Sports College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association, the following are recommended:
At least 5 days a week, 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, or at least 3 20-minute days of vigorous-intensity days.
Two days a week of programmed and sequenced strength training, including 8-10 exercises with 10-15 iterations on a scale of 5-8 Perceived Exercise (RPE).
Hold the pose for 10-30 seconds for at least 2 days and focus on improving joint mobility through active or passive flexible exercise. Yoga is a very good option.
What kind of exercise can seniors do in the gym?
Any of the exercises is prescribed according to the physical condition of the particular person. As a general rule, there are no contraindications, but the lack of mobility and coordination may require the use of adaptations or variations in basic exercises. We want to improve the quality of life and functional independence for these people, so if you can do goblet squats or goblet box squats, you don’t need to do back squats.
Ideally, choose a free-weight jointed exercise that mobilizes your major muscle groups. As mentioned above, designing a training program for exercise patterns is a great option, so here are the main exercises and some alternatives that these people can perform.
Horizontal pushing movement such as dumbbell press. For complex cases, you can choose a horizontal press machine.
Upright pushing movement like a dumbbell shoulder press. Some machines perform this movement pattern.
Horizontal pull movements such as rowing a barbell or winding a rope.
Vertical traction movements such as chest pull.
Knee dominant exercises like squats and leg presses.
Waist-dominant movements such as the Romanian bar and dumbbell deadlifts.
