Start by Assessing/Screening. Senior Exercise Recommendations. Program Design. Warm-Up Drills: Goals of the Dynamic Warmup.

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1 A Dozen Practical Activities for Seniors Start by Assessing/Screening Determine need for physician release Assess heart health Understand orthopedic history Determine baselines Tells trainer extremely value information for program design Tells trainer who is ready for more intense training Determine progress and resistance Senior Exercise Recommendations 150 minutes moderate intensity or 75 minutes high intensity cardio exercise per week 300 minutes moderate intensity or 150 minutes high intensity cardio exercise per week associated with better health and lower rates of depression and cognitive decline Seniors who present a fall risk should do balance training at least three times per week Strength training should be done at least twice a week Frail or impaired seniors should exercise for 10 minutes at a time as frequently as possible, based on their limitations Know your group, know their goals: alance? Strength? Cardio? Agility? Program Design Senior Centers Health Fairs Gym Orientations or Open Houses Group Fitness Classes Senior oot Camps Personal Training Sessions When & Where Warm-Up Drills: Goals of the Dynamic Warmup Elevate the body core temperature Actively elongate the muscles Activate the neuromuscular system system Prepare for movement & intensity reserved. 1

2 6-Minute Dynamic Warmup Set Exercise Time Rest 1 Arm pendulums 60 secs n/a 2 Leg pendulums 60 secs n/a 3 March in place 60 secs n/a Herding Cats One balloon ( cat ) per person Each person goes from Point A to Point trying to keep their cat in the air Try it as a relay race, or as a circuit 4 utt kicks 60 secs n/a 5 all squeeze while walking 60 secs n/a 6 Speed walking 60 secs n/a Square of Despair Rock, Paper, Scissors Group starts at one corner of the room or field Walk 3 sides, fast walk 1 sides Walk 2 sides, fast walk 2 sides Walk 1 sides, fast walk 3 sides Fast walk all 4 sides Variation: Start teams on the diagonals walking towards each other. Whenever they meet they do an exercise. Rock = Strength 10 chair squats, or 10 chair push ups or a 20 second wall sit or wall plank ackward Pass With a balloon, on a stable surface Paper = alance Stand on each leg for 10 seconds or stand on a balance disc for 20 seconds or balance a balloon on each hand for 10 seconds Scissors = Cardio Fast walk for 20 seconds or chair mountain climber for 20 seconds or quick step for 20 seconds reserved. 2

3 Weaving Agility Drill Conga Line!! Participants stand in line, one arm s length from person in front of them They perform strength, balance or flexibility exercises The first person weaves their way to the back of the line, then the second, third, etc Weave the line around the room! Designing Group or Individual Walking Programs Using a Pedometer Motivating way to quantify activity Take 3 day total; this is the baseline Short term goal: 500 more steps per day Mid term goal: 5000 steps per day Long term goal: 10,000 steps per day Pedometers are SO 20 th Century try a Fitit Group Pedometer Activity: Walk from Ft Lauderdale to Miami Ft Laud to Miami is 30 miles (158,400 feet) Each foot step is approximately 24 inches (2 feet) 158,400 divided by 2 = 79,200 First person to walk 79,200 steps has walked to Miami Fort Lauderdale Miami Cross the Creek Masking tape, stones Cross the creek at the widest spot possible without getting your feet wet. Stand on one bank and touch the other bank with your foot & then return to the start As you cross the creek, bend down to pick up a stone 24 6 reserved. 3

4 Stepping Stone Drills The Figure 8 Gauntlet Start End Fly on the Wall/ Roach on the Floor Drill Laser pointer or narrow beam flashlight Rolled up newspapers Particpants take rolled up paper; when laser shines on wall they try to hit fly with paper When laser shines on floor they try to step on roach Obstacle Course Drills Walking the Gauntlet: Practice Walking the Gauntlet: Design Add challenges, obstacles as well reserved. 4

5 Sample Obstacle Course Step over C Agility Rings D Stepping Stones C Hurdles Hurdles alance eam A LADDER Walk A LADDER Walk D A Lateral Steps Over Hurdles Speed Walk Weaving GRAPEVINE C Squirrels in Their Nest Assorted household objects 1bucket per team Place buckets in opposite ends of room; equal number of objects in each bucket Participants take one item at a time from their bucket & deposit it in the bucket of another team When time is up, team with the fewest items in their bucket wins Fetch! Circle Soccer alls in weight of your choice Object Participants throw, roll or kick the ball Their partner fetches it, retrieves it and returns to start. Switch roles. Lightweight play ball Participants kick the ball back & forth You can also play in teams & try to score goals reserved. 5

6 Shuttle Walks/Runs ags filled with stuff Participants move bag from point A to Point & return to Point A. Next person retrieves bag from Point & returns it to Point A. And so on. A Tubing Over & Under Elastic Tubes Two participants hold tubes at various heights The rest of the group walks under, crouches under and/or steps over Make sure everyone gets to hold the tubes. Duck, Duck Goose Participants sit in a circle, facing out One person is It; they walk around the circle pointing at people and calling Duck Duck or Goose. The Goose stands up & chases It If the Goose tags It the round starts again. If It can sit in the Goose s chair before being tagged, then the Goose becomes it Participants sit in a circle, facing out When the music plays they walk around the circle When the music stops they sit down Make sure there is a chair for everyone! Musical Chairs King sized flat sheet Lightweight ball(s) Participants grab sheet and as the ball rolls make sure it does not fall off on their side Variations: Clockwise, counterclockwise The Wave Some participants are wickets and some are mallets Wickets stand with feet shoulder width apart in an irregular course Mallets try to kick the ball under the wickets If they miss or hit the wickets, they become the wicket & the wicket becomes the mallet. Human Croquet reserved. 6

7 Hot potato With a balloon, with a med ball reserved. 7