Sustained Fitness for Seniors Needed to Reap the Same Benefits as the Young

June 21st, 2016

Free Radical Biology and Medicine, a journal of the Society for Redox Biology and Medicine, compared to older people, younger adults experience greater antioxidant benefits from one exercise session.  So, a new study suggests that, if you’re an older adult, a 30-minute workout may not be as effective, even at the cellular level, as it was when you were younger. “Through this study we were able to determine that an individual’s antioxidant response to exercise becomes suppressed with age,” said Tinna Traustadóttir, an associate professor of biology at Northern Arizona University and lead researcher. “Exercise is effective and critical for people of all ages, but this study shows that older adults do not achieve the same beneficial cellular responses as younger adults from a single bout of moderate exercise.” As you age, regular exercise is more important than ever to your body and mind.  And, it can be fun! Physical health benefits of fitness for seniors:

  • Exercise reduces the impact of illness and chronic disease. Among the many benefits of exercise for adults over 60 include improved bone and jointimmune function, better heart health and blood pressure and better bone density (bone and joint health). People who exercise also have a lowered risk of several chronic conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, and colon cancer.  In fact, Fitness for Health’s Fitness for Seniors program incorporates state-of-the-art technology aimed at maintaining weight management while specifically improving bone and joint health.
  • Exercise enhances mobility, flexibility, and balance in adults over 65. Exercise improves your strength, flexibility and posture, which in turn will help with balance, coordination, and reduce the risk of falls. Strength training also helps alleviate the symptoms of chronic conditions such as arthritis.

Mental health benefits of exercise and fitness for seniors:

  • Exercise boosts mood and self-confidence.  Seniors have a higher rate of depression.  Endorphins produced by exercise can actually help you feel better and reduce feelings of sadness. Being active and feeling strong naturally helps you feel more self-confident and improves your self-image.
  • Exercise is good for the brain. Exercise benefits regular brain functions and can help keep the brain active, which can prevent memory loss, cognitive decline, and dementia. Exercise may even help slow the progression of brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Do you have an older loved one who could use assistance to improve balance, maintain weight management or better bone and joint health?  We can help. Fitness for Health is proud to provide a revolutionary, 12-week Bone and Joint Health Program for adults and seniors that capitalizes on weight-bearing, fitness activities.  This groundbreaking program helps to improve posture and increase bone density, strength and balance while counteracting the effects of osteoporosis, osteopenia and aging. The Bone and Joint Health Program elicits results faster and more effectively than traditional exercise (fitness for seniors) or pharmaceuticals through two state-of-the-art fitness technologies:

  • bioDensity™ – Weight-bearing exercises are the key to stimulating bone growth, and the greater the weight applied, the better the results. The osteogenic loading that patients receive is multiples of bodyweight, and beyond what is typically seen in exercise. Research has shown, bone density gains that averaged 7% in the hip and 7.7% in the spine over one year using bioDensity (Jaquish, 2013). These results are multiples of what the current interventions can do for bone density.
  • Power Plate™ – Power Plate is a whole body vibration platform that allows for reflexive engagement of the neuromuscular system at rapid and repeatable oscillation. This intervention has been clinically shown to increase balance and stability in both healthy and aging-frail populations.

When used once a week, research has shown the bioDensity system alone has significantly increased bone mass density, stability and functional movement with multiple ages, health conditions and for both genders. Learn more about how we can help you create a customized fitness for seniors program that counteracts the signs of aging while helping to maintain weight management and increase bone and joint health.]]>

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