Facilitators of exercise groups for frail seniors will
understand that developing a routine that meets the needs
of all participants can be challenging due to differences in ability levels, mobility, medical conditions, hearing and sight abilities and language. In order to
address this diversity, both of our centres offer two, 45 minute exercise sessions
each day, one for clients with a high level of mobility and another for clients with a medium level or mobility or other challenges that make exercise in the high mobility
group difficult for them.
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| Balance Exercises |
The content of both exercise groups is similar, however, the
high mobility group is facilitated at a faster pace, includes more
complicated movements and has a more extensive standing and balance component, whereas the medium mobility group includes more simple
movements and limits the number of transitions between exercises. As a general
rule, each session consists of a warm up, a cardiovascular component, strength
training for the upper and lower body using weights, therabands or dyno balls,
weight-bearing balance exercises and a cool down.
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| Strength Training Exercises |
Recently, the staff at South Vancouver ADC introduced a modified exercise
program for a small group of participants who were having difficulty participating
in the medium mobility exercise group because they were unable to perform weight-bearing exercises. The content of
this new program has been modified to enhance the specific abilities of these participants. In addition to the stretching and resistance exercises always included in the exercise programs, a component for manual dexterity using large and small balls and silly putty has been added.
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| Exercises Using Silly Putty |
Facilitating this program around a table encourages eye contact and interaction between participants and the small group setting enables the leader to spend more time with each client and to offer more specific instructions and hand under hand assistance, when needed. The participants are enjoying the small group setting and are encouraged by their ability to participate in each of the exercises; as a result, staff have noted an increase in participants' levels of engagement. If you are looking for ideas on how to enhance your exercise programs with a similar group, we would be happy to share more details about our program with you.
For more information on seniors exercise, visit the website for the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging (CCAA). The CCAA is involved in research, exercise program development and exercise leader training for facilitators of exercise programs for seniors of all functional levels, including frail seniors in long term care facilities and community care and active, independent seniors. Recently, CCAA has also established new Physical Activity Guidelines for Seniors.