SENIORS FITNESS NEWSLETTER:
Welcome to our latest Seniors Newsletter: January 2025.
In this Newsletter:
- NEW Year….New You?
- Get Your Fitness MOT…
- NEW Class
- Stronger Muscles….Stronger Bones
- NEW Faces
NEW YEAR ….NEW YOU?
Happy New Year to everyone!.
New year resolutions or new aims are common when we start a new year. Any aim to improve your health is a good thing to do, however these are best if you take a cautious approach.
The best resolutions are realistic ones – its better to make small changes to improve your health than do anything drastic which will likely fail.
Similar experience highlights how important it is to integrate any changes into your routine and daily / weekly habits.
If you achieve your aims, you can easily update and improve them more – Resolutions are not just for New Year!
If you need any fitness aim advice don’t hesitate to ask! OR:
GET YOUR FITNESS MOT!
We are running more Functional Fitness Sessions – to test your fitness and see how you perform for your age group.
The Fitness MOT involves taking part in 8 exercise tests, which have been identified to reflect different functional abilities.For each test you are provided with data to indicate your score compare to identified ‘average’ for people of your age.
The next session is planned as follows:
Saturday 25thJanuary 2025 10.45 at Culmington Hall, Culmington Road B31
Further dates are planned – so if you are interested let us know and we can notify you of the future dates and times.
NEW CLASS
A second more intensive class is starting from the 27th January at the Hollymoor Centre (just by the old hospital water tower).
The class includes floor movements - so bring a mat. The class will be led by Jim Carpenter.
EVERY MONDAY 11am Hollymoor Centre, 8 Manor Park Grove, (Room 7), B31 5ER
Our full class programme is set out on this link: CLICK HERE
STRONGER MUSCLES...MAKE STRONGER BONES
As we get older it is generally recognised that our bones become weaker, and ultimately can make us more prone to breaks and fractures.
Whilst strengthening your muscles helps to support your bones (particularly helpful if you have arthritis), scientists have shown that stronger muscles also directly help to strengthen your bones.
Our bones are‘living’ tissue and the cells of our bones are replaced all the time. It is estimated that your skeleton cells are completely renewed every 5 – 10 years (Ref Cleveland Clinic).
Research reported by Harvard Medical School (January 2024) has highlighted how strength training in particular targets hips, spine and wrists and making these area's less likely to suffer fractures. This has shown to occur for a group of research participants aged between 70 – 85 years old.
New Faces - The System Fitness Team:
Items from previous newsletters:
"You are never too old to set another goal or dream another dream"
CS Lewis
FITNESS BY NUMBERS….
18 minutes -
Is the amount of increased exercise / movement per person undertaken across the nation between 2022 to 2023. This is according to a survey undertaken by Nuffield Health survey.
However:....
75%
of all adults are still not meeting recommended World Health Organisation guidelines for movement.
47%
of adults between 75 – 84 years old are identified as physically inactive by the Centre for Ageing Better UK. The figure for 65 -74year olds is 31% - a difference of 16% over ten years,- which highlights how easy it is to become less active as we get older.
Less activity leads to be able to do less and increases the risk of diabetes/ poor heart health and increase in back ache / joint problems.
500 ....
The approximate number of people in Northfield over 65 who are admitted to hospital following a fall each year. (Birmingham City Council data). Falls are a significant risks to adults as we get older and become more likely to result in disability or cause death.
66,000...
the number of hip fractures due to falls occurred in UK in 2018 (NHS)
20 minutes...
Harvard Medical School (1/7/19) reports that spending as little as just 20 minutes outdoors results in reduced stress and cortisol levels, as well as lowering high blood pressure and gaining Vitamin D.
Spending longer outside is even better!
30 minutes:
Maximum time you should spend sitting down still. To maintain fitness and health if you are able to get out of a chair, do so even for just a quick stretch. Regular movement of any sort is beneficial. Our bodies adapt to how we move, so move more and we become fitter, sit still and our bodies adapt to the sitting position move less, we become less able.
3%.....
Average loss of muscle per year in adults over 60 years old.
Muscle loss is a key factor in early ageing, loss of mobility and a reduction in day to day function. It can be reversed with proper strength exercises – which reduce the risk of diabetes too! But it means putting your muscles under stress to help them get stronger.
From 3,000.... (or any number higher?)
The number of steps someone should take each day – depending on which study you look at!
The 10,000 steps number was made up. A range of research has highlighted that 3000 step minimum is seen to be beneficial.
The key message on this is ignore the numbers – but concentrate on walking as far as you can!
There is an excellent tool on increasing your walking (regardless of where you are starting from) which is produced by ‘Moving Medicine' .See link HERE
0.9%
The prevalence of heart failure in Northfield constituency area (2017/18). Northfield is reported to have the highest level of heart failure in Birmingham. Average nationally is 0.8%, in Birmingham 0.6%
Number 1 – this is you!
Regardless of any other statistic, number or person. As number 1, what matters is that you can maintain or improve your strength, movement and fitness and by doing so you can improve the quality of life as you grow older. !
Never too old:
Ed Dwight had to wait more than 60 years to fulfill his ambition to go to space.
In 1961, he was chosen by then US President John F Kennedy as the first black astronaut candidate in the country. But Nasa did not select him for a mission and he did not get a chance to go to space... until now.
In May the 90-year-old became the oldest person to go to space.The Blue Origin spacecraft took a six-person crew to the edge of space before parachuting them back to Earth.
BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
…………Age is just a number!