Fitness class for the elderly

For the vast majority of retired elderly people who lack professional exercise knowledge and have a narrow daily social circle, choosing a formal elderly fitness class with certified senior exercise instructors and courses adapted to their own chronic diseases is a health investment that is 3-5 times more efficient than following short videos, buying sky-high-priced health equipment, and walking alone in the park. The cost-effectiveness far exceeds 90% of "health products" on the market.

Don’t believe it. A while ago, I was helping to monitor the physical condition of the elderly at a street health service center and met 68-year-old Aunt Zhang Guilan. At this time last year, she was using crutches to measure her bone density. The fluid in her knees was so painful that she didn't even bother to go to the market downstairs. She watched short videos at home and practiced the so-called "knee-protected squats" for half a month, and she was so swollen that she couldn't get out of bed. Later, her son enrolled her in a public fitness class held by the street office, three times a week, one and a half hours each time. The coach was a young girl who had just graduated from the Sports Rehabilitation Department of the Sports Institute. He specially adjusted her low-weight-bearing movements such as sitting straight leg raises and squatting against the wall. He also watched her use a foam roller to relax for 10 minutes after each exercise. After three months, the effusion has disappeared. Last week, I went hiking in the suburbs with the old sisters in the fitness class without even bringing a crutch.

Of course, not all senior fitness classes are reliable. There was an incident last year in the neighborhood next door. A commercial organization ran a so-called "muscle-building class for the elderly". In order to achieve quick results, they blindly added weight to the elderly and asked a 70-year-old man to carry a 10-kilogram barbell to practice deadlifts. This directly caused the person to have a lumbar disc herniation. Not to mention the compensation was hundreds of thousands. Now the elderly there wave their hands subconsciously when they hear the word "fitness class."

Interestingly, the industry is currently quite noisy about the curriculum of fitness classes for the elderly. One group is the traditional "moderate group" who believes that the elderly's bones are brittle and cannot withstand the torment, so they have to practice zero-weighted events such as Tai Chi, Baduanjin, and slow walking. It is best not to even touch dumbbells; the other group is the "resistance group" that has emerged in recent years. They say that the most important supplement for the elderly is Muscle mass - 1-2% of muscle is lost naturally every year after the age of 60. If you do not deliberately do resistance training, your muscle mass can be reduced by half by the age of 80. A casual fall can cause fractures. Proper resistance training can enhance core stability and greatly reduce the risk of falling. I met the 72-year-old Mr. Wang Jianguo. He used to hold on to the railing to rest twice when he climbed the third floor. He practiced light dumbbells and seated leg extensions with a coach in a fitness class for a year. Now he can carry 20 kilograms of rice up to the fifth floor without getting out of breath. The last time he took a physical test, his muscle mass was better than that of many 50-year-old middle-aged people. Of course, this presupposes that the coach is professional enough and can adjust the weight and range of motion according to each person's bone density and chronic disease. If you practice blindly, something will definitely happen.

The first thing many elderly people look at when applying for a class is the price. They rush to sign up for a class that only costs 99 yuan and comes with 10 kilograms of eggs a year. Hey, this is really a small bargain and a big loss. Think about it, 99 yuan a year is not even enough for the venue fee, and the coach’s salary is even worse. It’s either a pretense of selling health care products, or it’s just a random square dance leader who doesn’t know anything about chronic disease management or exercise taboos. I have been a sports instructor for the elderly for three years, and I have encountered many pitfalls like this. An aunt signed up for a "fitness and health class". After taking the class for half a month, she was tricked into buying a "magnetic therapy mattress" worth 8,000 yuan. It was said that sleeping on it can cure high blood pressure. In the end, she went to other institutions and ran away with money. If you really have to choose, give priority to public welfare classes run by communities or streets. The coaches are all with the "Senior Exercise Instructor Certificate" and will not blindly sell things. The prices are cheap, and some are even free. They charge a maximum of one to two hundred yuan a year for foam rollers and dumbbells.

Of course, not everyone is suitable for taking classes. The last time I met 67-year-old Uncle Li, he said that his daughter had forced him to sign up for a three-month fitness class. He went to class on time and finished class on time every day. He felt that it was too restrictive. He might as well walk around the park in the morning, and when he was tired, he would play two games of chess with his old friend. He felt very comfortable. His blood pressure and blood lipids have been very stable over the years. In this case, there is no need to join in the fun of fitness classes. After all, fitness is about doing whatever feels good, as long as you don't injure yourself by practicing blindly.

Yesterday I passed by a fitness class in the community after get off work. The door was open, and the fragrance of boiled honeysuckle tea wafted out. It was the break time, and the old people gathered together. Some shared the cucumbers grown on their balconies, and some held up their mobile phones to show the coach their grandchildren's certificates. Aunt Zhang was carrying the small rapeseed she had just bought with her old sisters. When she saw me, she waved and said that next week the class would organize a hike in the suburbs. She had already signed up and wanted to bring her pickled radish for everyone to try.

What do you think is good about this senior fitness class? To put it bluntly, part of it is training and part of it is finding a companion. Compared to being bored at home, watching short videos and staring at the clock, waiting for the children to come home from get off work for dinner, having a place to move and chat regularly, even if it is just to sit and complain to the old sisters about your wife's bad temper, is better than anything else.