The elderly - Term 1 2021 Assessment

By Maddy Hayen

Question 1

There are many health benefits of physical activity for the elderly. Some health benefits
for all ages which help the elderly are a healthier heart, stronger bones and improved
flexibility which helps with day to day movement. It also is proven that exercise
improves a person's mental health. Some health benefits of exercise specifically for the
elderly are the social interaction they get through meeting people and doing activities
with people which can be hard to maintain later on in life. It also reduces the risk of
chronic diseases and lowers the chance of injury in areas in which the elderly have
trouble like lifting heavy objects or basic exercises that younger people find easier.

Question 2

The elderly face many barriers when it comes to exercise and physical activity. The
main barrier they face is discomfort and pain as when the human body gets older our
body gets weaker and weaker allowing us to do less without discomfort and our
personal barriers get worse. Pain that the elderly have that comes from exercise usually
occurs due to movement of the body when the body is unable to do the movement such
as running (cardiovascular fitness), push ups (muscular endurance and strength) and
lifting weights (muscular strength).

The elderly can modify the physical activities they do to enhance lifelong participation by
doing things such as making the weight lighter, making the number of repetitions less
and decreasing the amount of time. They can also modify the movement itself for
example doing pushups on your knees instead of on your feet. Also doing exercises
tailored to their ability, for example walking up and down stairs if they have trouble with
that and get up and down from sitting at different heights to improve joint mobility. This
will allow them to get better at these movements and exercises over time, building up
ability and decreasing pain. This will also make physical activity more enjoyable and
improve the chance of them doing more physical activity in the future.

The elderly also may have trouble finding places to do physical exercise specifically
tailored to their ability and skill set or a sport program made for the elderly. They could
ask family members or one of their friends to help them find a place to do sport for them
and them to join them so that they have someone to do the sport with. and they not only
get physical exercise that has been approved and checked by multiple people (so it
actually works for the elderly) they also improve their social health by interacting with
their family member or friend.
Question 3

Three appropriate sporting programs that improve their physical health in my local area
are the PCYC , walking and a zoom fitness program.

In my area there is one PCYC on the crescent which is their Glebe-Leichhardt location.
This location is very accessible from all over the Annandale suburb and people can get
there by walking and if they are unable to walk that distance can get there by the bus
which there are 2 stops of right outside the PCYC. There are a few activities available
for adults that allow people from all experience levels. One activity the elderly could do
is the Fitlab that occurs on all days of the week and has many different gym activities
within it. This activity is good as you can decide which days and sessions you would like
to participate in so that it is more flexible to your schedule, allows you to work on what
you want to and have more fun as you get more choice. This would be great for the
elderly as it means if they are in a retirement home or village the staff can pick a day
that works for the seniors schedule and so they don’t miss anything important. The only
major downside to this activity is that it is very expensive with one casual session
costing $30 and 10 sessions costing $250. This isn’t very good specifically for the
elderly as they have restricted money amounts due to their pension. Even though this
may be a major problem it is still a great activity which improves social (meet new
people) and physical health.

Another activity that elderly people can participate in in my local area is walking.
Annandale is full of parks and great streets for all experience levels and many different
heights. This kind of exercise is completely free and can be used to go places. This
means that seniors not only are able to up their cardiovascular fitness, they are also
able to use walking to see friends, go to church and do any activities they want to,
upping their social, emotional and spiritual health. One of the more famous walking
routes throughout Annandale is along the Glebe Foreshore which is around the edge of
Rozelle bay opposite the boat shed. It is a very enjoyable experience with lots of people
walking the same route ensuring their safety if they are walking alone. Another route is
the Whites Creek Valley Park trail which is full of people and lovely greenery. It also has
an educational wetlands walk along one edge of the park explaining the wetlands
creatures that live in the area. Along the route there is a pond with turtles and other
creatures. This means this walk is also improving your cognitive health through
information. Walking is a great option in Annadale with many great routes and lots of
great places to go and see.

A third activity the elderly can do in my area is an online zoom fitness class for the
elderly. These classes may not improve social, mental, spiritual or emotional health but
these classes definitely help with some major barriers the elderly face in terms of
exercise and improve their physical and cognitive health (setting up the zoom). One of
these classes is run by the Hopkins senior center who have moved online due to covid
and have a program fine tuned to help seniors with pain and improve their mobility when
doing simple exercises. These classes are great for seniors as they give them the
opportunity to do all their necessary exercises from home regardless of the money they
have and their ability to travel to places. All seniors need for this class is a laptop and an
internet connection which may be hard to set up but is worth it. This also means that
seniors are reducing their risk of getting covid which is really important in the times we
are currently living in.

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