Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
Active living with low vision by Pris Rogers, PhD and Julia Brock, MA
“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is a well-known phrase from the United States Declaration of Independence. Yet we often fail to consider the implications of the phrase when people need additional assistance or residential modifications to continue an enjoyable and satisfying lifestyle. Staying active and involved is important to everyone— including older adults with low vision who, like everyone else, need to maintain physical and mental health.
People who lose vision later in life often believe that their lives are essentially over and that they will never again have control. Vision loss affects every aspect of an older adult’s life and puts caregivers and family members at a loss as to how to help. Our purpose is to give you suggestions for making changes and adjustments that should help clients regain confidence and enhance their everyday living, leisure time and safety.
Health conditions
Floor freedom: How to get up from the floor by Cathy Moxley, MA
•The ability to get down and back up off the floor to do things like play with a child, clean out a kitchen cabinet or participate in a floor exercise class is something that younger adults may take for granted. Unfortunately, for many older adults, such daily activities and motions may gradually become more difficult until they eventually fall off the daily repertoire of possible movements.
An action that often enters into the category of “not any more” is getting down on the floor for any reason—on purpose, that is. Physical decline in the form of decreased upper-body and lower-body strength, a history of injuries or surgeries, decreased range of motion in many joints and balance issues can make the prospect of getting down—and back up—off the floor nothing short of daunting.
Falls management
Expanding experiences during Active Aging Week by Kori Poplin
•With more than 70% of the residents participating in our Fitness for Life program, we have created a culture of active aging at Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury (RWC), a continuing care retirement community located in Irvington, Virginia. The daily routine for our 200-plus residents includes a variety of fitness classes and wellness activities to engage the mind, body and spirit. Our rural campus, with its mix of buildings linked with walking paths on the edge of a quiet lake, lends itself to active lifestyles.
Ironically, the idyllic location and everyday scheduling at RWC had presented a challenge for us when planning Active Aging Week in the past as our residents are focused on wellness and fitness each and every day. Consequently, during the first three years we hosted annual events to highlight the ICAA Active Aging Week we found residents and community members interested but not over-whelmingly enthusiastic about these special programs. For Active Aging Week 2011, however, we were determined to try a variety of new, different and rewarding opportunities to increase participation and stay true to the theme of expanding your experience.
ICAA initiatives
Communicate the value of warm-up, cool-down and stretching by Christine Schnitzer and Patty Trela, PT, DPT
•Warm-up, cool-down and safe stretching should be part of every group class. But as fitness instructors, how can we communicate the importance of proper pre-activity warm-up and post-activity cool-down/stretching to our clients who use fitness centers independently?
As exercise leaders, we encourage people to take ownership of their health by becoming and staying physically active for life. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that for people over the age of 65 to realize the health benefits that exercise brings, they should get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week and do muscle-strengthening activities two or more days per week (1). This guideline serves to motivate people to add use of a treadmill, seated recumbent cross-trainer, stationary bicycle and similar equipment to their fitness program when it is convenient for them to do so.
Communication
Leaping across a program plateau by Lisa Bloder and Melissa Bossert
As the pages of the calendar turn, we program directors/wellness coordinators/
resident lifestyle facilitators/activity directors find ourselves struggling to come up with ways to keep events and programs fresh for our residents and clients throughout the year.
You may find yourself saying some or all of the following:
· We did that last year.
· We’re struggling to come up with new ideas.
· Participation has decreased.
· People will not want to participate in that event/program.
· The skill level is too high for that hands-on project.
· There is too much walking on that trip.
· Because it is a holiday month, we have to celebrate that holiday.
· That will be too much legwork. Where do we start?
· Been there, done that!
Program management
Rowing across the generations by Gary Gordon, PhD
In 1886, when the Duluth (Minnesota) Rowing Club was formed (1), Grover Cleveland was president, the Statue of Liberty was freshly cast, and Coca-Cola had just been invented. Then, rowing was a sport for young men. Today, rowing welcomes men and women, from ninth graders to centenarians. Some race on a 2,000-meter course (2,187 yards) and others prefer recreational rowing.
You’ve watched rowing as part of the Olympic Games, but perhaps haven’t given it much thought beyond that. To explain, boats with two oars per rower are known as “sculls” (which is also another name for the oars themselves). You row backward, so you can see where you’ve been. Sculls can be an individual or a team-building sport. For example, quads are racing shells that are 41 feet long and 2 feet wide; they hold four rowers. They can be used for competition or recreation. These boats are long and sleek, with seats that slide backward and forward on rails. Fixed sets of “shoes,” called stretchers, anchor the rowers’ feet.
