Are you in a wheelchair, and long to dig in the dirt and create
flowering beauty and grow far more zucchini than you can give
away? Or are your knees just starting to age and even though
you’ve loved gardening all your life, you’re having more trouble
getting up and down and are afraid you’ll have to give up
gardening altogether? Did you botch the last pruning of your
roses because of the worsening arthritis in your hands?
Welcome to the world of the physically challenged gardener.
Don’t despair. Adapt!
There’s plenty of help out there in the form of advice, tools,
raised flower beds and other specialized equipment. A Google
search of “Disabled gardening tools” leads to 125 websites with
specific helpful adaptive equipment. “Disabled gardening” gives
a whopping 873,000 results where you can find advice and
“handicapped gardening” yields 111,000. Let those arthritic
fingers do your walking!
Problem: “The ground is just too far down there!”
Think about doing your gardening while sitting on a chair,
instead of on the ground, squatting or bending over. The most
obvious solution is to build raised flower beds and scatter
containers throughout your garden area. Buy cheap plastic
outdoor chairs and place one beside each mini-garden so you
don’t have to drag or carry when it’s time to weed. You can just
sit down and enjoy the feel of moist earth beneath your fingers
and breathe in the heavenly smell of freshly applied fish
emulsion.
If you hang a cup holder on the edge of your container, you can
even have the luxury of tea or coffee with your weeds. Maybe the
fish emulsion should wait.
Don’t think about what you’ve lost now that you can’t crawl
around weeding the perennial border; teach your grandchild or a
neighborhood kid the joy to be found doing that task … you’ve
just discovered a new adventure in gardening. The good news is
that you may find whole different special areas of your yard
where you can stick a mini-garden.
Get creative. Put a beautiful container near your front door and
plant wonderfully scented flowers to greet your guests … or
perhaps a nice cherry tomato plant they can steal from on their
way to ring your doorbell. Put a waist high herb garden right
outside your kitchen door and add an area in it for your
favorite cut flowers.
When you’re deciding where to locate the raised bed or
container, be sure to remember physically demanding
practicalities like dragging a heavy hose to water it. Think and
plan a low energy solution for what you’ll do with the compost
material.
Problem: “My painful hands don’t have the strength for …”
You can get tools which extend your arms to reach the ground
level flower bed from a sitting position. Several manufacturers
make specially tools with light weight handles designed to keep
the wrist and hand in a stress-free position and to provide a
firmer grip. Small, light rakes, hoes, etc. like this can work
wonders.
Think ratchet pruner, rachet lopping shears … let the laws of
physics give your hands a hand. You’ll be amazed when you look
at the tools available. Pull difficult weeds by stepping on a
lever.
Problem: “I get so tired so quickly.”
Hey, the weeds didn’t grow all at once; you don’t have to pull
them all at once. Pace yourself. Find ways to make gardening
something you do while you sit and drink a cup of tea and listen
to the birds, rather than a work chore you slave away at for a
full afternoon. Pull one weed from the scented garden near your
front door on your way out and another weed on the way in. Plant
parsley in your kitchen door herb garden while your toast is
toasting and the coffee is dripping.
Buy and plant 3 packs of flowers instead of a whole flat. Take a
nice aerobic walk around your yard, stopping at a different
container for 5 minutes “conversation” with your plants on each
cycle, then go back inside and plop on the recliner. You’ll be
amazed at how much gets done in these mini-work sessions. Your
heart will love you, too.
Remember, one of the nice things about flowers is they don’t
have anything to prove. We can all learn a lesson from them
Technorati Tags: citizens, Gardening, Senior
Weight training, also known as strength training, is not just for the aspiring body builder, everyone can benefit from weight training. After all it is with weight training that we build muscles and muscles keep our metabolism strong and a healthy metabolism means more energy. So it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that weight training is actually an appropriate and beneficial form of exercising for older adults.
As we age, our bodies experience physical and physiological changes. Weight training for senior citizens can improve those changes so that older adults can remain active and mentally sharp well into their aging years.
With age, muscles lose mass and strength, joints become stiffer and can even develop arthritis, making it difficult and even painful to move. One’s sense of balance can be thrown off kilter causing falls, that may lead to broken hips and many times the need for long stays at the hospital. Strength training puts back muscle mass, as well as muscle strength that has been lost.
Muscle strength not only aids with movement but also aids with balance, so strong muscles will prevent many of the falls and injuries that cause the elderly to be hospitalized and immobile for long periods, if not permanently. Weight training will keep joints limber which reduces the stiffness and pain that causes many people to become inactive.
Immune systems become weaker making the elderly more susceptible to serious illnesses. Concentration and memory also become harder as we get older. Elderly people who do not exercise at all are at a much higher risk for becoming immobile and requiring long term care such as in a nursing facility, than elderly people who do exercise.
Weight training strengthens the immune system helping senior citizens to avoid illness and the expensive doctor visits and prescription medications needed to treat various illnesses. It is well known that after the age of 50 many of the diseases that can cut a life short develop within inactive bodies. By strengthening the immune system through weight training, one can build their resistance to different illnesses, as well as developing the internal strength the body needs to battle more serious diseases.
As we age, our skin loses much of its suppleness which results in skin that just hangs, usually downwards, on the body. Weight training for the elderly renews much of the suppleness to the skin that aging can take away. Skin will be tighter with less hanging on the body which can also help the elderly to feel more comfortable with their bodies.
Studies have shown that the elderly are at a higher risk for the development of depression and other mental disorders than younger adults. So from a physiological perspective strength training helps the body to manufacture greater amounts of hormones which are naturally made by the body.
These hormones help the organs and systems of the body including the brain to do the work they do. Hormones help the brain with processes such as cognitive thought and memory, and hormones hugely contribute to how we feel and respond to different things. Senior citizens who participate in weight training programs report fewer instances of feeling depressed than those who do not exercise.
Weight training has also been proven to slow the progression of the natural effects of aging, and even thwart the development of such conditions as dementia. Exercise programs brought to senior citizen residents in nursing homes has also been shown to help those who have lost mobility to regain some movement and even improve mental functioning. If you work with the elderly in a nursing home setting, consider bringing the benefits of weight training to them.
It is recommended that a weight training program for the elderly be guided by the expertise of a certified personal trainer.
Technorati Tags: citizens, Senior, training, weight
You would be surprised but we in our golden years can become our worst enemy when it comes to regular exercise. Although attitudes amongst us are changing, older Americans often pass off regular exercise as an activity that is something for the young. Regular exercise will help us in every facet of our life both mentally and physically. Exercise has the power to improve the quality of our life and extended our life span. To begin a life of exercise and reap the rewards we must understand the benefits, strategize to stay on task, and the different type of exercise that complements us in our later years.
What are the benefits of exercise? Well I could spend an hour just reviewing the numerous benefits of regular exercise, but today I will just review some key benefits.
1. Improves the ability to do daily activities
2. Reduces depression
3. Releases endorphins which are a natural pain killer
4. Weight control
5. Gives you more energy
6. Improves sleep
7. Improves ones self-esteem and well-being
As you can see there are some good practical reasons to motivate us to exercise on a regular basis, often we sometime mistake the purpose of exercise as the pursuit of looking good, although yes it can serve that purpose, but it should rather be viewed as natures true medicine for happiness and health.
Starting an exercise routine and maintaining an exercise routine are two entirely different concepts. So many of us get so jazzed up to begin our mission of good health and slender bodies that we start off too fast and too in-depth which results in failure and causes us to give up, I recommend that you start off slow, and work your way slowly to more challenging routines. Starting off slow allows your body to adjust to your exercise program as opposed to starting off too strong and possibly pulling a muscle or causing a sprain which will temporarily end your hopes of good health and cause you to become unmotivated toward future ventures of exercise.
As you begin you will find that there are several types of exercises that you can take-up, but they can be all categorized into three types.
1. Aerobic activities: Walking, jogging, and tennis
2. Strength building: Weight lifting
3. Flexibility: Yoga
By far the most effective exercise for us in our older years are walking, swimming, and yoga.
Be aware of taking on too much of strenuous activities, you always want to protect your joints and bones from injury, so when becoming fully engaged into your exercise program, you must get to know your body and learn the differences between sore muscle after exercise and pain that may be a result of damage to your joints
For more information on issues that enrich and affect the senior citizen community, G. J. Rigdon invites you to visit his website http://www.seniorcarenevada.com
Technorati Tags: citizens, Concerns, Exercise, Senior
http://www.reneburton.com
Rene Burton is a senior citizen whose personal mission is to change popular misconceptions about aging. In her exercise DVD trilogy, “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” which is specifically designed for use by seniors age 55 and over, she seeks to redefine what seniors are and what seniors can be called upon to do. The first DVD is Level 1 and intended for beginners. Level 2 is for seniors at the intermediate level of exercise ability. Level 3 features an advanced level exercise regime. Each of these exercise DVDs will improve the physical agility, mobility, strength, posture, muscle tone, eye-hand coordination, and over-all well-being of seniors safely and methodically. The exercises employ standing and chair routines, the use of resistance bands and hand-held weights. Each program includes warm-ups and cool-downs, as well as stretching and breathing to relax. Thoroughly ‘user friendly’ and strongly recommended for personal workouts, the “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” trilogy can be acquired as separate DVD volumes, but community center and community library exercise DVD collections should acquire the complete trilogy for the benefit of their patrons.” — Midwest Book Review
Duration : 0:3:30
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: aarp, aging, baby, boomer, citizens, Exercise, Guru, Healthy, Senior
http://www.reneburton.com
Rene Burton is a senior citizen whose personal mission is to change popular misconceptions about aging. In her exercise DVD trilogy, “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” which is specifically designed for use by seniors age 55 and over, she seeks to redefine what seniors are and what seniors can be called upon to do. The first DVD is Level 1 and intended for beginners. Level 2 is for seniors at the intermediate level of exercise ability. Level 3 features an advanced level exercise regime. Each of these exercise DVDs will improve the physical agility, mobility, strength, posture, muscle tone, eye-hand coordination, and over-all well-being of seniors safely and methodically. The exercises employ standing and chair routines, the use of resistance bands and hand-held weights. Each program includes warm-ups and cool-downs, as well as stretching and breathing to relax. Thoroughly ‘user friendly’ and strongly recommended for personal workouts, the “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” trilogy can be acquired as separate DVD volumes, but community center and community library exercise DVD collections should acquire the complete trilogy for the benefit of their patrons.” — Midwest Book Review
Duration : 0:1:5
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: aarp, aging, baby, boomer, citizens, Exercise, Guru, Healthy, Senior
http://www.reneburton.com
Rene Burton is a senior citizen whose personal mission is to change popular misconceptions about aging. In her exercise DVD trilogy, “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” which is specifically designed for use by seniors age 55 and over, she seeks to redefine what seniors are and what seniors can be called upon to do. The first DVD is Level 1 and intended for beginners. Level 2 is for seniors at the intermediate level of exercise ability. Level 3 features an advanced level exercise regime. Each of these exercise DVDs will improve the physical agility, mobility, strength, posture, muscle tone, eye-hand coordination, and over-all well-being of seniors safely and methodically. The exercises employ standing and chair routines, the use of resistance bands and hand-held weights. Each program includes warm-ups and cool-downs, as well as stretching and breathing to relax. Thoroughly ‘user friendly’ and strongly recommended for personal workouts, the “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” trilogy can be acquired as separate DVD volumes, but community center and community library exercise DVD collections should acquire the complete trilogy for the benefit of their patrons.” — Midwest Book Review
Duration : 0:2:52
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: aarp, aging, baby, boomer, citizens, Exercise, Guru, Healthy, Senior
http://www.reneburton.com
Rene Burton is a senior citizen whose personal mission is to change popular misconceptions about aging. In her exercise DVD trilogy, “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” which is specifically designed for use by seniors age 55 and over, she seeks to redefine what seniors are and what seniors can be called upon to do. The first DVD is Level 1 and intended for beginners. Level 2 is for seniors at the intermediate level of exercise ability. Level 3 features an advanced level exercise regime. Each of these exercise DVDs will improve the physical agility, mobility, strength, posture, muscle tone, eye-hand coordination, and over-all well-being of seniors safely and methodically. The exercises employ standing and chair routines, the use of resistance bands and hand-held weights. Each program includes warm-ups and cool-downs, as well as stretching and breathing to relax. Thoroughly ‘user friendly’ and strongly recommended for personal workouts, the “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” trilogy can be acquired as separate DVD volumes, but community center and community library exercise DVD collections should acquire the complete trilogy for the benefit of their patrons.” — Midwest Book Review
Duration : 0:4:19
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: aarp, aging, baby, boomer, citizens, Exercise, Guru, Healthy, Senior
http://www.reneburton.com
Rene Burton is a senior citizen whose personal mission is to change popular misconceptions about aging. In her exercise DVD trilogy, “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” which is specifically designed for use by seniors age 55 and over, she seeks to redefine what seniors are and what seniors can be called upon to do. The first DVD is Level 1 and intended for beginners. Level 2 is for seniors at the intermediate level of exercise ability. Level 3 features an advanced level exercise regime. Each of these exercise DVDs will improve the physical agility, mobility, strength, posture, muscle tone, eye-hand coordination, and over-all well-being of seniors safely and methodically. The exercises employ standing and chair routines, the use of resistance bands and hand-held weights. Each program includes warm-ups and cool-downs, as well as stretching and breathing to relax. Thoroughly ‘user friendly’ and strongly recommended for personal workouts, the “Healthy Aging: It’s Never Too Late” trilogy can be acquired as separate DVD volumes, but community center and community library exercise DVD collections should acquire the complete trilogy for the benefit of their patrons.” — Midwest Book Review
Duration : 0:9:47
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: aarp, aging, baby, boomer, citizens, Exercise, Guru, Healthy, Senior
http://www.alternativehealthvideo.com/yoga-elderly-p-1423.html
Age is inevitable and the body goes through changes that reduce its capacity to perform and protect itself. Yoga asanas, hand picked and chosen by the Yoga Master, can give the elderly the flexibility and health that will reduce the toll taken by old age. Yoga asanas can be practiced by all age groups and can help in keep the body and mind alert well into old age. The DVD contains a unique “Real Time” workout program that lets us focus only on the performance of the asanas, while the program leads you through the sequenced asanas with audio isted timing. This program covers asanas for the elderly including: Pranayama, Meditation, Tadasana, Trikonasana, Ardha Chakrasana, Vajrasana, Sarpasana, Vipareeta Karani and Savasana.
Duration : 0:0:52
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: aarp, aging, citizens, elderly, excercise, Fitness, Health, impact, instruction, low, physical, Senior, yoga
http://www.goldsgym.com/middletownny This is a brief snapshot of the first SilverSneakers seniors fitness class at Gold’s Gym Middletown NY. FREE Program for eligible seniors. Call 845-344-4653
Duration : 0:1:18
Read the rest of this entry »
Technorati Tags: and, bare, citizen, citizens, Exercise, Fitness, for, golds, goshen, Gym, Health, middletown, newburgh, ny, physical, planet, program, programs, Senior, seniors, SilverSneakers