ageless aerobics

Getting efficient exercise, both physically and mentally can be a challenge for some seniors who have disabilities, lack of physical assistance, or financial difficulties. Nintendo’s Wii Sports brings mental and physical exercising to seniors instead of seniors having to seek it outside their homes. It’s not just the kids playing video games these days. Retirement and nursing homes
and other senior assisted living facilities
, have opened their social hours to include Nintendo’s Wii for mental as well as physical activities.

Wii Makes Exercising Fun and Stimulating for Seniors
Now seniors can bowl, box, play tennis and golf right in their living room, what’s more is that they have to physically get involved. Seniors will find themselves standing up and swinging the virtual golf club, using the controller to wave their arms as they play tennis or sweep the air to bowl. It may not be overly straining, or cardiovascular, but the low-physical exertion and mental processes all help keep them and their brains active. Seniors can even participate in Wii Fit- purposely created to provide indoor-exercise.

Some Wii Fit “Games” For More Active Seniors

•    Aerobics
•    Balance Board
•    Strength Training
•    Yoga

Some of Wii Fit’s games may not be appropriate for all seniors but for more active seniors, some of the more cardiovascular games will prove great results. The more oxygen the brain receives, the better their mental health. That’s another reason why exercise is so important for physical and mental health. When people exercise, they take in more oxygen.

Some retirement homes are making the Wii apart of daily living because of its popularity and exercise/ stimulation benefits. One retirement home in Chicago has a daily Wii bowling tournament where they have set up a fan for seniors to dry their hands on before they have a turn. The social benefits of Wii are almost as important as the physical and mental stimulus. Isolation and loneliness can be a problem for many seniors, but a friendly game of tennis or golf can encourage a wealth of comments and friendly competition. 

Instead of grandparents not being able to relate to their children’s video games, now grandchildren can teach them how to play! It may not be the same thing as taking grandchildren to the Zoo or outside to play catch, but at least grandparents can interact with their grandchildren on a new and fun level of this generation’s game playing, while keeping physically and mentally fit.

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Senior assisted living facilities don’t have to be quiet, lonely places where life happens in-between meals- in fact; many of them are just the opposite! New senior <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.greatplacesinc.com/features/AssistedLivingFacilities.aspx>assisted living facilities</a> have a variety of activities ranging from wine tours to concerts, hydrotherapy classes and aerobics.

While a huge majority of the population begins to age, they are not eager to sit immobile and let their golden years pass them by. With the desire to get more out of life, seniors today are looking for assisted living facilities that will help them get the care and therapy they need when they need it, but they also want to live the fullest life they possibly can and they want choices.

Assisted living facilities know that seniors will seek out and pay for private golf lessons, nutrition classes on their own, so instead, facilities are helping out seniors and bringing the activities to them.

Popular Activities and Classes Being Offered at Senior Centers Today
•    Line Dancing
•    Scrap Booking
•    Hydro-aerobics/ swim lessons
•    Nutrition, Medicine and Pharmaceuticals information
•    Outings: Movies, plays, wine tastings, parks and gardens
•    Beauty school visits
•    Golf, croquet, horseshoes and shuffleboard

Nintendo’s Wii Games All the Rage In Senior Centers
Besides experts and instructors coming in to provide stimulus to seniors, Nintendo’s Wii has changed the way seniors play games with each other. Several senior assisted living facilities have brought Nintendo’s Wii into the daily lives of their seniors.
Suddenly, options of whether to play cribbage, bridge or backgammon have come to include Nintendo’s library of interactive video games. Wii games are very popular in senior assisted living facilities and senior centers because the games provide low-impact exercise to an audience who has limited movement or is held back by an injury or illness. Bowling in slippers, playing tennis in a communal living room and swinging a plastic golf club in pajamas has never been easier or more fun.

If you are looking for a senior assisted living facility for yourself or for your parents, you will be happy to know that there are choices on how to spend your golden years. Love the beach and learning how to knit? Want golf lessons and transportation to varying golf courses? There are more choices that can be listed here as to varying degrees of activities, classes and outings that are apart of daily life in senior living facilities today. Management of senior assisted living facilities know that instead of passing the golden years by in front of a television, seniors have demanded more out of their senior assisted living choices.

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Don’t just grab a gift card impulsively at the grocery store next to the impulse smut magazines or candy bars. Think long and hard about the gifts you are getting for the seniors in your life. Think about their personal hobbies, interests and tastes. Do they have a <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.greatplacesinc.com/features/SeniorApartments.aspx>senior apartment</a>  or do they live in a house? Do they have a dog or a cat they dote over? What about sports or clubs they are apart of? If you think hard about just who they are all about, you will discover there are many more gifts then you could ever afford that are out there waiting to be discovered. Here are a few suggestions to help you decide just what the seniors in your life may need.

Hobbies
What are their hobbies? Do they collect porcelain dolls? Famous people’s autographs? Perhaps they are big scrapbooking fans or quilters? Once you have made a list of their hobbies, think about all the gift items that come with hobbies- there are endless options. From glass cabinets to hold precious antiques to scrapbooking boxes and special stickers, there are several options to choose from- there is even stores devoted to people with hobbies. If the senior in your life has a hobby, there will be something you can get for them they will certainly enjoy. Plus, when you give a gift that says you paid attention to their hobby- perhaps a large part of their life, you are saying, ‘yes, I pay attention, I know this makes you happy.’

Pets
Perhaps nothing is more fun then shopping for the senior in your life through their pets. Bird, dog or cat, there are huge mega-stores devoted to people’s passion for their pets. Getting the seniors in your life a new cat toy, dog outfit or bird feeder will bring so much happiness. What about paying for a weekend worth of doggie daycare so that they can go on a trip- or better yet, offer to watch the animals yourself? Another option is a trip to the doggie day spa- what a fun trip to make together. Watch their eyes light up as they watch their pooch get a shampoo, nails clipped and hair cut.

Travel
Tickets for two, no matter if it is on the train, plane or on a cruise, travel is good for every age. Any senior in your life will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Experience
What about tickets to the theater, museum or cheese factory tour? Look around your own city and before you know it, you’ve glanced past several companies that offer tours, wine tasting, plays, musicals, glass blowing classes, photography, golf or swim aerobic lessons! Most seniors are trying to minimize the clutter in their lives and often prefer an experience over a physical gift any time. Plus, when you give an experience- you also give them a precious memory they can relive over and over again.

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Living Well Assisted Living at Home offers the firs true alternative to those seniors who prefer to stay in their own homes and helps them to avoid moving into an institution. Living Well Assisted Living at Home offers comprehensive services that include 24/7 medical care and advocacy; personalized home care and concierge services, safety monitoring, home environment and housekeeping, emotional wellness and fitness programs, care management, and social activities that are staffed by concierges and wellness coordinators.

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Over 60′s exercise class,

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