Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Staying hydrated is an important part of staying healthy and functional during everyday life. Proper hydration helps the body perform several crucial functions including regulating body temperature, keeping joints lubricated, delivering nutrients to cells, and keeping organs functioning properly. Quality hydration also helps to improve quality of sleep, cognitive function, and general mood. Considering all the functions that hydration helps to maintain it’s important to ask a few questions: How much fluid to we need to consume and what are some sources to get it from?

According to the Mayo Clinic men should consume 15.5 cups of fluid per day and women should consume 11.5 cups of fluid per day. When people see those numbers, their minds immediately go to liquids: water, sports drinks, tea, etc. Water is an excellent and very popular source of liquid to maintain hydration. Sports drinks can also be very effective, particularly during or after lengthy, strenuous exercise. Even tea can be an effective hydrator when consumed in moderate amounts. As effective as these liquids are, they are not the only quality sources of hydration in our diet. In fact, about 20% of fluid is obtained through foods with high water content. There is a plethora of foods, particularly fruits and vegetables, that can help keep you hydrated throughout the day.

There are several great fruit options to help you stay hydrated. Watermelon might be the most famous and effective example. With a 92% water content is one of the most hydrating foods you can eat. It also is very low in calorie density which makes a good snack for weight loss or weight maintenance. Cantaloupe is another fruit that really packs a hydration punch. It has a 90% water content and Vitamin A which can boost immune health. You can also add cantaloupe to salads, smoothies or even yogurt to help hydrate while eating a meal. Other fruits that can be great for hydration include peaches, strawberries, and oranges. Not only do each of these fruits help with hydration but also provide other nutritional value.

Vegetables can also be a great source of hydration in everyday life. Iceberg lettuce is an excellent example of a veggie that help with hydration. It is also easy to a dd into your diet by making salads. Additionally, it contains fiber, vitamins A and K, and potassium which adds some good nutritional value. Zucchini is also a great way to help hydrate. It has a very high-water content and is also low in calories. Furthermore, it provides a lot of diet versatility, meaning you can eat it as is or add it to something larger. It works well on its own but can also be incorporate into soups, stir-fries, or other side dishes. Celery, Cucumbers and Tomato can also be very valuable sources of hydration outside of liquid. Each provide their own nutritional value whether it be antioxidants or valuable vitamins.

Staying hydrated is a vital part of maintaining your everyday health and well-being. As such it is important to know all the sources of hydration that are out there. Water, tea, milk, and other liquids are great options to stay hydrated but it’s important to know alternative sources. Incorporating water rich fruits and veggies into your diet can make it easier and tastier to stay hydrated throughout the year!

Anyone and everyone can benefit from having better balance. From professional athletes to the active aging population, balance plays a critical role in everyday life. Whether a professional gymnast is flipping on a beam, or a senior is simply trying to lower their risk of falling, improving balance starts with two things: identifying muscle imbalances and follows up with corrective exercise. The skeleton is put together in a way that encourages a steady base and equal weight distribution. This allows a person’s center of gravity to be right around the belly button. If a person has no muscle imbalances, their weight and center of gravity would be sitting directly above the pelvis. The hip bone then distributes that weight to each of the legs. In a perfect world that would mean the person’s knees would be directly below the hip joint and the ankle would be straight below the knee joint. The perfect world hardly exists, and muscle imbalances are the reason.

Every moving joint has a muscle origin point on either side of it. For example, the shoulder joint holds the origin points of the biceps brachii and triceps brachii muscles. If the biceps muscle is stronger or tighter than the triceps muscle, the shoulder joint will be pulled and rotated forward. Any muscle imbalance will cause a change in mass distribution, ultimately resulting in a new center of mass. The body will compensate for this by changing gait or shifting other joints into a position that will feel stable. Unfortunately, this new position is usually one that the joint is not meant to be in. Until the initial imbalances are corrected through training, more imbalances will occur. The longer someone waits to begin corrective exercise, the harder it will be to correct, and the likelihood of injury or sustained damage will increase.

When the skeleton is completely in balance, all the joints are aligned, and the body is in its most stable position. Recognizing these imbalances are important, especially with the active aging community. The most common shifts in the skeleton are:

• Anterior Pelvic Tilt (when the pelvis is rotated forward)
• Excessive Kyphotic Posture (rounded back/shoulders)
• Internal Rotation of the Shoulders (which can cause shoulder injury)

And all these deviations will not only cause pain, but a shift in someone’s center of balance. Being mindful of these imbalances and working on correcting them as soon as possible are very important. Corrective exercise will allow someone to achieve better balance while also relieving the pain caused by the skeletal shifts. With every muscle imbalance, there is a tight muscle and a weak antagonist muscle. Both issues should simultaneously be worked on to correct the imbalance.

Ways of releasing the tight muscle temporarily include:

• Soft Tissue Massage
• Foam Rolling
• Stretching

Ways of strengthening the weak muscle for long term correction include:

• Moving the Joint
• Isolation Exercises
• Isometric Contractions

Including any combination of these in an exercise program will help alleviate those muscle imbalances, providing pain relief and better balance. Consider scheduling an assessment with a fitness professional to have these possible imbalances identified and exercise prescribed to help!

What is great about practicing balance is there are multiple ways to do so without breaking the bank. In part I of this blog series we talked about investment training tools utilizing technology but let's review three cost-effective methods regarding balance training senior living communities can implement in their programming. When participating in any type of training program, it may be important to analyze why we are implementing certain exercises. An individual may want to incorporate balance training for increased stability while moving, preventing falls from occurring, as well as ease their mind when exercising.

Balance classes or one-on-one balance prescriptions can be great opportunities for residents to improve their stability and confidence and these budget-friendly solutions can provide significant variety with the right fitness specialist knowing how to program them safely with participants.

• Paper Plates or Foot Slides – Paper plates are known for eating with, did you know they can be used to train our balance as well? When utilizing paper plates, individuals have the ability to practice unilateral movements at the lower extremity. Practicing unilateral movements falls under balance training due to our legs holding a portion of our bodyweight as we exercise. An individual places one foot on the paper plate and their other foot stays planted on the ground. Once in position, the individual moves the foot that is on top of the paper plate causing the paper plate to move. An advantage paper plates have over foam pads is the ability to move in multiple planes of motion as well! Foot slides are another option with these types of movements. One key difference is that foot slides are not nearly as wide as paper plates for foot placement, requiring more precision for an individual to utilize once they reach a comfortable level with their balance. With this precision, comes more effort required from the individual when moving in any plane of motion.
  
  
• Foam Pads – Utilizing foam pads is a popular cost-effective method to training balance. One key difference foam pads have is their unstable surface compared to the stability of the floor. As soon as an individual takes their initial step on to the foam pad, they may notice immediately that their ankles are having to work to keep them upright as well as balance on the foam pad. Foam pad implementation may drive a significant increase in tendon health at the ankle joint as well as tolerance for keeping our balance for future reference. An advantage that foam pads have over foot slides is that foam pads can be started bilaterally opposed to unilaterally making it applicable for beginners looking to improve their balance!
  
  
• Masking Tape – This may be the most cost-effective and versatile option of them all. Placing tape on the ground in ladder formations or different grids for a variety of stepping patterns can be highly effective for weight shifting, coordination, and footwork exercises. It can provide wonderful visual cues on where you want the participant to step and with it being flush to the ground, it doesn’t pose a tripping hazard as other equipment might where you are stepping on a disc or foam pad. Again, the right ingenuity by a qualified fitness professional can help this inexpensive “tool” go a long way in training options with residents.  

Join us during Falls Prevention Week as we help communities across the country host our Empowerment Workshop giving the confidence to residents by providing the tools and resources they need to get up from a fall. Learn more about how your community can host this FREE Program here!

What is great about practicing balance is that there are multiple ways to do it including the utilization of various machines. Within senior living, evaluating equipment options can be a helpful starting point to developing a comprehensive fall prevention program for residents. In this two-part blog series, we’ll be covering investment pieces to incorporate in your fitness center’s fall prevention programming as well as more budget-friendly options if you are looking for more cost-effective options to give your programs a boost in Part II.

Let’s dial into elements of technology. “Fancy” machines, as our residents often refer to them, may hold a bad reputation due to their price tag alone. Just like any organization, “fancy” machines have their place within training and may want to be considered when optimizing a broad scope of functionality regarding balance.

Balance training machines are prevalent in laboratory settings within colleges. Common consumers may have not heard of or even seen balance training machines previously. Let’s take a look at these four balance training investments: Biodex Balance Machine, Virtual Reality, Wii and Step & Connect. As with anything in the realm of senior living, resident utilization and success of such pieces requires a fitness champion to assist them in feeling safe and confident in how to utilize each piece.

• Biodex Balance Machine – This machine is an investment in one’s balance training machines and may be utilized with athletes to older adults. The machine comes with a built-in touch screen for ease of use for its users. Capabilities of the machine include but are not limited to static environment, dynamic environment, as well as a Fall Risk Screening tool for those who track their abilities and progression. Multiple high-end machines such as this one come ready to go with built-in programs for its users to dive into that are most applicable for them at their fitness level!
• Virtual Reality – Through the utilization of virtual reality, one can visit any world/ environment that they wish. Multiple forms of virtual reality consist of videos games that are played with a headset that encompasses one’s vision to have them become fully immersed into their “new” environment. Popular video game systems are built entirely around this idea and have grown over the past decade to the point where anyone can go to their nearby technology store and find a virtual reality headset. Games that train your balance play with your depth perception within the game or force you to move in certain movements that challenge your stability like dodging an incoming object. This method is applicable to many and may prove to be a fun and interactive way to improve balance without even realizing it either alone or with family/friends! We haven’t seen significant application of VR while weight-bearing for residents yet but that may come in time with younger seniors and improved familiarity.
• Wii Fit & Recreation – This may be the simplest approach to incorporating an element of technology in balance training as many senior living communities utilize a Wii in their programming. Consider messaging use of Wii gaming under the umbrella of fall prevention and balance training. The coordination, footwork, and agility required in several Wii games is wonderful for balance training and many residents are already familiar!
• Step and Connect Mat - A specially designed training tool that aims to enhance balance and stability. It consists of a durable, non-slip mat with strategically placed footprints or markers. The footprints or markers serve as visual and audio guides for positioning and stepping. They help users develop proprioception (awareness of body position) and spatial orientation while performing various balance exercises. By following the footprints or markers, individuals can practice controlled movements and weight-shifting exercises. It provides a safe and structured platform for improving stability, coordination, and core strength. Regular use of the mat can contribute to better overall balance and reduce the risk of falls or accidents.

How do you evaluate balance in your senior living community? With Falls Prevention Week coming up this September, check out our FREE Empowerment Workshop! Your community can join us in empowering residents nationwide to feel confident in their abilities to get up off the floor with our training! Click below to learn more and register your community for a chance to win a Step and Connect Mat!

Fall prevention programs and services have been a cornerstone of NIFS programming for our senior living clients across the US with our signature Balance Redefined program. Whether joining our agility workshop to condition for the next pickleball tourney or bridging into a balance class after being discharged from therapy, residents of all abilities should have access to fall prevention programs that help them stay dialed into their life’s passions.

Off the heels of our successful Pump it for Parkinson’s event this spring, NIFS wants to bring the senior living industry together once again during Falls Prevention Week in September to empower seniors across the country. One of our most popular fall prevention programs is our Empowerment Workshop. This hallmark program is run on repeat a couple of times a year at several of our client communities because residents gain so much and continually ask for it.

During this program, we empower residents through education and the realization that the floor doesn’t have to be a scary place to be. We provide them with step-by-step instructions on how to safely get up from the floor, demonstrate it for them and then allow them a safe place to try it for themselves. In addition, insight is shared that if you find yourself in the predicament of falling, there are ways you can do so more safely to minimize the risk of severe injuries. We also empower residents with education on tools in their senior living community like pendants, pullcords and assistive devices that can help them feel more comfortable in their surroundings.

Upon completion of this workshop, the resident commentary is amazing to take in and listen to how they are feeling.

• “I didn’t know I could do that.”
• “Taking a minute to breathe and not panic makes a big difference.”
• “Wow, having a plan and knowing the ways to move my body safely makes me more confident.”
• “I never would have thought to actually practice how to get up from the floor, but it feels great knowing I can do this!”

As the fear of falling is a risk factor for falls, this workshop will equip residents with improved awareness, knowledge, and skills to build their confidence while empowering them to take our Fall-Free Pledge with thousands of seniors across the US. Participating communities and their residents can be featured in a fall prevention video shared by NIFS on Friday, September 22!

Participation is FREE and easy. Register your community on our event page and we’ll train up your fitness staff on how to host the program for your residents. Your community will receive all the great promotional content, flyers, brochures, etc., to plan the Workshop for your residents and you’ll have a chance to win a free Step and Connect balance training tool and a free fall prevention consulting package from NIFS to help your community customize your own fall prevention program.

Communities and senior living operators are welcome to contact Emily Davenport for more information on how to bring this best-in-class fall prevention experience to their residents for free.