Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Picture this: You're gliding effortlessly across a small trampoline, the rhythmic bouncing sending a gentle wave of energy through your body. This isn't just some childhood fantasy; it's rebounding, a low-impact exercise gaining popularity among senior citizens for its myriad health benefits.

Unlike traditional exercises that can strain joints and muscles, rebounding is surprisingly gentle. The trampoline's bouncy surface absorbs the impact, allowing you to engage in a full-body workout without putting undue stress on your body.

Why Rebounding is a Perfect Fit for Seniors

As we age, our bodies become more susceptible to the effects of inactivity. Osteoporosis, weakened muscles, and diminished balance are just a few of the challenges older adults face. Rebounding tackles these issues head-on, offering a safe and effective way to improve overall health and fitness.

1. Cardiovascular Health Boost: Rebounding gets your heart pumping, increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery to your vital organs. This can help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular problems.

2. Bone Density Enhancement: The weight-bearing nature of rebounding stimulates bone growth, combating osteoporosis, a common concern among seniors.

3. Balance and Coordination Improvement: Rebounding challenges your vestibular system, which controls balance. This can help prevent falls, a major risk factor for older adults.

4. Stress Reduction and Anxiety Relief: Rebounding releases endorphins, those feel-good hormones that elevate mood and reduce stress. This can also improve sleep quality, a crucial factor for overall well-being.

5. Muscle Strengthening and Endurance: Rebounding engages all major muscle groups, leading to increased strength and endurance. This improves overall fitness and mobility, making everyday tasks easier.

6. Weight Management: Rebounding burns calories, aiding in weight loss or maintenance. This is particularly beneficial for seniors who may be struggling with weight-related health issues.

7. Mental Function Enhancement: Rebounding increases blood flow to the brain, boosting cognitive function and improving memory, concentration, and mood.

Facts About the Safe Use of a Rebounder

Rebounding is a safe form of exercise for most people, including senior citizens. However, it is important to start slowly and gradually increase the intensity of your workouts. It is also important to wear comfortable shoes and clothing that allow freedom of movement. If you have any health concerns, talk to your doctor before starting a rebounding program.

Here are some additional tips for safely using a rebounder:

• Use a rebounder with a sturdy frame and a padded surface.
• Place the rebounder on a level surface in a well-lit area.
• Hold onto the handlebars for support when you are first getting started.
• Land gently on the balls of your feet.
• Listen to your body and stop if you feel pain.

Embrace the Bounce: Elevate Your Senior Fitness

Rebounding is more than just exercise; it's a gateway to a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life. Seniors who embrace rebounding often experience a newfound sense of vitality, relaxation, and mental clarity.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab a rebounder, put on your favorite music, and let's bounce our way to better health!

You might have heard that yoga is great for flexibility and a great opportunity to meditate. Beyond those benefits, there is much more to yoga than one might think. As a yogi myself, I have been consistently practicing this exercise for 9 months and have seen great changes in my mental health as well as physical changes. This form of exercise challenges me to tap into my inner strength and capabilities each time I step onto my mat. This practice pushes me to become the best version of myself, both physically and mentally.

Practicing yoga is great for overall mental and physical health, and when you practice it consistently, it is easy to see those changes not just in your physical capabilities, but also your mental awareness. Science and research show how yoga improves health, heals our muscles, and relieves joint aches and pains. Let’s dive into some of the benefits that yoga offers to someone who incorporates this practice into their life.

Increases Strength

Yoga is a great form of exercise for strengthening and building muscle, as well as increasing endurance. Yoga increases whole-body strength, but especially in areas we tend to neglect, like the core, lower back, and glute areas. When these areas of our body are strong, it protects us from injury and pain.

Improves Posture

Sitting at a desk all day and having a career that might put a strain on your neck and back can cause poor posture. Different yoga poses may reverse the effects that day-to-day activities may have on our bodies.

Relaxes Your System

Yoga encourages slow breathing and relaxation, all while focusing on the present. As our system slows down, the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the “rest and digest” system, turns on. This decreases blood pressure while increasing blood flow to all the major organs in our bodies. In addition to yoga encouraging your body to relax, it can also ease the mind, slowing down daily stressors, fear, and worries. In time when you practice shutting off your racing mind, you are more likely to live a healthier and longer life.

Regulates Your Adrenal Glands

Yoga is known to lower cortisol levels. When a person has too much cortisol in their body, it may affect memory, cause depression, worsen osteoporosis, and cause high blood pressure. When cortisol levels spike up, people crave foods when they are angry, tired, stressed, or upset. This causes an increase in the amount of calories people consume, as well as weight gain.

Local to Indianapolis? NIFS offers yoga as a group fitness class. Read this blog to learn more about choosing the right class, see the Group Fitness Schedule for times, and join us for a workout that brings many physical and mental benefits.

Individuals who are new to regular exercise, or those who are considering recommitting after a long hiatus, may have preconceived notions about what it takes to effectively reap the benefits of a new routine. For this reason, I want to establish a number of foundational principles and debunk some common myths surrounding fitness. Reworking your current schedule to include exercise can seem like a daunting task, but starting with a foundation of knowledge may help to quell the discouraging thoughts that make starting a new exercise habit so difficult.

Following are three important evidence-based facts about exercise and fitness.

1. Reaping the benefits of exercise does not require a large time commitment.

If your idea of exercise is a monotonous jog around the block or on the treadmill, you need to start defining exercise in broader terms. Long walks or runs are great if you enjoy them enough to complete them on a regular basis, but there are endless activities that can lead to similar benefits while requiring less exercise time. Vigorous-intensity exercise (exercising at 77 to 94% of maximum heart rate*) has been shown to have positive effects on cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness in bouts as short as 10 minutes. (*The Gelish equation to estimate maximum heart rate is HRmax = 207 – [0.7 x age].)

Examples of vigorous-intensity exercise include sprinting, swimming, boxing, jumping rope, dancing, bicycle sprinting, and a number of other exercises that can be performed at a gym or fitness center.

2. Working out at a gym does not require any more than basic knowledge and can lead to drastic results within weeks.

The benefits of consistent workouts are created by bodily adaptations triggered by a stimulus—the activity that you performed. While experienced weightlifters and endurance athletes require more advanced and intricate stimuli to produce more adaptations, those who are sedentary can expect to see significant gains in strength or aerobic capacity in a short amount of time when they start exercising regularly. This can make for an excellent motivating factor when starting an exercise habit.

3. There isn’t one type of exercise that’s mandatory in order to achieve positive results.

Purposeful exercise generally falls into one of two categories: resistance or endurance. However, many different activities straddle the lines between these two forms (such as CrossFit, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT), boxing, gymnastics, and various other sports). All types of exercise have the potential to improve overall health.

Benefits of resistance training include increased resting metabolic rate (faster metabolism), improved insulin sensitivity, lower body-fat percentage, increased bone density, potential for slower cognitive decline, improved balance, and improved strength, mobility, and self-esteem. Endurance exercise has the potential to produce many of the same benefits while having a slightly more robust effect on cardiovascular health. This shows that even without choosing a specific activity, you can realize the rewards of exercise.

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Careful planning can be important for effective habit change, but sometimes too much thought can hinder your ability to implement change. The mind always seems to have a way of creating obstacles. Remember that physical activities can produce benefits in just a few short sessions per week, even when performed with just basic knowledge and in an unorganized way.

Hopefully this new knowledge will help you smash through your barriers and get moving!  Looking to add exercise to your workplace, click below for how to get started.