I am biased but regular exercises, which include strength and balance, are the number one thing you can to do for falls prevention. However it's not the only thing Make sure your home is hazard-free and well lit Organise your things so that you are not at risk of tripping or falling. Light up ...continue reading
General
Exercising on holiday
I was asked recently if I will exercise when I am on holiday, which reminded me of some work I did a few years ago on why people don't exercise. The most common reason given was they don't find exercise fun or enjoyable which got me thinking, a lot of articles about exercise promise that ...continue reading
Why Strength training is important (particularly as we age)
Muscle mass decreases approximately 3–8% per decade after the age of 30 and this rate of decline is even higher after the age of 60, not a cheery statistic but it is why strength training is so important as we age. If forced to choose one specific type of exercise I would pick for older adults ...continue reading
Stay Hydrated
It's very important as we age to ensure we stay hydrated, and during the summer months when (if we are lucky!) it gets warmer if is even more important that we drink enough. Whilst the British Weather is keeping us on our toes by swinging randomly between hot and cold just a reminder that when ...continue reading
Osteoporosis and exercise
In the new UK consensus statement on physical activity and exercise for osteoporosis which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. "inactivity should be avoided, physical activity encouraged" I can't emphasise enough how important this statement is, there are very few health conditions where exercise is not a good thing but in the ...continue reading
Climbing the stairs
Climbing stairs can become difficult as we age due to loss of muscle strength and flexibility, and yet the ability to remains important to maintain independence. One of the exercises in the Strength and Balance Circuit is the Step Up. As you can see from the photos there is support there if you need it ...continue reading
How many steps a day?
Do we really need to walk 10,000 steps a day? It's an interesting article, have a read, but the spoiler is no-one really knows (apart from the fact that walking is good for your health!). Walking counts towards the 150 minutes of physical activity the government guidelines recommend we aim for each week. However I ...continue reading
Walking Posture
Posture plays an important part in walking speed and ability to walk energetically. Due to injury or illness not everyone will be able to change their walking gait and I wouldn't advise that everyone immediately goes out the the door and starts altering how they walk. However this is something you can practice inside using ...continue reading
Slow the strength exercise down!
There is a method to my madness - I repeatedly say to slow down the strength exercise in a class - here is Michael Mosley explaining why. Eccentric Exercise
Walking Gait
I wanted to share this description of people walking which I had never thought of before! "Walking involves all the joints of the lower limb and is characterised by an ‘inverted pendulum’ motion, in which the body vaults over the non-moving limb." That makes it sound very impressive (and quite complicated, which it isn't)! Strike the ...continue reading