Wholeness Healing Center

Live Stronger: Strength, Balance, and Social Connection after 50 Stay strong. Stay Connected. Stay independent.

By Nicole Thompson, Physical Therapist, Doctorate of Physical Therapy, Guest Writer

Frailty, muscle weakness, and deconditioning lead to physical and mental decline, falls, and often, ultimately, the inability to live independently. The sequela of this loss of independence is far-reaching. Not only is mobility affected, but with a loss of independence, there is also often a loss of connection. Lack of social connection leads to loneliness and poor mental wellbeing. Research has also linked mental decline directly with physical illnesses such as heart disease, dementia, hypertension and stroke. Regular physical exercise as you age is a powerful medication to stave off this aforementioned decline. Physical therapy is often used as a tool to introduce aging people to exercise, promote strength and improve mobility. However, research shows that at least 52 weeks of exercise is needed to establish significant strength gains and change the trajectory of an individual’s life. So, community-based programs are imperative to bridge this gap. Group fitness can provide a powerful dose of exercise and social connection, allowing individuals to build strong connections, motivating each other and serving as accountability partners.

In the Grand Island community, one group fitness option is Live Stronger. Live Stronger, founded, programmed and coached by physical therapists with Live Well Physical Therapy, is a functional resistance training program with the mission of promoting strength and resilience as you age. Class programming draws from current research to build strength, improve endurance, boost metabolic health, and decrease overall risk of mortality in the most effective ways. All lifts and movements are modified and scaled to meet individual needs. One major goal of the program is to equip older adults in the Grand Island community to age well and break the adage of old=weak. The program is also structured in such a way that social connection between program members is promoted. Class size is capped at 15 members per class, allowing for personal connections to be made while exercising together.

Live Stronger is specifically designed with the aging body in mind; membership is reserved for individuals age 50 and older. The 5 major program pillars are functional strength, muscle power, bone density, balance and social connection. Functional strength refers to the strength needed to complete daily tasks including putting something over your head, getting on and off the floor, standing up from a chair and picking up and carrying objects of varying sizes. Muscle power refers to the ability to generate movement quickly. This is a target because as the body ages, it preferentially loses type II muscle fibers first, which are the fibers that allow for quick movement. If you are crossing a street and suddenly a car turns, you need to have the ability to rapidly change your speed. Third, low bone density, diagnosed as osteoporosis and/or osteopenia, is common in older adults. If left untreated, this often leads to a fracture. The sequela of hip fracture has been commonly researched, and the results are staggering; 70% of people are dead within a year of a hip fracture. Luckily, research is also strong in support of the use of impact training and heavy lifting to significantly improve bone density scores. The fourth pillar is balance training. We aim to reduce the number of falls by improving the ability to recover from a stumble, reduce injurious falls by improving fall recovery and reduce fear of falling by building confidence as well as comfort with being on the floor. Lastly, research has shown that exercising socially improves compliance and can actually lead to greater strength gains as compared to training independently.

Live Stronger is run on a monthly membership basis and we offer one free class as a way of determining if it is a good fit for you. Classes are 60 minutes, 3 times a week. If interested in joining or for more information, contact Live Well Physical Therapy at 308-382-9700 and ask for Nicole, or email Nicole directly at livestronger@livewellpt.com.

 

Tags: equip older adults to age well, Live Stronger, Program structured for social connection