Workout Tips for Senior Citizens
• Don’t be so pushy: “How many times do you see people leaning on a grocery cart at Publix? God forbid, it gets away from them, and they take a bad fall head-first on the floor.”
It’s the same as people getting on a treadmill, jacking up the speed and then grabbing onto the headboard for balance. “They hang on for dear life, and it’s running away with them, dragging their spine. It would be better if they slowed the treadmill down and put a pinkie up for balance.”
• Left leg, right arm: Another bad habit Parrot has observed even in 50- and 60-year-olds is leading with the arm and leg on the same side.
“We lose the natural rhythm, especially women. We put our purses on our shoulders, which immediately takes our arms out of engagement, and carry something on the other arm — a baby or groceries — and before long we’re not moving the right arm with the opposite left leg.” This can throw you off balance and lead to a fall, especially going up steps. When Parrot sees people moving that way in her classes, she has them touch their hands to the opposite knee to reestablish right way. “It doesn’t take long to trigger the brain to do that.”
• Look out behind: A common development with age is a weakening in the lower limbs, which leads to difficulty getting in and out of cars and maintaining balance.This results from neglecting the posterior chain of muscles.
“We tend to work what we see in the mirror — all the pushing muscles: the abdominals, the quadriceps, the chest and shoulder. We’re a pushing society.
We push grocery carts, we push and lean on the steering wheel of our car. We need to do more pulling. I try to get people to do two exercises for the back of their bodies for every one exercise for the front.”
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