Providing fitness and recreation choices for seniors.An innovative new program at Foothills Park and Recreation District in Lakewood, Colorado The City of Lakewood is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Lakewood is the fourth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 164th most populous city in the United States. , called "Active Options" is giving seniors a new incentive to get healthy. Active Options is a fitness and recreation program for persons over 62 years of age, whose mission is to improve the health of older adults in its district. Research has proven that diabetes, hypertension hypertension or high blood pressure, elevated blood pressure resulting from an increase in the amount of blood pumped by the heart or from increased resistance to the flow of blood through the small arterial blood vessels (arterioles). , arthritis arthritis, painful inflammation of a joint or joints of the body, usually producing heat and redness. There are many kinds of arthritis. In its various forms, arthritis disables more people than any other chronic disorder. , and osteoporosis osteoporosis (ŏs'tēō'pərō`sĭs), disorder in which the normal replenishment of old bone tissue is severely disrupted, resulting in weakened bones and increased risk of fracture; osteopenia are chronic diseases that can be improved by increasing regular exercise habits. This program is for any fitness level, but is geared toward chronic-disease prevention and improvement of health for those who already have these diseases. This program gives seniors an opportunity to exercise regularly at a very reasonable rate. How this Program Came to Be During my many years working with seniors, both in programming and therapeutic areas, I have heard these sentiments expressed many times: "My doctor says I need an exercise program to keep my blood pressure down." "I live on a fixed income." "There is nowhere to go to rehab a fractured Fractured is the Industrial Music band created by Canadian Nick Gorman in 2003. Located in Toronto Canada, his self produced release CD-R demo entitled Contami-Nation caught the attention of European label Dependent Records, who signed them. hip when the insurance money runs out!" "I'd start working out if I had someone to guide and help me each time." "I hate Spandex and mirrors!" Using all this information about "why" seniors don't exercise, a program was developed that would address all these concerns using existing resources. Foothills agreed to fund a three-year Active Options pilot program for at-risk older adults. After six months, the program is highly successful, with more than 230 older adults exercising on a regular basis. Economy, Variety, and Improved Quality of Life Putting together a package that would appeal to many functional levels of seniors was the first challenge. The title of the program describes what we wanted to achieve. "Active," because we wanted people to know that fitness and exercise were involved, and "Options," so they would know that they would have choices. Getting started can be intimidating in·tim·i·date tr.v. in·tim·i·dat·ed, in·tim·i·dat·ing, in·tim·i·dates 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. for people of any age, so we wanted to make it a very personal experience. Anyone who expressed interest received a personal phone call from the Active Options coordinator, explaining in detail what they can expect from the program. A six- or 12-month pass is offered at a very reasonable cost. After the pass is purchased, a personal call is placed by our exercise physiologist physiologist /phys·i·ol·o·gist/ (fiz?e-ol´ah-jist) a specialist in physiology. physiologist a specialist in physiology. to set up a Micro-Fit fitness test. This computerized computerized adapted for analysis, storage and retrieval on a computer. computerized axial tomography see computed tomography. fitness evaluation lets the person know what their level of fitness is in the beginning phase of the program. Fitness goals and recommendations as to which of the class offerings will help the patron achieve those goals are presented in a one-on-one basis. For the duration of the pass, a Micro-Fit fitness evaluation is given as part of the package every three months, so progress can be seen in a very visible format. If the patron would like, the results of these tests will be forwarded to their physician. Patrons are reminded and. scheduled by the exercise physiologist for all the retests. Seeing Results Already Some of the physical benefits we have seen so far include: * Increased upper-body strength in over 95 percent of persons enrolled in Senior Strength training * Increased sociability in all classes (making new friends) * Increased numbers of older adults working out on their own at our Wellness Center during the day * Decreased high-blood pressure among most of the patrons who work out regularly * Increased lower-body strength in members of the Senior Strength Training class, water walking, aquarobics, Fit after 50, and Moving for Life Classes Personal benefit testimonies -- including having fun, feeling less lonely, having decreased depression, making fewer doctor visits, less medications, having more energy, generally feeling better, being better able to sleep at night, reducing medical costs, making friends, having something to look forward to, and decreased pain -- make it clear that this program is working, and people are feeling good about what Active Options is doing for them. The Future Growth of this program in the first six months makes us believe that we have hit a niche in the needs of our older population. With the demographic forecasts of senior population growth, the needs for this kind of program will only increase over the years. We also believe that the benefits to the senior patrons will be endless. If after only six months we see benefits such as better balance, decreased dependence on a cane cane, walking stick cane, walking stick. Probably used first as a weapon, it gradually took on the symbolism of strength and power and eventually authority and social prestige. , increased weight loss, increased self-esteem self-esteem Sense of personal worth and ability that is fundamental to an individual's identity. Family relationships during childhood are believed to play a crucial role in its development. and lower health-care costs, it seems safe to project that when data is compiled at the end of the three-year pilot, the list of benefits will be even greater -- and quite exciting. We hope this program will encourage changes and attitudes towards fitness as recreation, as well as decrease healthcare costs, and generally increase the overall health of older adults in our district. We believe this is our responsibility. Bea Romer
A Romer or Roamer is a simple device for accurately plotting a grid reference on a map. , the First Lady of Colorado, has recently endorsed this program after having visited some of the Active Options facilities and programs. We are also having discussions with HMOs in the Denver metro area This article is about the music production team. For the article about population centers, see metropolitan area. Metro Area are a Brooklyn-based dance music production team composed of Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesrani. in hopes that they will join us in funding future years of Active Options programming. This is the kind of model that could be used in any parks and recreation district in the nation. We will make available our results and hope others will follow.. If you would like more information about the Active Options program, contact Chris Katzenmeyer at (303) 987-8606, ext. 146. Chris will also be doing a presentation on Active Options at the NRPA NRPA National Recreation and Park Association NRPA Natural Resources Protective Association (Staten Island, NY) NRPA Niagara Regional Police Association (Canada) NRPA National Rifle and Pistol Association Congress for Recreation and Parks in Salt Lake City, Utah For ships of the United States Navy of the same name, see . Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake, or its initials, S.L.C. , on November 1, at 8:30 a.m. RELATED ARTICLE: ACTIVE OPTIONS Participants at Foothills Park and Recreation District are ... having fun feeling less lonely and less depressed making fewer visits to the doctor taking fewer medications increasing energy levels generally feeling better better able to sleep at night reducing their medical costs making friends decreasing pain and looking forward to being more active! RELATED ARTICLE: THE ACTIVE OPTIONS PROGRAM FORMAT The Active Options package includes the following offerings for the cost of the six- or 12-month pass: 1. Unlimited use of all Foothills facilities (except golf) between the hours of 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. 2. Unlimited attendance to any of a number of classes, including: * Senior Strength Training (instructional weight lifting weight lifting, international sport, also a training technique for athletes in other sports. From the earliest times men have lifted weights as a test of strength. ) * Moving for Life - Agua Movement (low-impact movement) * Tai Chi Tai Chi Definition T'ai chi is a Chinese exercise system that uses slow, smooth body movements to achieve a state of relaxation of both body and mind. for Seniors * Outdoor Fitness Series (four special events a year) * Water Walking (non-instructional walking in waist-deep water) * Aquarobics * Fit After 50 Aerobics aerobics (ârō`biks), [Gr.,=with oxygen], system of endurance exercises that promote cardiovascular fitness by producing and sustaining an elevated heart rate for a prolonged period of time, thereby pumping an increased amount of oxygen-rich class (low-impact aerobics) * Yoga yoga (yō`gə) [Skt.,=union], general term for spiritual disciplines in Hinduism, Buddhism, and throughout S Asia that are directed toward attaining higher consciousness and liberation from ignorance, suffering, and rebirth. (can be done in a chair) More than one class may be attended. 3. A fitness evaluation every month 4. A quarterly newsletter that provides information about healthy lifestyles 5. Special promotional offers for other Foothills recreational activities |
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