Healthy Living
Happy Heart Health Month!
A Matter of Balance offered in-person
By Marty Twichell , EnhanceFitness Program Coordinator, PCOA’s Healthy Living Department, ACE certified Senior Exercise Specialist and Group Fitness Instructor In the fitness world, February has traditionally been a great month to speak to heart health. In 1968, Dr. Kenneth Cooper’s book “Aerobics” was published and changed the fitness industry dramatically. His focus on the heart muscle being the most important muscle to be exercising, and also on fitness testing to monitor cardiovascular fitness (endurance) improvement was a new way of thinking about exercise. When Jackie Sorenson read his book and tested herself, she realized that practicing and teaching her dance classes accomplished a similar result to running and she started communicating with him. He encouraged her to design dance exercise classes for women to improve their heart health and overall fitness. He thought women would like dancing way more than running. Their collaboration resulted in the 70s and 80s popularity of aerobic dance classes and in more awareness of heart health. Step aerobics was added in the 80’s and men were welcomed to the classes in 1983. PCOA’s 60+ exercise program “EnhanceFitness” has a 20-minute cardiovascular portion that works the heart muscle with big body movements, some dance moves and low impact calisthenics. The theme of cardiovascular exercise is always heart health! You might consider adding some cardio exercise to your day the whole month of February. Walking, dancing, climbing stairs, running, exercise classes… anything that gets your heart rate up counts. Aim to do it for 20 minutes every day. Avoid pushing yourself too hard and drink plenty of water. Remember the goal is to feel better after you are done. If you feel exhausted or in pain, or if you cannot do the activity for 20 minutes, you need to ease up and maintain a comfortable intensity. You can usually see improvement in your heart health by taking your resting pulse rate and watching it get lower over just a few weeks. Since your focus is on your heart health, you could add relaxing meditation to your day also. Just a few minutes where you sit quietly and focus on your breath can be enough to help with stress levels. Just make sure you celebrate Valentine’s day with a little love directed at your heart and be a nice Valentine to yourself!
Feb. 22, 24, March 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17* Tuesdays & Thursdays 1:30 – 3:30 pm The Katie Dusenberry Healthy Aging Center 600 S. Country Club Rd.
Contribution Fee: $30.00 (covers your book and supplies) A Matter of Balance is being offered remotely and all you need to participate is a computer, laptop or tablet with a video camera, microphone and speakers. Many older adults experience a fear of falling. People who develop this fear often limit their activities, which can result in physical weakness, making the risk of falling even greater. A Matter of Balance is a program designed to reduce the fear of falling and increase activity levels among older adults. It includes 8 two-hour sessions for a small group of 8-15 participants led by a trained facilitator.
What do participants learn?
Who should attend?
For more information and to register or if you are interested in a remote class, contact Jennie at 520-305-3410. • Recognize fall hazards • Make changes to reduce fall risk at home • Exercise to increase strength and balance The program enables participants to achieve significant goals. They gain confidence by learning to: • Overcome the fear of falling and learn to view falls as controllable • Set goals for increasing activity
The program is designed to benefit older adults who:
• Are concerned about falls • Have sustained falls in the past • Restrict activities because of concerns about falling • Are interested in improving flexibility, balance and strength • Are age 60 or older, community-dwelling and able to problem solve
*Events subject to change due to health precautions. See page 33 for details.
Page 18 | February 2022, Never Too Late
Pima Council on Aging
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