"Get Off Your Rocker" – Exercise Programs

with Don Taylor, physical therapist

Last Updated: July 1, 2003

Twice a week, the Bay View Community Center holds the "Get Off Your Rocker" exercise program for seniors. It incorporates aerobics, stretching, weight work and a bit of tai chi under the guidance of a trained instructor. The Bay View class is one of ten scattered throughout metropolitan Milwaukee, sponsored by Columbia St. Mary’s.

The goal of the program is to promote the role of exercise in good health for those age 55 or older. The only requirements are a physician’s OK and the payment of a nominal fee, currently $1, for each session.

According to Don Taylor, manager of the Rehabilitation Services Department for Columbia St. Mary's, the 45-minute program "addresses every major joint for range of motion and flexibility. Others elevate the heart rate, which is good for overall strength and endurance. Still others address balance to reduce the potential of falls and potential fractures. We incorporate some tai chi, also good for balance."

As anyone who tries to exercise regularly knows, it's often easier when you have friends to exercise with. There's a bit of human competitiveness that keeps one going. And as the class continues, fellow exercisers become friends, ending the isolation that seniors may feel.

Benefits of exercise
The old adage "use it or lose it" seems to pretty much sum up the status of muscle strength, endurance and flexibility as we age. In addition, as muscles atrophy, the metabolism slows, causing weight gains which causes added wear and pain to joints. But this painful spiral can be slowed, or even turned around, with activity.

• Exercise will maintain or increase range of motion or flexibility
• Strong muscles will take the pressure off joints that are damaged or painful
• Exercise helps maintain or increase the strength of bone (particularly important for post-menopausal women who lose bone mass following menopause)
• Endurance exercise has an important effect on the heart, promoting increased endurance and circulation
• Exercise helps you lose weight (and carrying additional weight is hard on your joints)
• Exercise can improve memory, concentration and sleep patterns and leads to an increased sense of well-being and accomplishment.

Elements of a good exercise program
An exercise program for seniors usually includes:

• Stretching exercises to maintain and increase joint mobility
• Strengthening exercises to improve the ability to lift objects, bear weight and sustain movement. (In the Get Off Your Rocker program, participants use elastic tubing but light hand-weights would work as well.)
• Endurance exercises, which could include use of a treadmill or walking. Twenty minutes daily is recommended.
• Balance exercises such as tai chi.

Exercise safely
Every diet and exercise book has the warning to consult a physician before starting the program. As one ages, that advice becomes particularly important.

It is not merely the potential for heart attack that is a cause for concern. For example, those suffering from arthritis may be told to avoid wearing ankle weights while exercising or from doing certain exercises or stretches that could further damage joints. These will vary for each individual.

Should you experience any pain following exercise that lasts for more than an hour or two, do not stop exercising entirely. Rather, work to build endurance by cutting back on the amount of time or number of repetitions of each exercise.

Remember, too, that if you haven't used your muscles for a while some soreness is to be expected, but a sharp pain should be cause for concern and may warrant a call to your physician.

The best time to exercise
Exercises should be done at the time of day when you are experiencing the least pain and stiffness. If you take pain medication, this would be when the medicine is at its most effective level. If doing a half hour or longer of exercise at one time is difficult, try exercising for shorter periods throughout the day.

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