It’s that time of year. Desperate to purge the sins of Christmas, ‘Exercise’ is the word on everyone’s lips.
Gym, Pilates; perhaps a yoga retreat for the more enlightened among us. Whatever the programme, we want it. Hastily joining clubs galore in the vain attempt to shed those pounds.
‘This is the new me!’ we proclaim. ‘The old me is gone!’, as we draw out ambitions of 6AM runs and a 6-pack by the spring.
But like awkward party guests who stay past 9PM (the audacity!), our old selves seldom leave easily. We soon park those dreams of a beach bod for another year.
Having the benefit of advanced age, our residents at Cedar Lodge have had more experience than most of this eternal merry-go-round.
They know the deal. It’s no surprise therefore than many had become apathetic to exercise altogether.
That was until 2016.
The Story
It was a normal enough week at Cedar Lodge. However, staff were becoming concerned. One of our residents was showing a marked decline in his mobility.
We quickly called for a physio. And following her review, there was only one medicine for it: a strict, weekly exercise routine.
The exercises would bring back his agility. But they were best performed under supervision – in a space bigger than a private bedroom.
He would have to do them in the lounge.
Unsurprisingly, our resident was not pleased by this prospect. Our lounge is a communal hub of activity for all residents that call Cedar Lodge home. An audience of one would be embarrassing enough…not least an audience near twenty!
His fellow residents shared his misgivings.
He’d be blocking the TV!
So, we came up with a solution. Why not carve out a slot in the week where everyone could participate in these exercises.
It was a real hit.
As not only did our patient get what the doctor ordered, he managed to get everyone up and moving too! Over the coming months, many of our residents began to report improvements in their own mobility from the now regular class.
Since then, Cedar Lodge hasn’t looked back. Our exercise class has been a weekly fixture in everyone’s social calendar.
We start with basic finger exercises to help with dexterity.
Then a choreographed warm up: rolling our hips, shoulders and elbows. This is to keep our joints moving and supple as possible.
We strengthen the muscles in the front of the shins to keep them nice and strong.
And then comes the dancing. Set to music, we perform 3 simple routines made up of 4 different movements.
Sure, the dancing’s a bit silly (and a lot of fun). But it also serves a great purpose. Working legs, arms and a final movement that crosses over the body, the routines encourage both sides of the brain to work in unison. This helps improve everyone’s coordination, reducing falls.
We even put our activities coordinator, Susy, on an exercise course so she could become a better instructor.
The physical benefits are obvious.
As we get older, our bodies have to work harder to perform tasks that we’ve previously taken for granted. But by conditioning our muscles through light exercise, we can keep the ageing process at bay.
Allowing us to enjoy those pastimes we love for longer.
For our residents, this might be walking to the local post office, playing with their grandchildren or picking up their morning paper.
The sense of routine provided by the class has really helped everyone’s mental health this year too.
As with all our residents shielding, the class gives us a much-needed chance to let of some steam.
Indeed, we’d argue that even the ancient warrior kingdom Sparta wouldn’t have seniors as fit as ours.
The comparison is rather fitting – Spartans had a respect for their elders which was unrivalled in the Ancient World. A popular saying in Greece was that ‘Sparta was the only place where it paid to grow old’.
Nowadays, we think that place is surely Cedar Lodge.
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If you’d like more information on how to keep active as you age, we recommend visiting www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-older-adults/
The NHS advises that adults over the age of 65 should be doing some form of physical activity every day. The more, the better it seems.
And at least twice a week, those who are more advanced in years should be finding ways to work their balance, strength and flexibility.
So much for that quiet retirement! In all seriousness, the NHS website has some great information which can help you live your retirement to its fullest.
We encourage you to check it out!
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