The large increase or “boom” in the number of births during the post World War II era defined the generation of people known as baby boomers. By some accounts this puts Baby Boomers and those know as Boomers II between the ages of 59-77 years.
For the purpose of this blog post, let’s define the BOOMERS as 60 and up.
60 is the new 40!
When it comes to fitness, some boomers think they are fragile and can only work on aerobic capacity. For example, walking on a treadmill or riding a bicycle.
The training they actually need is the same as athletes, busy professionals, and even children: a combination of mobility, power, strength, and endurance, modified to their abilities and limitations.
As a fitness professional, the best thing I can do for my BOOMER clients is to help prevent a future fall, not increase their time on a stationary bicycle.
Every year, one out of three adults over the age of 65 experiences a fall. These falls often lead to injury or preventable death.
There are as many as 30,000 deaths due to falls from older adults every year.
Other effects from falling can include disability, reduced quality of life, loss of independence, increased healthcare costs, and increased fear of doing daily activities.
If you are a BOOMER or know someone who is, how do you train to help prevent a fall? Here are some of the important risk factors and how to address them:
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Adequate mobility in the lower extremities, especially in the hip and ankle. There are many ways to improve mobility, but a great movement is learning the Getup. We call this a big bang for your buck exercise because not only does it require a certain amount of hip, ankle, and shoulder mobility to execute properly, but you get the added benefit of practicing getting up and down off the ground.
Check out our 6 part Getup Series to learn how to do a proper Kettlebell Getup! Here is the first video.
No need to add a weight just yet! Everyone starts this move with just body weight and have to earn the Kettlebell Getup. At Control Your Health, we have men and women in their 70s doing solid Getups. Some clients have even gotten emotional after completing a proper Getup for the first time.
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Muscular weakness, especially in the lower extremities. Get your hips, butt, and legs to work by squatting and hinging!
Here is part 1 of our Kettlebell Swing Series! Learn how to hinge.
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Balance deficits. The easiest way to test your balance is to stand on one leg. If you can last longer than 10 seconds, congratulations! If not, focus on balancing on two legs with some Rooting Exercises.
This is a good practice even if single-leg balancing is easy!
We then progress many BOOMERS to power exercises like throwing, skipping, and agility drills if their joints allow it.
Studies show that power is one of the major performance variables associated with independence, fall prevention, and rehabilitation following injury.
Since adults lose power (the ability to move fast) at a rate almost twice as fast as they lose strength, these exercises help re-establish the ability to move with speed.
Build strength and power with the Kettlebell Swing! Here is part 2 of our 5 part Kettlebell Swing Series! The Kettlebell Deadlift.
So when it comes to Fitness Training as a BOOMER, look for more of the sameness.
The delivery system might vary. For example, things that may be a warmup for a younger athlete can become the power component for the baby boomer.
Boomers just need to be challenged safely. I have personally seen how much boomers are capable of and have been lucky enough to see my 84 year old father-in-law at work.
He spends most of his waking hours in what I can only call a moving frenzy.
As Dr. Petter Attia says, “ If you have the aspiration of kicking ass when you are 85, you can’t afford to be average when you’re 50.”
Master Chan looking away after I asked if he needed any help. “Ha! No, leave! This is my exercise!”
As we get older we stop skipping, jumping, throwing, and running and the result is a feeling of fragility.
Start moving now, just do it as best you can. Think of it as going back to the playground.
-Oscar
Wah Lum Kung Fu and Tai Chi
Control Your Health
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