As the Fitness Consultant for the Area 4 Agency on Aging in Northern California, I visit various Senior Nutrition Focal points through our 7-county region to demonstrate my Take 5 to Exercise seated Fall Prevention routines. And in all my visits, I have not seen or worked with more than 8 men, all added together!
While the congregate lunch program attracts both men and women, ninety percent of my exercise participants are women. I'm not sure if that's because women recognize the importance of exercise more than men or if men have too much pride to do "chair exercises" or if women appreciate the socialization of group exercise but whatever the reason, I mostly see women at my Take 5 to Exercise Presentations.
So you can only imagine my shock, and the joy I felt, when I saw five men sitting patiently in the Loyalton Senior Center after an amazing home-cooked congregate meal was served. I spoke passionately to the men about the importance of flexibility training and was ecstatic when they all participated in the Take 5 to Exercise stretching routine. Some of the men seemed surprised when they tried to do a hamstring stretch only to find they had to stop at the point of tension and their point of tension was in the middle of their thigh and not the middle of their calf! YIKES.....
I want to take the time to encourage and challenge men to Take 5 to Exercise. The benefits of consistent activity do not discriminate, there is no gender bias, we all benefit equally from movement. In fact, most of my male clients, both young and old, need to practice flexibility training more so than their female counterparts. That's why everyone, male and female, will benefit when they make the time to Take 5 to Exercise each day.
Please visit my website, www.take5toexercise.com and order your father, husband, brother, uncle or grandfather his own version of my 5-day seated stretching and strengthening routines and help reduce his risk of a fall.
Love to all my brothers.
And sisters.
In Christ,
Amen.
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