Fall Prevention EXERCISES

Fall prevention is more than picking up throw rugs and keeping night lights on.  It is about maintaining the physical abilities to function in everyday life and being able to react to life's imbalances.  Consistent exercise is essential to reducing the risk of a fall.   

As an educator, I am surprised to find that people are not aware of how simple, consistent exercises can help prevent a fall.  Throughout my interactions, I had the opportunity to talk to an elderly gentleman, Bob, who was concerned about his wife who has started to fall more often.

She trips over the dog, the dog toys, the dog bed.  She slips on the throw rugs.  She barely has the strength to get up and once she's up, she has difficulty staying up.  I immediately asked if she does any exercises.  "Oh no, she won't do any of the senior exercise videos that we have," he responded.

After I explained how basic movements, such as ankle circles, toe point and flexes, leg extensions and hamstring stretches will help reduce his wife's risk of tripping since we react to life's imbalances from the ground up, Bob had a better understanding of how to help his wife reduce her risk of falling.   Flexible ankles and strong calves are the first line of defense in reducing falls.  Strong legs are perhaps the most important.

I saw the light bulb over Bob's head once he realized how easy those movements were to do and how they would help his wife.  He immediately purchased my Take 5 to Exercise fall risk reduction dvd series and was excited about helping his wife.  Of course, the throw rugs will be picked up, the dog toys and bed will be moved but mostly, Bob is not going to do everything for his wife anymore but encourage her to use it so she doesn't lose it.  

Order my Take 5 to Exercise fall prevention dvd series and see how you can help a loved one (or yourself) reduce the risk of tripping and falling.  Exercise doesn't have to be strenuous or painful so start with my Basic 5 stretches and you will feel better about yourself as you become aware of your body's abilities and limitations.

Spreading the word that exercise is fall prevention,

The Fall Prevention Lady

SEATED EXERCISE ROUTINES AND FALL PREVENTION????

A lot of people ask me how I can teach a fall prevention class while seated or how a Senior Exercise Videos can be helpful in reducing fall risk. "Isn't fall prevention about balance?" Don't you have to stand on a BOSU ball, use foam rolls, balance boards and all that other fancy equipment seen in the gym?

NO, NO, NO. In fact, a mentor of mine, Rodney Corn formerly with the National Academy of Sports Medicine now a Fall Prevention expert, once said it was time to get back to the basics. Time to learn how to move properly. Time to teach the body the correct movement patterns. Time to reduce compensation and improve efficiency. That's why I say it's time to Take 5 to Exercise!

For my older audience members, seated exercise routines are the perfect medium because viewer safety is my primary concern. Years of inactivity have made it difficult to concentrate on moving properly, not to mention maintain one's balance. Thus, I start with the basics while seated in your chair.

My Take 5 to Exercise fall prevention exercise dvd series reviews basic movement patterns needed in everyday life. Let's master the basics before progressing to more advanced movements, afterall, you need to crawl before you can walk!

Check out my new approach to seated exercise by visiting my website and ordering your own copy to do while seated in the privacy of your own home! www.take5toexercise.com

Basically,

The Fall Prevention Lady

Senior Exercise Videos and Fall Prevention

I believe that maintaining one's physical well being is probably the most important component of a fall prevention program.   I'm not just saying that because I am a Certified Personal Fitness trainer because as we all know, without one's health, quality of life is severely compromised.

So as the holidays approach (yes, another year is almost gone), I begin to notice the different types of gifts available and most of them are junk.  Unfortunately, we are a society who tends to gather junk, well at least I do.  Hoarding runs in the family but that is something I actively resist as I get older and my apartment gets smaller!

Anyway, I was scanning the Senior Exercise Videos and found the same consensus:  most of them are junk!  The instructors aren't qualified, the moves are done incorrectly and in some cases, the entire format is copied from a good one.   I have quickly learned that some professional agencies plagerize for the sake of profit  so this one's you  in florida, consider it my gift to you,  extra information you may have overlooked or you may need content for your blog on fall prevention.

Any decent exercise video designed for older adults who want to reduce the risk of a fall should include 4 components and they are:
1. Flexibility
2. Strength
3. Balance
4. Endurance

As a Fall Prevention instructor for the City of Sacramento's 50 Plus Wellness program, I make sure to include exercises that address each of these components in my classes.  For those who do not have the luxury of an instructor or an activity director, make sure that the senior exercise video you spend your money on has more content that just sitting in the chair throwing your arms around.  Each exercise has a purpose and is intended for a specific muscle group.

My Take 5 to Exercise fall prevention series addresses these 4 components all while seated making them safe for any senior who watches exercise videos at home.  I safely coach the viewer through basic moves intended to improve flexibility and balance, increase strength and endurance, and encourage better posture.   Oh and I also encourage viewers to engage that imagination so be prepared for battle of the bulge!

Show a loved one how much you care, ease your concerns and help break the cycle of fear associated with a fall.  Order a complete set of my Take 5 to Exercise Fall Prevention exercise routines today.

The Fall Prevention Lady

Nancy Reagan and fall prevention

Nancy Reagan fell over the weekend.  The former first lady got up in the middle of the night and fell.   She didn't go to the doctor.  The only reason she went to the doctor 4 days afterward was because the pain in her pelvis got worse.  X-rays indicate that she broke her pelvis when she fell. 

 Falls happen.  No doubt about it, accidents happen.  But there are ways you can reduce your risk of a fall:

1.   Use night lights

2.   Get up slowly from a lying position

3.   Maintain lower body strength by participating a resistance training program.  

4.   Build strong bones by walking and lifting weights 

5.   Stretch what you strengthen!!!

Basically, make the time to Take 5 to Exercise each and everyday.  My Take 5 to Exercise DVD series explains why a person needs to exercise in order to prevent unnecessary falls then I coach you through specific movements designed to reduce your risk of a fall.  

Day 1:  Take 5 for Flexibility

Day 2:  Take 5 for Strength (resistance band included)

Day 3:  Take 5 for Posture

Day 4:  Take 5 for Strength (resistance band & dumbbells)

Day 5:  Take 5 for Maintenance

***DVD running time between 20-30 minutes

The perfect gift for a loved one?  Take 5 to Exercise Fall Prevention DVD series.      Give loved ones their own "Personal trainer in-a-box" set of educational, entertaining DVDs that offer a new approach to seated exercise...edu-tain-ment!!!   Independence for seniors, peace of mind for families.....  order today!  www.take5toexercise.com

The Fall Prevention Lady

YOUR PARENTS AND FALL PREVENTION

My mom, who lives in Pennsylvania, is visiting me this week out here in California and we've been busy!  I have only seen my mom once in the past 6 years so we've been chatting, sightseeing, and hanging out.  Actually, she came here to inspire, encourage and counsel her youngest daughter as I embark on my Take 5 to Exercise fall prevention DVD business, and there's nothing better than mom!  

I have aged and so has my mom.   Like mother, like daughter, my mom remains active and eats healthy which keeps her in great shape.   She is a little rounder, has a little more grey but she's just as sassy as ever!  Since her daughter is the "Fall Prevention Lady", she felt comfortable asking me about her hip pain.  "It feels like it pops out," she said when I asked her why she was limping early one morning. 

After assessing her movement patterns, I recognized an ailment common to ladies in their early 60s.  My mom has hip issues that can be corrected by a simple stretching and strengthening program.  Specifically, her hip abductors are weak and her hip adductors are tight.  Her hip pops when she walks because her hip stabilizers are weak.   This imbalance, plus a super tight piriformis, pulls on her pelvis, causing her knees to bow outward when she squats. I have to say that she was all over the place when I had her stand at balance threshold !!!

Like most people who do not practice balance and/or resistance training, her hip stabilizer muscles are weak but since my mom was a cheerleader in high school and excelled in gymnastics, she is aware of her body movements and quickly responded to my verbal cues.  With consistent practice, she can correct her muscular imbalance, reduce her hip pain and prevent further disability.   

My mom walks 2 miles a day, 5 days a week but she quickly realized that is not enough.  Yes, she is healthy but if she ignored the hip pain and just kept on walking, not strengthening the weak muscles while stretching the tight ones, her pain would become progressively worse while her independence would be increasingly compromised.  

       The moral of my blog:  if you have nagging pains, unusual hip, leg, foot or back pains, please visit a professional.   Nagging pains only get worse when left untreated.  Baby boomers, those 50 and older, are beginning to develop what has become known as boomeritis.    Become aware of boomeritis now so you can continue to live the quality of life you have worked so hard to achieve.

Do what I did and give your mom a 5-day set of my Take 5 to Exercise Fall Prevention DVD series so she can start learning the basics about movement as well as how to stretch tight muscles and strengthen weak ones.  Remember,  you're never too old, or too young to benefit from consistent exercise.  Imbalance leads to compromise and compromise leads to sacrifice.  Don't sacrifice the quality of life you deserve.

Love your mom,

The Balance Enhancement Specialist.