Tag: Movement

Three Kinds of Movement

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to sponsor a booth at the West Side Boomer Bash in Cleveland. It was an event for local older adults to interact with businesses and organizations that work with their demographic. We had some free giveaways and information, but I was looking for ways to engage in conversation with those passing by our table. I remembered the advice I learned at the 2024 IDEA & ACSM Health & Fitness Summit in Chicago; I blogged afterwards about a new way to look at the work that I do–focusing more on the term “movement” rather than “fitness.” I began by asking, “What are you doing to keep moving?” The answers were varied from “I don’t” to “I walk my dog” to “I go to the local gym several times a week.” It got people talking and gave me the chance to talk about the work that we do at At Home Senior Fitness.

A recent article on CNN.com discussed the idea of “movement” a little more in depth. The article focused on the advice of Melissa Boyd, a personal trainer and expert in the field of health and fitness. She explained that there are three kinds of movement, and that all are necessary for overall health and fitness.

  1. The first is the kind of movement that is required by your body every day. This includes walking (which Boyd says is not really enough), bending, and stretching. Our bodies need these on a regular basis simply to allow us to do the activities of daily living.
  2. Next is athletic movement; this is intentional exercise or movement with the aim of fitness or training for a sport. This should be done several times each week.
  3. Last is social movement; this includes dancing and playing a sport. This is movement that allows us to interact with others and to have fun.

Unfortunately, many older adults focus only on the that first kind of movement–and for some that is a critical issue. Ideally, throughout our lives we should clear room in our schedule for athletic and social movement as well. Our bodies need all kinds of movement if we hope to stay healthy and fit as we age.

Let’s Move, Everybody!

One of the biggest obstacles facing us at all ages is sedentarism; this is just a fancy word for “not moving.” It is definitely a 21st Century word. For many, the situation got worse since COVID; we used to walk around an office or visit customers, but now a lot of us are just sitting in front of computers. I certainly was more active at the gym when I barely sat down; now I spend about half of my day working with clients virtually sitting on my kiester.

At the recent IDEA & ACSM Health & Fitness Summit, I took a session with Judy Juvance-Heltzel and Stephanie Davis Dierenger (both of University of Akron) entitled “Promoting Life-Long Physical Activity: Strategies for All Ages.” The course was divided into two parts: 1. theory and strategies, and 2. brainstorming and presenting.

We are being encouraged to focus less on the word “fitness” and more on the word “movement.” People are often put off by the word “fitness;” they think that if they are not “fit” then the activity will not be for them. “Movement,” on the other hand, is something that almost all of us do and we should strive to do more. Of course, as trainers, we do not want to focus just on movement; the progression should be from movement to physical activity to exercise to fitness. It is the obligation of fitness professionals to move individuals from one level to the next.

The active part of the program (pictured above) required us to grab a bunch of objects that we can find at home and find ways to make them into “fitness equipment.” Tennis balls to staplers to trash cans to paper plates all became devices to get people moving at home. Why articles that are found at home? Many folks are turned off by the idea of going to a gym or cannot afford it. We were challenged to provide ways for people to move more using what they can find close at hand. It was a real throwback to the early days of the pandemic when very few people had exercise equipment at home and we were working out with canned goods, books, and cans of paint. The solutions worked for people at any age with any level of fitness!

It is not ideal for individuals to exercise only in this kind of ad hoc way, but it can be a start to more frequent movement which will lead to activity, etc. What I liked was that the course got us all thinking creatively. Sedentarism is a serious problem and if the old solutions worked the issue would be solved already. Using a little ingenuity, we can help to bring greater levels of fitness and awareness of activity to those who are mostly just sitting around–from children in front of their screens to older adults in front of the TV.

What have you got at home that you can use to exercise? Here is a hint: can you squat while picking up a full trash can?