Part 1 Forever Young: Secrets of the Older Mind Part 2: Balance, Stability & Fall Prevention
After lunch it was time to get back onto our feet. (If we wanted to)
Guy began session 3 by discussing what he considers to be functional exercises.
First he covered what should be the goals of Ambulation Drills:
* The goal of any balance and fall prevention program should be to get the participant out of their chair and on their feet.
* If independent living and a high level of function are the goals, the client must walk, carry things, weight shift, react, respond, slow down and stop, all while staying upright.***
***If you have been reading my blog post in the past you know that these are the focus of all the training programs my clients use.
What is Functional Training?
* "If you can't logically define it, don't talk about it" Gray Cook
* The problem with Functional Training is the lack of a standardized definition. It has been trendy in the fitness industry to talk about Functional Training.
* Function may mean different things for different people, but there are fundamental principles to help guide us. I like the way my mentor Vern Gambetta has defined it. To paraphrase Vern: Training is functional if it develops whatever it is you want to develop.
What are the elements of Real Functional Strength Exercises?
* Stand without support
* Maximize joint mobility
* Stabilize the torso
* Integrate joint actions (perform movements requiring multiple joints to be used at the same time) As Vern Gambetta would say. "Train Movements, Not Muscles"
* Focus on developing strength and power instead of endurance.
Practical Applications:
Exercise Functional Activity Effected
Getting up Can save your life if you fall. My Mentor Dan John explains why
off the floor:
Squats Sitting up from any seated position including: chairs, toilets, couches, etc
Lunges Getting out of the bath tub, off the floor, climbing stairs
Deadlift Picking up items off the floor such as laundry baskets or a child
Pushing Pushing a lawnmower or heavy door
Pulling Raking leaves, removing clothes from the dryer, pulling the lawnmower cord
Rotating Shoveling snow, grabbing a purse from the back seat, grabbing food from a
grocery shelf
Examples of how I build my clients strength levels can be found here.
Next Guy covered what I would considered how to improve the most functional activity of all:
Walking
He began by covering using correct posture while walking. For more information on my thoughts on the subject look here: MAST Fitness Blog Posts covering Posture
Next Guy covered some drills to improve gait: How do I improve my clients gait? MAST Fitness Blog Post covering Mobility
Loaded Carries are one of what I consider the most functional exercises of all. Think about how much carry over there is to practicing walking while carrying weights at your side or overhead.
MAST Fitness Blog posts covering Loaded Carries
Agility: The ability to change directions, stop and start movements and react to changes in how the weight of our bodies are shifting
We then spent the the rest of session 3 performing a variety of drills. there where so many that it would take multiple blog post to describe then them all.
Some examples of agility drills: Resisted Walking, U-turn drill, Mirror Lateral Shuffle, "Herding Cats", Jack Rabbit Agility Drill, Weaving Agility Drill, Obstacle Course, Stepping Stone Drills, Hurdle Stepping, Step Ups/Step Downs, Balance Beam Challenge, Lateral Shuffle
In addition the these some of my personal favorites that I use with my clients: Clock Steps, Teeter Totters, Leaning Tower, Cross Over Lunges, Forwards and Backwards Weight Shifts, Moving One Legged Hip Hinges. How do you physically prepare for retirement Part 5
Next weeks post will cover the 4th and last session: Making Connections: Challenging the Older Brain.
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