Exercise Programming for Older Adults

The exercise programming guidelines provided in this book focus on functional fitness training and safety and demonstrate how physical activities supervised by activities personnel can strongly benefit participants’quality of life. Exercise Programming for Older Adults guarantees that exercise programming attains a balance between the three major physical components--aerobic, strength, and flexibility training--and that each component is properly administered. The techniques and applications described are geared toward those with prevalent conditions of aging such as arthritis, osteoporosis, joint replacement, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This essential handbook arms the reader with a multidisciplinary approach to exercise management for elderly populations. The chapter authors are experts from the fields of fitness instruction, nursing, physical therapy, medicine, research, and exercise physiology. As they address the theory and practice of providing sound exercise programming, specific exercises are described and illustrated, with emphasis on functional fitness outcomes, safety precautions, fall prevention, and practical adaptations for low-fit and physically limited participants. Chapter discussions include:

• aerobic exercise
  
• strength training
  
• flexibility training
  
• the administration of mild posture and breathing exercises for debilitated individuals with poor prognoses
  
• positioning and transfer techniques essential for optimal activities management of neurologically impaired patients
  
• warm water exercise programs designed for persons with low tolerance of conventional training methods
  
  Exercise Programming for Older Adults serves as a vital resource for activity coordinators in long-term care settings and for group fitness instructors and personal trainers who serve older adult and frail elderly clientele. Readers will discover alternative techniques and applications for maximizing the physical and mental therapeutic benefits of exercise and developing the functional fitness of even the most physically challenged participants.