When we talk about what we use for determining how fit a person is, the criteria may surprise some people. For people over the age of 50, the Five Pillars of Fitness are: Cardio Health, Strength, Flexibility, Coordination, and Balance.
Cardio Health
Most of us are familiar with our cardio health and how to improve it and maintain it. Frequent heart-healthy exercise: walking, running, biking, swimming, and aerobic classes all work to make your heart healthy and maintain that level of fitness. The heart is a muscle and needs to be exercised like all muscles. Working that muscle on a regular basis and increasing the duration, intensity, and frequency are all good practices to keep your heart fit.
Strength
We all know that we need to work our other muscles to make them strong and keep them that way. Whether you like to use weight machines, free weights or any other variety of toys, my personal favorites are Resistance bands, a Pilates ring, Swiss ball or even a Bosu will give you different results. In addition to finding a method that works for you, consistency is key. This is especially true for so many women who lack upper body strength.
Flexibility
Most people don’t realize that as we get older the last 3 components of fitness become just as important, if not more so. Flexibility, coordination and balance impact all aspects of our lives every day and the need for all three are just as essential as the first two pillars. Flexibility refers to how nimble we are, how fluidly we move, and ideally, how comfortably our movements are. How well does your body seem to flow from one movement to the other?
Think specifically about your hips, ankles, shoulders, knees, and neck. Do you work on it? Most of us do not stretch as much as we should, especially if we find ourselves sitting in the same position for too long. Yoga classes and now, actual stretching classes, can help you get started and ensure you’re doing it correctly.
Coordination
Coordination is the 4th pillar and refers to how well all your body parts move in sync together at the same time. Coordination incorporates movements that are accurate, controlled, and fluid. Think about walking-do you swing your arms in time when you step forward? Can you swing the opposite arm? Can you do it without thinking about it?
There are 3 different types of coordination: Hand/Eye Coordination, Gross Motor Skills, and Fine Motor Skills. All diminish with age, because of vision changes, poor health, or other issues related to balance. We can and should try to incorporate all 3 types into our daily lives to keep from losing them. Hand and eye coordination is required for driving, cooking, and dressing. Exercise and sports can be helpful and fun ways to improve and maintain those skills.
Gross motor skills involve movements we make using the larger muscle groups, like walking or dancing. Fine motor skills utilize the smaller muscle groups and common movements include picking up objects of varying sizes, like when cooking or during an artistic activity.
Balance
The last pillar is balance, which is essential as we age to avoid falls. Working on balance every day is important and easy to do. Try standing on one foot, all the while making sure you have something to hold onto. Switch the foot that you raise and gradually increase the time you have the foot up. I encourage my clients to walk outside, thus negotiating an uneven walking surface.
Spending time every day on these 5 Pillars of Fitness ensures that we age as injury-free as possible.
Want to work on these in a fun way? Contact me at 908.619.8768 and we can discuss your goals and set up a plan to work together.
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