{"id":11938,"date":"2017-05-19T07:00:07","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T12:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=11938"},"modified":"2020-10-14T11:00:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T16:00:18","slug":"for-fewer-falls-build-your-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2017\/05\/for-fewer-falls-build-your-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"For Fewer Falls, Build Your Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>For Fewer Falls, Build Your Strength<a href=\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2017\/05\/For-Fewer-Falls-Build-Your-Strength.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-11958\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2017\/05\/For-Fewer-Falls-Build-Your-Strength-350x293.png\" alt=\"For Fewer Falls, Build Your Strength\" width=\"350\" height=\"293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2017\/05\/For-Fewer-Falls-Build-Your-Strength-350x293.png 350w, https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2017\/05\/For-Fewer-Falls-Build-Your-Strength-768x644.png 768w, https:\/\/s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/img.prod.aplaceformom.com\/main\/uploads\/sa-blog\/2017\/05\/For-Fewer-Falls-Build-Your-Strength.png 940w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/h1>\n<p>Doctors and physical therapists have known for a long time that weight-bearing exercises like walking and strength-training help our bones stay strong as we age\u2014and that can help prevent falls and fractures. Now, a Penn State Health doctor who developed a <a href=\"http:\/\/news.psu.edu\/story\/462456\/2017\/04\/13\/medical-minute-exercise-helps-keep-seniors-safe-falls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>strength-training program for seniors<\/b><\/a> has found that \u201cpeople as old as age 80 have increased their muscle strength by 100% following a year of regular strength training.\u201d Here&#8217;s how you or your parents can start pumping iron (or at least stretching elastic bands) to keep you safely upright and active.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"western\">How the Band Together program builds senior fitness<\/h2>\n<p>Although the Penn State Health Band Together program only has six exercises, some participants have doubled their strength. That&#8217;s in part because the exercises were chosen to work major muscle groups and to support activities of daily living:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shoulder presses help you build the strength to safely do things like lift boxes over your head and push them onto a shelf.<\/li>\n<li>Arm curls give you the strength to carry things without dropping them or hurting your back.<\/li>\n<li>Pulls or rows help build arm and upper body strength for pulling and moving household items.<\/li>\n<li>Chest presses help you push away from things without straining.<\/li>\n<li>Calf raises help you stand on tiptoe while maintaining your balance.<\/li>\n<li>Chair stands build core and leg muscles for stair-climbing and walking safely.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can watch a video for each of the <a href=\"http:\/\/btpennstate.org\/exercises\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>six Band Together exercises<\/b><\/a> in which Dr. Sciamanna demonstrates the move and explains how to do it with proper form.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"western\">Why doctors emphasize strength for independent living<\/h2>\n<p>Balance is important to prevent falls, and so is strength, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, stronger muscles help us stay upright in the first place. For another, strength training can help us maintain bone density as we age. That can reduce the risk of a bone break that causes a fall \u2013 a typical scenario for a hip fracture, which can signal the end of independent living for many sufferers.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"western\">How to learn more or start a Band Together senior exercise program<\/h2>\n<p>Churches and community groups that want to learn more about starting a Band Together program can fill out the <a href=\"http:\/\/btpennstate.org\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>contact form on the Band Together website<\/b><\/a>. If your group is in the Hershey, PA, area, there are several <a href=\"http:\/\/btpennstate.org\/locations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>local Band Together groups<\/b><\/a> that welcome visitors for a free observation session where you can learn more. You can also watch a 9-minute video of one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/IVcikgAyRE0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>senior workout sessions here.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"western\">Other strength training options for seniors<\/h2>\n<p>If Band Together isn&#8217;t an option for your group, or if you don&#8217;t have a group to exercise with, there are still plenty of strength training resources you can use. You can start with some light hand weights, resistance bands, and this <a href=\"https:\/\/nihseniorhealth.gov\/exerciseandphysicalactivityexercisestotry\/strengthexercises\/01.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>senior strength-training exercise sheet<\/b><\/a> from the National Institutes of Health. If you&#8217;re really into the details, you can download this 126-page free guide from the Centers for Disease Control: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/physicalactivity\/downloads\/growing_stronger.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Growing Stronger \u2013 Strength Training for Older Adults<\/b><\/a>. For minimalists and easy strength training on the road, there are <a href=\"http:\/\/health.usnews.com\/health-news\/health-wellness\/articles\/2016-01-29\/8-best-equipment-free-strength-exercises-for-older-adults\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>senior-approved exercises<\/b><\/a> that build muscle without requiring any special equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Fitness is one of the keys to <b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/independent-living\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">independent living<\/a>, <\/b>and you can find more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?s=senior+fitness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>senior fitness information<\/b><\/a> on our blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For Fewer Falls, Build Your Strength Doctors and physical therapists have known for a long time that weight-bearing exercises like walking and strength-training help our bones stay strong as we age\u2014and that can help prevent falls and fractures. Now, a Penn State Health doctor who developed a strength-training program for seniors has found that \u201cpeople as old as age 80 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,4,35],"tags":[70,45],"class_list":{"0":"post-11938","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-families-caregivers","7":"category-independent-living","8":"category-senior-health-fitness","9":"tag-independent-living-2","10":"tag-senior-health"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>For Fewer Falls, Build Your Strength - SeniorAdvisor.com Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For Fewer Falls, Build Your Strength. 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