Fitness, Fun And Friends - Silver Sneakers Fitness Program

The importance of physical activity for older adults is being studied more frequently, with many conclusions showing that the more active older adults are, the more likely they are able to prevent the onset of diseases. Exercise has proven beneficial in preventing heart disease and to control other conditions such as arthritis and diabetes.

In order for older adults to maintain a healthy lifestyle and help them get the exercise they need, there's a fun solution older adults are raving about in Utah, called the Healthways SilverSneakers Fitness Program. SilverSneakers is the nation's leading fitness program designed exclusively for older adults, and is available at no additional cost to eligible Medicare members. In Utah, this program is offered to eligible members of Humana and SecureHorizons by UnitedHealthcare.

Fitness

This unique program allows older adults to take charge of their health and maintain an active, independent lifestyle. "The long-term health benefits of regular exercise for older adults are compelling," says Steve Lindstrom, Healthways senior vice president of Active Living. "In addition to helping seniors stay physically healthy, SilverSneakers also offers a great way for them to socialize, meet new friends and have fun."

Fitness, Fun And Friends - Silver Sneakers Fitness Program

Every enrolled member of SilverSneakers receives a membership at any participating fitness center, where members can take advantage of conditioning classes, exercise equipment, pool, sauna and other amenities. At each fitness center, there is a specially trained senior advisor to introduce the member to the program and acquaint the member with the site.

Every site offers customized SilverSneakers classes which allow the member to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. Additionally, health education seminars and other events that promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle are available.

"It's those important extras such as social events, health education seminars and health screening for such conditions as high blood pressure, cholesterol and flu shot availability that play such an important role in the overall success of the program," said Mr. Lindstrom. Members also have the opportunity to take advantage of the national reciprocity feature of the program, which allows access to any of the certified 2,600 plus participating locations across the nation while traveling.

SilverSneakers was designed specifically to encourage Medicareeligible individuals to increase their levels of physical activity and motivate them to continue to be active. As of September 2007, the SilverSneakers program is offered in 49 states at no additional cost to more than 3 million Medicareeligible individuals through its national network.

Fitness, Fun And Friends - Silver Sneakers Fitness Program

Lauren Hitchcock
Healthways
Simply Seniors News
http://SimplySeniorsNews.com

For more information about the SilverSneakers Fitness Program, or to see participating Utah centers call toll-free at (888) 423-4632 or visit SilverSneakers online at http://www.SilverSneakers.com

Weight Lifting Workout Program - Bulk and Strength 3 Day Split

Here is a basic, effective weight lifting workout program which will get you rolling in the iron game while efficiently gaining muscle and getting stronger. The program is split three ways with a day of rest in between each. After the last workout we allow a full 2 days of rest, both for recuperative purposes as well as convenience and practicality.

Each exercise in the weight lifting workout program will consist of doing 2 warm up sets with light weight, and then 2 working sets with relatively heavy weight, unless otherwise noted. Repetitions will try to be around 6-8.

Workout

Monday- We start out the weight lifting workout program training our Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. For your chest you will ideally want to perform the bench press. After you perform your 2 warmups and then your 2 working sets, we'll move on to another chest exercise, the pectoral butterfly or "pec dec" machine, for another 2 warmups and 2 working sets. Shoulders are up next and we'll want to start out with seated or standing barbell shoulder presses. Next up comes more of an isolation exercise such as shoulder dumbbell laterals to be performed for slightly higher reps, say 8-10. Triceps are next and we will perform tricep pressdowns on a cable station for 2 warmups and 2 working sets. Since triceps have already been worked through both bench press and shoulder press, we will only do 2 sets of triceps then bring them out of the oven and we are through for day one of this weight lifting workout program.

Wednesday - This days weight lifting workout program will consist of a Leg workout. If you can perform squats safely and properly then that is the recommended exercise. If you are not use to squats you should use the leg press machine. Again, 2 warmups, 2 working. Next up are Leg Extensions performed on the leg exstension machine. After that we will hit the back of the legs - the hamstrings. Hammy's, like triceps, we are only going to work with one exercise and that is reverse leg extensions on a machine. This isolates the hams well and you'll feel the burn in the back of your leg. Repetitions will fall slightly higher in the 10-12 range. Next we will move on to a calf machine and perform 2 sets with higher repetitions of 12-20, and that will complet Wednesdays weight lifting workout program.

Friday- For this weight lifting workout program day we are training back and biceps. For back we will peform either barbell rows, or if your gym has a good hammer machine row that is acceptable as well. Repetitions for our 2 working sets fall within the 6-8 range. Next for back we perform "Lat pulldowns" on the lat pulldown cable machine. Repetitions rise to the 8-10 range for lat pulldowns. Next up is Biceps and these can be trained with standing bicep dumbell curl exercise. Then we can do one set of seated concentration curls. Since the biceps will already have been worked from the back exercises, we need only do one concetration curl set (one set per arm), and we've wrapped up Fridays weight lifting workout program.

Saturday and Sunday we take off, and then Monday we hit it strong again with the chest, shoulder, tricep workout.

This essentially is an exercise outline for a basic and very effective weight lifting workout program. It allows one major lift to be performed, followed by a more minor isolation movement to be performed. The sets are low as to avoid overtraining while allowing the body to recover and hence muscle growth to occur. You can further tweak or tailor this weight lifting workout program to your own liking based on the effectiveness of the given exercises, as well as personal preference towards certain exercise you feel may feel more comfortable performing.

Weight Lifting Workout Program - Bulk and Strength 3 Day Split

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How to Plan an Effective Fitness Program

Making the decision to improve your health and lifestyle through the introduction of a fitness program is something which thousands of people decide to do every day. Unfortunately many of those same people will not last more than one month in their exercise regime either because of a loss of motivation or more likely due to the fact that their fitness program was unrealistic to begin with. If you really want to succeed with your exercise goals then the first golden rule is to make sure that your fitness plan will be realistic enough for you to stick with on a long term basis.

Too many people when first starting to become active in fitness have high levels of motivation only to find that after a few weeks this initial rush begins to weaken and evaporate. Exercise plans of any description only become effective when sustained on a consistent basis and over long periods of time. This is the reason why it is far better to plan a fitness program which you know you will be able to do without interruption for many weeks or months simply because they it not demand too much of your time. Fitness results often take time to achieve so you must have the patience and perseverance to keep going even when it seems you are not making much progress.

Fitness

Another important aspect of any fitness regime is to keep a log or diary of how you are progressing. This can be anything from records of your weight loss to how fast you are able to complete a particular course or fitness task. Psychologically it is important to be able to compare and contrast how you were before with how you are now and this will also allow you to see where any changes could be made in order to improve your program. Don't be afraid to ask for advice or to do your own research on the Internet as the more you understand about fitness the more likely it is that you will be successful in reaching your goals.

How to Plan an Effective Fitness Program

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