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Living
Longer Living Stronger strength training program gets seniors on the go!More than 70 veterans and seniors a week are gaining the benefits of exercise through a strengthening program developed by the Nathalia District Hospital in Victoria.
The hospital has established strength training sessions for 120 community health, district nursing and nursing home residents over a 12 month period.
During the development stage, the hospital became an endorsed partner under the Living Longer Living Stronger (LLLS) program with the Council on the Ageing (COTA). This enabled a link to the training, information, resources and promotional opportunities of LLLS for all the Nathalia community, under the guidance of consultant strength coach Eric Rosario.
Community health nurse Beverley Guest-Smith, the person behind the program, says the Veteran & Community Grant enabled her to bring to fruition a desire to improve the physical strength of seniors. The program has now grown from a 12 month pilot program into an ongoing activity.
"We were really interested in three things - improving seniors' physical and mental health, as well as increasing their social participation," Beverley says.
Weekly
sessions were developed for seniors to learn strength training exercises that
would increase their strength and mobility, improve balance, manage diabetes,
help with weight control and reduce high blood pressure. A qualified instructor
conducts the exercise sessions and trains nursing staff in the techniques
to support the development of the LLLS program.
Sue Hendy from COTA also confirms "participants were very keen and are enjoying the benefits, including being able to get out of a chair unassisted for the first time in a long time. They have kept coming and keep telling their friends."
The LLLS program has extended out of the hospital premises to include older people doing strength training in their own homes. They can receive assistance with their exercises from the visiting community nurses, while others attend community programs at a newly established exercise room in Nathalia. District nurse Debra Barnes functions as exercise program team leader, providing encouragement and transport for frail aged clients to attend the program.
Because Nathalia does not have a fitness centre, qualified instructors from the nearby town ensure safety and effectiveness of the programs. David Booth and Betty Cross attend Nathalia weekly from the Numurkah Aquatic, Squash and Fitness Centre.
Ongoing funding to carry the program through the next 12 months as been secured through the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (Vic Health) under its Active Recreation Grant Program. In addition to the grants, the hospital funds the program coordination costs and charges veteran clients $2 and other seniors $4 to attend the weekly sessions.
A couple of participants have been heard to say: "I haven't felt so good for a long time" and "Who would believe a few years ago I would be lifting weights."
Key elements of the program's success include having peer exercise leaders and strong links with the district nurses, says Beverley.
Her advice to other groups interested in establishing strength training exercise programs is to prepare well in advance and develop a team approach to the amount of work involved. She encourages people to write a realistic application and be prepared to follow through with the reporting requirements.
"The benefits for seniors and staff are well worth the effort."
"We started out with a view to running groups of 15 but ended up with groups of 40, as there were so many enthusiastic people wanting to get involved," says Beverley. "I've been working in health promotion for 15 years and it just blew me away the way this generation took on the strength training."
Project: developing a strength training exercise program for seniors to improve physical and mental health and increase social interaction.
Grant value: $35,954
Community benefits: improved quality of life for seniors through development of physical strength and mobility.