38 sessions of aerobics for the elderly

Currently, there is no unified official standard for the 38-section aerobics for the elderly circulating on the market. The core is a set of aging-friendly fitness routines that cover large joints of the whole body and are low-impact. The mainstream is divided into two schools: traditional health care and sports rehabilitation. As long as the movements are adapted to your own health status, practicing 5 times a week for about 25 minutes each time can effectively reduce the risk of falls and relieve chronic joint pain.

A while ago, I helped my mother look for aerobics information. I looked through manuals distributed by the community, mimeographed copies handed out by the elderly in the park, and public welfare videos from the rehabilitation department of a tertiary hospital. Only then did I realize that the "38 Festival" that everyone talks about is not the same thing at all. The 76-year-old Uncle Li in the community has been practicing the traditional version for 20 years. He leads the exercises in the small garden at 6 o'clock every morning. Each section of that version is accompanied by a jingle, something like "the first section of dry facial cleansing, qi and blood flow to the face." Uncle Li said that their version is "a method saved by the older generation, which is not harmful to the body." There is an 82-year-old aunt in the team. She used to hold the edge of the bed three times to get up. After practicing for a year, she now carries a cloth bag to the vegetable market for two hours without feeling tired.

But the version of Section 38 promoted by the community hospital has a completely different approach. The last time I accompanied my mother to a charity class, the version compiled by Xiao Zhou, a rehabilitation practitioner, included the first 10 sessions of joint warm-up, the middle 20 sessions with a lot of resistance movements such as chair calf raises and sitting with mineral water bottles, and the last 8 sessions were fascia stretching. Xiao Zhou said that the traditional version of the exercise stimulates the muscles too little. Nowadays, many elderly people lose muscle mass quickly and cannot move their joints enough. They followed the elderly who practiced this version for half a year. Their balance test scores increased by 18 points on average, and the risk of falling could be reduced by 40%. This is not nonsense. I specifically checked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for aging-friendly exercise. Muscle strength training is indeed a core item in elderly exercise.

Last month, the community held a fitness exhibition, and the two teams had a little trouble. Traditionalists say that the recovery version is too fast. Last time, an aunt with fluid accumulation in her knees tried it and it hurt for three days. ； The people in the recovery group are not convinced, saying that Aunt Zhang in the team danced the traditional version for half a year. She almost fell when she stepped on a small step in the supermarket. She switched to the rehabilitation version and practiced for two months. Now she can stand on a small stool to dry herself under the quilt. Later, the community invited the director of the Rehabilitation Department of the city's Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital to comment. He said that there was nothing wrong with both versions: those over 70 years old, with chronic diseases or joint injuries should choose the traditional version with gentle movements. ； If you are 60 to 70 years old and have no major physical problems and want to improve your muscle strength, you should choose the rehabilitation version with added resistance. There is no need to argue about who is right and who is wrong.

To be honest, many old people tend to get into trouble when they first start practicing. My mother tried to save time by dancing with an anchor on Douyin. In order to increase her followers, the anchor changed her movements to a very large range, and even shouted, "Lift it to the top of your head to be effective." My mother stretched hard for a week, and her shoulder hurt so much that she couldn't lift it. She went to the hospital to take a X-ray and said it was a slight strain of the rotator cuff. The doctor said that the arm-circling movement is enough for ordinary people to lift it to shoulder height, and there is no need to reach the top of the head. The so-called "must complete 38 sessions to be useful" is even more nonsense: if you have a lumbar disc herniation, you can just skip the waist turning movements in the 21st and 22nd sessions. ； If you have high blood pressure, don't lower your head to reach your toes. Instead, raise your head and look at the sky to achieve the stretching effect. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable. If you stick to the standard, you will easily get injured. Oh, by the way, the rehabilitation teacher Xiao Zhou specifically mentioned that the heart rate should not exceed 60% of (220-age) during training. To put it bluntly, after dancing, you can still chat with people normally without being out of breath and speechless. This intensity is just right.

Yesterday I passed by the small garden after get off work, and I saw the two groups of aunts working together to modify their movements. The traditional group added the rehabilitation version of heel raise movements into their own routines, while the rehabilitation group moved the face-washing movement to the beginning as a warm-up. The two teams played music together, and after the dance, they hooked up their arms and asked to buy eggs on sale in the supermarket. How could they look like they were bickering last month.

In fact, these 38 sections are not originally prescribed movements that must be performed according to standards. To put it bluntly, it is to find a reason for the elderly to go out to move and chat with their old friends. As long as it does not hurt when moving and feels comfortable after dancing, it is better than any standard answer. If your elderly family members want to practice, don’t just search for videos and follow them. Go to a community hospital for a basic exercise ability assessment first, and choose movements that suit your situation. It is safer than anything else.