As you grow older, an active lifestyle is more important than ever before. Regular exercise can help boost your energy and manage symptoms of illness or pain. Exercise can even reverse some of the symptoms of aging. And not only is exercise good for your body, it’s also good for your mind, mood and memory. International fitness therapist Neeraj Mehta conducted “ fit @ fifty ”, a special workshop in collaboration with Helpage India to highlight the importance of fitness and exercise for senior age group.
Explaining the rationale for conducting the workshop, Neeraj says there is a misconception that aged persons cannot exercise, especially strength training. “But it is internationally proven that a person who is becoming older is most lacking in his or her muscle strength because they are losing their hormones and body balance. So, if they train themselves in strength training, they can strengthen their upper and lower body parts and also increases their metabolic process.”
Revealing this idea behind conducting a workshop with senior citizens, Mehta says, “One day almost ten years ago I was running in the park early morning in Mumbai and saw a lot of senior citizens, both male and female, walking. But their style of walking was faulty. I realised that this is due to their exposure to an inactive lifestyle for a very long time and this is also the reason why they are exposed to all the medical challenges. No one was walking straight. They were putting strain on one side of their body. So, I was a little worried about the health of the nation.”
He gave a brief introduction about BMXStrength, (A Biomechanics Exercise), a technique of exercise which is patented by Mehta, where body movements are very friendly with the joints and connective tissues, which give maximum results in a short span. He also explained the importance of correct posture and movements in order to improve the functional ability in routine life.
Talking about the Indian scenario, Mehta feels that senior citizens have a lot of mental barriers about exercising and they depend more on doctors. “It will take little time to make them understand about the importance of exercise.”
Describing exercise as a magic pill for the elderly folks, Mehta advises them to associate themselves with some kind of physical activity weather it is gardening, yoga or even cleaning their own room as they would help them to enhance their overall well-being.
