SENIORS FITNESS NEWSLETTER:
March 2024
Welcome to the System Fitness Newsletter March 2024:
############################
“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art”
Stanislaw Jerzy Lec (PolishPoet)
In this newsletter:
-
Changes to class programme
-
Ankle flexibility
-
Film Tip
-
Strength exercises support brain health
-
Age without Limits - action day
There are a few changes taking place to our class programme as follows:
There is a new class taking place every Tuesday at 11.30am in Northfield at the Allens Cross Community Centre, Tinkers Farm Road B31 (near to Northfield Sainsburys / off Frankly Beeches road) Bus routes 61.
Our Thursday class in Rubery now takes place in the Fathers Barn, New Road B45 9JA (next to the Co-op / Subway) every Thursday at 11.30am. The class is handy for bus routes (18 & 63), there is car parking and also a cafe next door for a post class caffeine fix!.
Booking arrangements: Our classes are getting busier and as a result we have had to introduce ‘booking’ arrangements for our Classes on Tuesday 9.30am, Stirchley 11am and West Heath 10am.
If you are not a regular attender for these classes please ring before attending.
Thank you to everyone who is supporting these classes.
FILM TIP: Have you seen ‘Nyad’?
Nyad –is a film currently on Netflix about the true story of former competitive swimmer Diana Nyad who at the age of 64 swam from Cuba toFlorida (110 miles).A swim which she tried and failed to do 35 years before!……
……..Age is just a number!
Move your ankles!
Its easy to ignore just how important ankle movement and flexibility is:
Tight ankles can make it challenging to get up-and-down without straining your knees or lower back. Limited ankle range can affect your walking and running gait, but also impacts on other moves likes squats.
There are 11 significant muscles linked to your ankle, particularly in your lower leg. Like most parts of our body all our parts are interlinked!
If you experience stiff ankles (and you are most likely to experience this when you wake up) it can be useful to move your feet before you get out of bed.
Moving your ankles –turning your feet up and down also helps to improve circulation in your feet.
Other easy moves include walking on your toes and heels to improve ankle strength.
Those of you who can squat or dip but find it a little struggle will find that flexing your ankles before your try to squat will help make it a little easier.
Strength Exercises support brain health!
Recent research has highlighted how keeping strong improves your brain health. There is increasing research on this.
One study published last year related to 190,406 UK adults in the United Kingdom and found that Handgrip strength was associated with fluid intelligence, prospective memory and dementia diagnoses; this association was most pronounced for vascular dementia.
In this research hand grip strength is used as a ‘proxy’ measure ofoverall strength as these tend to be closely related.
So along with the significant benefits of improving strength for heart, bone health and fighting frailty – research is highlighting it helps us maintain brain function too!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Age is just a number (again)….
On the 4th February former RAF Squadron Leader aged 102, Jack Hemmings flew a former WW2 Spitfire aircraft for the first time.
See article in BBC News
…………........Age is just a number!
Age without Limits – Action Day!
The 20thMarch has been identified as an ‘Action Day’ to challenge stereotypes around ageing.
It is being organised by the Centre for Ageing Better.
FEEDBACK: If you have any questions, want to know any more about anything raised in this newsletter or what you would like included – please don’t hesitate to get in touch.