Functional Aging Institute

I’m excited about a new certification that I completed this year. At Fitness Education Institute’s Eclipse 2014, a conference for personal trainers in New York City, I got to sit in on the lecture portion of the Functional Aging Specialist program. It is a program put together by two PhD’s out of Indianapolis who have dedicated themselves to the training of the Baby-Boomer crowd. I was impressed by their genuine dedication and enthusiasm for working with this group that can really benefit from good training! Some quick facts include:

1: Older adults lose fast twitch (Type II) Muscle fibers more quickly than slow twitch (Type I). This means a loss of power and speed which is hard wired into the aging process. It is however highly reversible through strength training! Learn to love kettlebells!

2: Vision is critical to balance and coordination. As we age, eyesight declines (is the print on menus getting smaller?). Having strong body awareness and a good sense of balance can counteract the unsteadiness that comes with less acute vision. Single legged work like multi-directional lunges are a great way to train this.

3. Physical decline happens to us all, but earlier commitment to physical activity changes the trajectory of the decline. It is entirely possible for an 80 year old to outperform a 60 year old in any category!