Say goodbye to aging in a rocking chair or in front of the TV. At Arbor Terrace Roseland, our residents are practicing active aging, and it’s anything but boring! As we continue to welcome new residents into our senior living community, we’re not only seeing younger seniors, but we’re noticing a stronger desire to stay more active. With that, we knew it was time to level up our engagement programs with the best Roseland, NJ fitness program.We partnered with fitness training company AAAI/ISMA Fitness to implement their tailor-made senior fitness certification training class for our team. It started with sending staff to become certified senior fitness trainers, and it ended with amazing results, such as significantly less falls, better mobility, and increased happiness.
What Is Active Aging?
When we age, we tend to lose flexibility and our “fast-twitch” muscle fibers, but there’s much we can do to help residents improve in this area. Through focused fitness and wellness classes, our residents have a lot of fun while improving strength, flexibility, balance, and more. From playing music to hitting a volleyball, we focus on programming that promotes overall health and wellness. Essentially, active aging is a comprehensive program to break the stereotypes of aging and meet the population of people over the age of 50 by tailoring programs that they want and need to lead healthy, active lifestyles. In fact, many of our residents express an interest in focusing on their overall health and well-being, which is another reason we decided to amp up our wellness programming.
Fitness Program Highlights
Our fitness program isn’t all about cardio and weight lifting. We implement a comprehensive wellness routine that serves our residents’ overall well-being, and we’re proud to serve our assisted living and memory care residents. A few of the exercise group classes include:
- Tai chi
- Yoga
- Mediation and deep breathing to reduce stress
- Strength training with exercise bands
- Cardio on the treadmill
- Balance
- Flexibility
- Dancing
- Wellness talks
- Hydration education and healthy eating
Our dedicated and passionate Fitness Coordinator, Cate Flores, brings this program to life to promote wellness, happiness, and stress reduction.
“The program has been phenomenal. I have seen incredible improvements in our residents. And one resident even improved his flexibility in sit and reach by 10 inches in only two months,” Cate says.
In addition to organizing group fitness classes, Cate enjoys leading one-on-one sessions with residents to really focus on their personal fitness goals. Whether someone wants to regain strength after surgery or gain the ability to accomplish everyday tasks like walking better or having better balance, she is happy to help.
Fitness Program Benefits
The benefits of our new fitness program have been spectacular. In our community, we’ve experienced fewer falls, with a 37% decrease in falls from March 2022 to March 2023, after implementing this fitness program. In addition, residents are reporting lower blood pressure, improvement in walking up steps, and weight loss.
The residents' testimonials speak for themselves and show us just how beneficial this fitness program is. Some residents now have better arm mobility, and others say they can now conquer going up a flight of stairs. Family members even say just how well their loved ones are doing since engaging in fitness in our community. It’s all about helping residents live more independently and enjoy their lives, families, and friends that much more.
Cate loves to witness the residents laughing, making new friendships, and having a blast while building confidence in the fitness program. It’s a whole-person approach that impacts every area of their lives.
“What motivates me is helping others,” she says. “My favorite part of my job is connecting with the residents, and we have fun. They’re my friends.”
Camaraderie is everything at Arbor Terrace Roseland, and our fitness program has multiplied opportunities to build these connections, which sparks less stress and more confidence in our residents. Staying active through this tailor-made fitness program for seniors has transformed the lives of many of our residents. From fewer falls to more smiles, we are excited to continue focusing on health and wellness in our Roseland, NJ senior living community.
Learn more today by scheduling a tour at (973) 828-0985.
