New Assessment Pairs Residents with Fitness Levels
Whether a resident is introducing fitness into their weekly routines for the first time in a long while or they have maintained a devoted fitness regimen, the Wellness Team at Friendship Haven is ready to help monitor their progress. The support from the Wellness Team and a new, simple assessment are helping residents make the most of their fitness journey.
Leading this new assessment is Wellness Team Member, Lexi Slater. She recently joined Friendship Haven a few months ago and has spent the first few months in her new role focusing on administering Senior Fitness Tests (SFT’s). The SFT is a series of six exercises and stretches which give a baseline of the participant’s strength, endurance, balance, flexibility and body mass index. The purpose of the SFT is to assess lower and upper body flexibility and strength, assess the agility and dynamic balance for household tasks and assess body weight relative to body height. Residents will find that the initial benefit of the SFT’s is the matching to the classes or personal training that best suits their fitness needs.
“Over the past month and a half, I have tested 70 residents with the Senior Fitness Test,” shares Lexi. “Once the initial SFT has been completed we encourage residents to attend the scheduled classes that are offered throughout the day.”
The value of the SFT’s does not end there. The Wellness Team wants to see residents continually improve their abilities and fitness levels. After six months, Lexi will be contacting those that have been tested to have them take their second round of the SFT to see how they have maintained or improved their physical health.
Out of the 70 residents having completed the SFT thus far, 30 of those residents had already come to 3 or more classes per week. Another 10 of those 70 participants that had not done any exercise related activity prior to the testing have increased their daily attendance in classes or in the weight room for one on one training sessions. Lexi is looking forward to increasing this number. “My goal is to see a total of 50 of the 70 residents in two or more classes a week,” she says.
If you are interested in learning more about the Senior Fitness Tests or the multitude of fitness services available at Friendship Haven, feel free to stop in or reach out to the Wellness Team.
515-573-6720
Liz Flattery
Andrea Doster
Lexi Slater
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