Only the Leaves Should Fall!
“The best way to enjoy beautiful falling leaves is to stay upright!” says Terri Ivanoski, PurposeFULL living manager in Vista Terrace at North Hill. Here are some tips she offers to walk safely and maintain balance during the autumn season and all year long!
Stay active! Regular exercise keeps our muscles strong, our joints healthy and our minds alert: all important factors in maintaining balance and avoiding falls.
Wear the Right Footwear: Wear shoes that are comfortable, with low heels and good arch and ankle support. Shoes with a non-skid sole are especially important when walking on wet leaves. When the snow flies wear sturdy, waterproof boots and remember that non-skid sole.
Begin Slowly: The leaves, (and then the snow!) will stick around for a while. Begin your stroll at a leisurely pace. You can pick it up later if you feel inclined. You’ll still enjoy all the benefits of walking and maintaining balance. It’s a good idea to go slowly whenever changing postion like getting out of bed or up from a chair. Steady as she goes!
Choose a Path That’s Flat and Navigable: You don’t have to climb a mountain to get the benefits of exercise or maintain balance. Walking through the park, or along a pretty city street can be interesting and relaxing. Enjoy the views of nature or creative window dressings while you stroll. Remember, too, to keep your home enviornment clear and safe for walking so you don’t stumble over boxes or shoes left by the door. It’s always a good idea to to install some grab bars and non stick mats at home to avoid falls.
Walk With a Friend: There’s so much to talk about when the seasons change! Walking with a friend will probably extend the length of your walk and make the time pass quickly. You can be there to suppport each other as you gain strength and balance.
Stay Hydrated: Drink water before you go and carry a bottle with you. 
A few more thoughts:
- Check with your doctor before beginning a new exercise or walking program
- Have your doctor review your medications annually to continue with your exercise program
- Stay nourished! Include whole grains, proteins and fruits and vegetables in your daily diet
- Limit alcohol intake to one drink per day
At Vista Terrace we offer daily exercise classes as well as balance training to keep residents fit, happy and healthy. You can take your cue from them. Get out there and walk around in our beautiful New England Autumn, and make sure it’s only the leaves that fall!
Stretching for Strength and Flexibility
Stretch for Strength and Flexibility “Flexibility is the ability of joints to maintain full range of motion,” says Terri Ivanoski, PurposeFULL Living Manager at North Hill’s Vista Terrace. “As we age, our muscles lose strength and size, becoming stiff and less elastic,” she adds.
Oh no! Feeling stiff might encourage us to take seat, but resist the temptation! The less we move, the stiffer we become! So, take a little time every day to stretch and you’ll enjoy all the benefits of keeping your muscles in shape:
Good Posture: We can still hear their voices; mom, teacher, dance instructor, trainer: stand up straight, don’t slouch! They knew what they were talking about. Stretching helps maintain good posture which reduces the force of gravity on muscles and joints. As a result, we breathe easy and improve digestion. Good posture also helps keep the spine in alignment and reduces muscle fatigue. And admit it, don’t you feel more confident when you’re walking tall?
Reduced Soreness: Stretching increases the temperature of our tissues, thus facilitating the transportation of nutrients and overall circulation and causing our muscles to relax. Warm, relaxed muscles are less likely to fell achy and sore.
A Comfortable Back: Our lower muscles support our backs. Keeping our hamstrings, hip flexors and quadriceps limber helps to avoid the discomfort of lower back pain and the damage to muscles and bones that can accumulate over time.
A Body in Motion: Stretching helps relax our mind and body, and avoid pain. When our muscles feel good they invite us to use them more! We are designed to move, so regardless of how young or how old, we should stretch daily for health in mind and body.
Get Started! Terri suggests we start slowly. Stretch gently and hold each stretch for 30 seconds. Focus first on larger muscle groups: shoulders, hamstrings, hips and lower back, and calf muscles. Yoga poses offer optimal stretches so find a class near you. And remember that good nutrition completes a healthy lifestyle and nourishes muscles.
So stand up straight, don’t slouch and eat your vegetables every day!
Site Launch
Our new website is finally up. We’ve worked hard to get a beautiful new site ready and we’re proud to show it off. Thanks for reading our blog. We have lots of great blog posts in the works. Please check back or contact us now to find out how we can help you.
For the seniors at North Hill, 70 really is the new 50
Recently, the folks at Helsinki University Research (HUR) asked if they could feature someone from our fitness team in an ongoing series they call “HUR’s Heros.” If you’re a resident of North Hill, you have likely used the HUR strength training and balance equipment installed in our Fitness Center, and love it as much as we do. HUR’s Heros is about showcasing the people behind the health and wellness programs at some of the nation’s leading senior living communities, so we were thrilled to be selected.
HUR spoke with Linda Riley our Fitness Manager and Chris Morrison, one of our trainers. This was their conversation…
HUR: Tell us a bit about the health and wellness programs offered to residents at North Hill.
Linda: One of the fundamental values that drives everything we do at North Hill is an ideal we call “PurposeFULL Living.” It means that we believe that the lives of our residents should be full of thing they love and enjoy. We do our best to provide as many opportunities as possible for residents to pursue the things that are important to them. Our health and wellness programs are designed to keep them healthy, active and strong enough to pursue those activities for as long as possible.
We are really fortunate to have a state-of-the-art Fitness Center right on our campus that is about 10,000 square feet. Not only is the center equipped with top of the line equipment, such as the HUR strength and balance training machines, we offer a wide variety of classes that treat health and well-being holistically. We strive to offer enough variety that there really is something here for everyone.
I love it when I hear a resident say something like, “I’m doing more things that I love to do now than I’ve done in my entire life.” That’s why one of our most important classes is called the Balance Clinic. Because most of the time, filling their days with activities they enjoy requires good balance.
HUR: Tell us more about Balance Clinic and why it’s such an important part of what you do to support the health and well-being of your residents.
Chris: Fall prevention is really important to us at North Hill because we know how drastically a fall can affect our residents’ quality of life. Falls are actually the leading cause of injuries for older adults – both fatal and non-fatal. Not to mention how much a fall threatens to downgrade a person’s independence and quality of life!
So, the Balance Clinic is a huge part of what we do at North Hill for fall prevention. But the Clinic is also important because having good balance allows our residents to fill their days with the activities they love, which, as Linda stated, is an important part of what we do here.
One of our residents saw no decrease in balance from her early 80’s to her early 90’s because of balance class. Those are the kinds of things that are so amazing to see.
Most of our residents are quite active and not really thinking about balance when they first visit the Fitness Center. For residents new to the Fitness Center, we do a health assessment and introduce them to all the equipment in our facility, including the iBalance. The iBalance allows me to run an assessment that tells us what their current balance level is. The assessment is quick and displays their results on a touchscreen right away, using metrics that are easy to understand.
When their balance score pops up, many new residents are surprised by their score. If they are already pretty active, they might not notice how much their balance is deteriorating until it’s too late. So, getting that accurate assessment allows me to create a program for them early – before they fall, or before a lack of balance starts to prevent them from doing what they love.
One of our residents told us that she’d almost fallen while on a trip in Japan, which could have been disastrous, as you can imagine. Falling is horrible no matter what, but especially if you’re that far from home and in a foreign country. She was able to catch herself and stop from falling, an ability she attributes directly to the balance class. Hearing stories like that fuels our work like nothing else.
HUR: Is the iBalance a part of all the work you do with residents at North Hill?
Chris: Yes. The iBalance is one of the foundational tools we use to establish a baseline balance score for our residents. The information provided in those personal assessments is fundamental to the plan we create for the improvement of balance.
As I mentioned earlier, when a resident first comes to us, we do a health assessment and introduce them to all the equipment in our facility, including the iBalance. It’s not difficult to get residents to try it out. They are usually already curious about it. Once they realize how user friendly it is and how fun the games are, they use it all the time!
Balance can sometimes be a scary thing for seniors. The iBalance is loaded with games that allow them to do things like play tennis or go skiing, so they aren’t just working out – they’re having fun.
It’s also really fun to see how competitive residents get with themselves, always trying to beat their last score! But, they also quickly notice how their improved balance is making the rest of their life easier, and that motivates them even more.
Also, we have a wide range of residents at North Hill – people of all different ages and ability levels. Balance class for everyone, so I love that the iBalance is accessible, even for those in wheelchairs.
The ability to train independently is actually a feature I love about all our HUR equipment. Once we program their information into the machine, all residents need to do is scan their personalized wrist band and the machines adjusts the seat and other settings automatically.
HUR machines supports independent workouts in a lot of other ways as well. Some count their reps and gives an auditory cue once an exercise is complete. The machines even tell them what they should move onto next in accordance with their personalized training program.
As a trainer, I also appreciate that the machines use air resistance instead of stacks of weights. Air resistance is much easier on joints, and just safer in general for older adults. Plus, they can start out in many cases with a zero-starting load and then work up in very small increments.
Linda: When North Hill first purchased the HUR equipment the iBalance was completely foreign to me. After getting trained on the machine, I could immediately see how useful it would be for our residents. Personally, I’ve become more passionate about good balance over the past couple of years, attending conferences and seeking out resources that I believe to be of value for our residents.
Building strength is also important and I love our HUR strength training equipment. So many of our residents are super active! They are out doing all sorts of things, including playing with, or caring for their grandchildren. And this is where a holistic approach to health is important. In order for our residents to be able to maintain the kind of lifestyle they want and continue to try new things, they need good balance, and exercises that build muscle and cardiovascular health. It all works together.
Also, one thing I think we’ve been missing in our overall fitness program is the ability to measure outcomes. For example, if you’re using standard exercise equipment you have to just rely on how much weight you can handle or how you feel to know if you’re getting stronger – to know if the exercise is making a difference. The iBalance gives us actual metrics so we can track the progress of individuals as well as our entire population over time.
Q: What do you most enjoy about working with the seniors at North Hill?
Chris: I love getting to know our residents and listening to their stories. I also love seeing their competitive nature come out in the gym. They want to be healthy, active and strong. It’s personally inspiring and motivating, and so rewarding.
For example, one of our residents is this tiny, frail woman who is completely committed to remaining active. She absolutely loves doing downhill skiing on the iBalance and gets totally into it. She said she gets more movement playing that game than any other activity in her life. I am so grateful we are able to provide opportunities like this for our residents – to take care of themselves and enjoy doing it.
Needham’s North Hill residents named “Helsinki University Research Heros”
Finnish company HUR (Helsinki University Research), manufacturer of exercise equipment for seniors announced today that residents of North Hill senior living in Needham MA have been inducted into its “HUR Heroes” program based on the dramatic results they’ve achieved in improving strength and balance using HUR equipment.
North Hill fitness manager, Linda Riley is thrilled with the news. “Balance diminishes as we age,” she explains. “We introduced HUR’s iBalance machine into our program to help residents restore any balance they may have lost. By strengthening core muscles with the IBalance machine, residents can avoid the disastrous falls that sometimes happen with older adults and remain healthy and active as they age.”
HUR equipment was designed especially for seniors who want to stay strong as they age. After an initial assessment of balance deficits, trainers can customize programs using the embedded software in the machines. Residents can then simply insert their smart-card when it’s time to work out. The unique air resistant technology eliminates pressure on joints and allows for smooth, uninterrupted movement in weight training.
The iBalance machine engages both brain and body with exercises that strengthen large core muscles and smaller muscles in the ankles and feet. Working at first with trainers, residents compete with themselves on the machine by playing games and traveling through mazes on the machine.
After a few sessions, they can work independently on the machine, and most can’t wait to get there.
“Residents quickly notice how their improved balance is making their life easier,” says Riley, “and it motivates them to do even more.”
Just ask North Hill resident Pat MacKinnon: “Shortly before we moved to NH I had 2 bad falls which sent me to the emergency room…When we moved in I knew that my balance needed to improve. I took a few balance classes and learned exercises. When the new machine arrived I couldn’t wait to use it. The games, especially the maze, are a much more enjoyable way to practice and I hope that I can stay away from the emergency room.”
The HUR machines automatically record and track progress of individuals as well as the North Hill population over time, making assessments and program changes easier for trainers and users. Data gathered on HUR’s website has indicated a 286% increase in strength by older residents using HUR equipment
North Hill’s residents are proof of the progress. “the balance games make me feel that I am getting a good workout and also having fun!, says resident Judy Holberman”
Using HUR equipment is one of the many ways Riley attends to the health and wellness of North Hill residents to assist in healthy aging. Programs for mind and body include yoga, aquatic exercises and games; Pilates; Zumba; mediation; walking; lectures on nutrition and wellness, and a “passion board,” where residents can engage with healthy activities that ignite their personal passions.
“A good mind-body connection, an active lifestyle and a strong, supportive community are keys to happy, healthy aging,” says Riley. At North Hill we do everything we can to be sure that all our residents can be happy, healthy heroes.
