Exercise Stations Geared for Seniors

The Welcome Station sets the users off in the right direction, giving instructions how best to use and benefit from the stations and providing safety information.

While some ?EUR??,,????'??seniors,?EUR??,,????'?? defined by the AARP as 50 and above, run marathons, pump iron, slalom down the slopes and generally are more fit and active than their kids, many more seniors take life at a more leisurely pace.

They don?EUR??,,????'???t want to jog, but do enjoy walking; they don?EUR??,,????'???t want to life barbells, but do want to keep muscle tone. To meet the exercise needs of this second and largest group of seniors, Playworld Systems, in cooperation with Penn State University faculty members Dr. David Proctor, an exercise physiologist specializing in older adults and Dr. Geoffrey Godbey, a professor specialized in leisure behavior and recreation and park management, has developed LifeTrail, a ?EUR??,,????'??pathway to total wellness?EUR??,,????'?? based on the exercise stations in parks. The stations provide carefully researched upper and lower body exercises that are age appropriate. Onsite testing of LifeTrail took place at Cleveland Metroparks and at Cornwall Manor, a retirement community in central Pennsylvania. The exercises, plus the outdoor walking from station to station and the social interaction make up the complete package.

LifeTrail Wellness Stations can be installed along walking paths or other outdoor settings. There are five optional stations for wheel chair access.

There are 10 stations:

1. Welcome: introduces the concept and describes the benefits and tips for safe use.
2. Lower Body Warmup: pedaling station with variable resistance that adjusts to accommodate tall and shorter users.
3. Bench Stepper: two step heights with grab bars and nonslip step surface for leg strength and balance.
4. Torso Stability: a standing exercise to strengthen back muscles and a seated exercise for the abdominals.
5. Upper Body Warmup: a pedaling station for the arms to increase blood flow and general upper body strength and stamina.
6. Standing Push-Up: incline push-up bars; level of difficulty increases the further the feet are positioned away from the grips.
7. Forearm Rolls: twisting motion to strengthen hands and wrists with variable resistance.
8. Upper Body Stretch and Strengthen: spring-loaded levers are gripped to strengthen and stretch the back muscles between the shoulder blades and back of neck.
9. Lower Body Stretch: stretches for the calves and hamstrings; increases ROM of ankle joint.
10. Balance: gentle lunges to improve balance.

Each Wellness Station is designed with lifestyle and age appropriate activities for active older adults. This station has two exercises to strengthen the lower back and abdominals.

*Optional wheelchair accessible stations are available in five activities: forearm rolls; upper body warm up; stretches; pull up; and upper body stretch and strengthen.

There is also information for ?EUR??,,????'??Healthy Living?EUR??,,????'?? at each station addressing such topics as osteoporosis; osteoarthritis; healthy eating; posture; safe lifting; yoga and tai chi.

For more information, go to www.playworldsystems.com/lifetrail

Most Wellness Stations have activities with two levels of challenge, one for beginners and one for advanced users. This station improves upper body strength and stretches the muscles between the shoulder blades and back of the neck.

Each activity panel has clear illustrations and contains instructions that are easy to read. This station stretches the calf muscles and hamstrings, while increasing range-of-motion in the ankles.