Looking For Some Senior Fitness Program? We Have Some Suggestions For You!

It’s almost the new year and for many, it’s time to start thinking about resolutions and setting goals. Fitness is often at the forefront of most people’s minds as the over indulgences of Christmas are tempered by thoughts of health and wellbeing, especially if you are advancing in years. But with so many different fitness programs out there to try, the question is which one offers the best all-round health and wellbeing solution for seniors?

To answer this question, we looked at three popular senior fitness programs – Chair One Fitness, Silver Sneakers, and Zumba Gold – and compared their benefits to find the one we think is the best.

Chair One Fitness

Chair One Fitness is an innovative exercise program for seniors that utilizes chairs as a way to improve wellbeing. Designed as an accessible regime, it is suited to those with mobility issues or difficulty standing. This can include elderly people, people suffering from injuries, people with balance issues, and disabled people. There are even routines for wheelchair users and amputees.

The fact that you can get started with Chair One Fitness with little equipment, just a chair, makes it easy to pick.

Pros

• Incredibly accessible. Anybody can get started with Chair One Fitness
• No equipment, other than a chair, is required
• Routines for everyone, including obese people, amputees, and those in wheelchairs
• Routines can be done at home

Silver Sneakers

Silver Sneakers offers a more standard approach to senior fitness than Chair One Fitness by offering access to gyms and fitness classes (over 14,00 gyms at last count) free of charge if they have Medicare Supplement Insurance.

Aimed solely at those over 65, classes with the Silver Sneakers program are tailored to seniors and offer a range of standard style gym classes like boxercise, spin, and yoga.

Being gym-based, it does mean that you have to be able to visit your local participating gym and classes can vary from location to location.

Pros

• Good choice of classes with a range of health benefits… depending on your location
• Free if you have Medicare Supplement Insurance
• Thousands of gyms to visit

Zumba Gold

Who doesn’t love Zumba, right? Zumba’s been around for years and is immensely popular for those looking to improve fitness, condition, and have some fun. Zumba Gold is aimed at active older adults and offers a slower Zumba experience with less intensity.

Focussing on balance, range of motion, coordination, and conditioning, Zumba Gold is a great way to burn calories and tone the body. But prepared to sweat as Zumba doesn’t scale in terms of difficulty and routines can be tricky for some.

Pros

• Zumba has and always will be great fun… if you like dancing
• Zumba Gold is less intensive than regular Zumba… but can still be a little too difficult for some
• Great for improving balance, range of motion, and coordination.

Which Senior Fitness Program Should I Choose?

That’s a difficult question to answer. All 3 offer different experiences and benefits. If we had to choose one, then we would say that Chair One Fitness offers more flexibility, is easier to pick up and do, and offers a greater range of routines. Classes are also fun and include music and dance moves to keep them lively. The difficulty is also easier to scale than something like Zumba for example, making it more accessible for most.

Our recommendation for seniors looking to stay fit and healthy is to take a look at Chair One Fitness.