Older people in the UK staying fit and active, especially during lockdown, according to Audley Villages. Before lockdown in the UK, over 65s at Audley Villages were keeping fit with daily walks and exercises but this has also continued well into lockdown at home. Whether this be making the most of their daily outdoor exercise or doing Pilates and aerobic classes from their living room, daily activity is keeping people in retirement villages positive, healthy and happy during this current period.
- Property owners at Audley Villages took part in a study (before the lockdown period) where they wore Fitbits to track their daily activity spanning over a 20 week period. Everything was monitored including their step count, active minutes, calorie burn and hours restful sleep
- All participants did above 40,000 steps a week on average, and several walked above 70,000 a week, hitting the typically recommended 10,000 steps a day
- During the current Government lockdown, property owners at Audley are keeping spirits up with outdoor exercising, and club managers at the village are going above and beyond to keep people moving whilst isolating
- Case studies available to talk:
– Couple at Audley Stanbridge Earls, in Romsey, doing daily exercise including long walks, cycling, strength training from home like Pilates and yoga, and YouTube videos from trainers like Joe Wicks
– Owner at Audley Stanbridge Earls keeping up daily exercising despite hip and knee operation, whilst husband hitting 100,000 steps and 8-10 active hours a week
Melissa Bray-Spicer, Club Manager at Audley Stanbridge Earls, said: “Both active exercise and leisurely walks are extremely beneficial to both the physical and mental wellbeing of individuals. Everyone should find the exercise they feel comfortable with and listen to their body, but if individuals are able to stretch to active exercise it will have countless benefits. Their body will be working at a higher intensity and the cardiovascular and muscular system has to work harder to keep up with the demands of the exercise. This means you are testing your body and encouraging it to react and change as you get older and the needs of your body change.
“An example of this is osteoporosis, a condition that weakens the bones. You can improve or slow down the progression of this condition with regular training. When you take part in active exercise, your muscles strengthen along with the bones as they are the structure which our muscles are connected to. So, to help reduce pain and weakness in the bones we have to keep our muscles working and improving.”
