Senior Mental Health and Fitness

Mental and physical health are not independent of one another; to lead a happy and healthy life you must have an active body and mind. This applies to people of all ages, but today the senior community will be addressed. Cathleen Kronemer is a trainer at the Creve Coeur JCC and was kind enough to share her experience in working with the senior community for over twenty-seven years.

Cathleen mainly works with seniors, as do many of the trainers at this location, and says that they become apart of the family over time. A lot of the time her clients a widows and widowers and need a place to socialize and be active. As you look around the JCC you can observe many clients working with trainers or sitting in groups chatting before taking on the rest of their day. Socialization is a very important aspect of senior mental health, it keeps them connected and feeling useful.

Seniors, just like many of us, experience apprehension about being able to physically handle a group exercise class, it is important for them to see others just like them doing what they are thinking about doing, which can increase self efficacy, says Cathleen. Watching other people like yourself just makes the task feel possible and can increase intrinsic motivation.

I'm sure a lot of us hear our parents or grandparents say, "What difference is it going to make?" Cathleen says that it can make the last twenty years of someone's life easier. They may not be running marathons, but it will be more likely that they can do something like, putting pants on, an independent activity rather than assisted.

What about pain? As we get older we all have aches and pains. Most trainers will say to a client that they know the difference between acute pain and everyday soreness. Cathleen said that she also tells her clients that most of the time they will feel better if they come into the gym even just for thirty minutes; it's a hard sell, but over time they begin to believe energy begets energy!

Exercise of any kind and socialization are the ingredients for mental health at any age. Take advantage of the beautiful fall weather and get moving.

The JCC is full of seniors staying active and socializing. If they can do it so can you!