LA CROSSE, Wis. (WEAU) – The La Crosse County Aging and Disability Resource Center hosted their 7th annual Senior Health and Wellness Day event Wednesday. The event changes locations every year and this year it was held at Trane Park. ADRC manager Carissa Pagel-Smith says the park has many activities that can be held to help seniors keep active.

“In a lot of cases, it’s an ability to be socially connected with others, maintain or improve your mobility, increase your independence and be able to maintain living within a home, and reduce risk of falls,” says Pagel-Smith.

The ADRC had several physical activities available for the seniors at the event.

“We have Drift Cycle here who have some bikes available for folks to be able to try out. We have the city Park and Rec Program that is here doing their fit lot exercise program with the use of the outdoor fitness space here at Trane Park. We’ve got equipment for pickleball. We have Emplify and Mayo as well as well here, providing various health screens and assessments,” says Pagel-Smith.

Pagel-Smith was a part of bringing this event to La Crosse. She says it’s important to emphasize the importance of being active.

“Whatever that means to you, whether it’s walking or biking or doing an exercise class, giving people the opportunity, the exposure to learn about what our community has to offer. I would say health promotion is particularly of importance for older adults,” says Pagel-Smith.

The event also had local groups and organizations that had booths presenting opportunities for seniors in the area. Pagel-Smith says the ADRC is thankful for the local support because they wouldn’t be able to do this on their own.

“I do truly appreciate the ability to offer opportunities for other vendors and programs to come and share what they have to offer because we can’t do it all. We don’t want to duplicate resources. What do we all have to offer in an event like this? It allows people to come in to check it all out,” says Pagel-Smith.

According to the La Crosse County ADRC, more than 1,000 organizations across the U.S. will host events for over 100,000 senior citizens.

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MARYLAND – National Senior Health and Fitness Day is dedicated to the betterment of the health of seniors. Located in Salisbury, the MAC Center for Aging offers an abundance of services to help more active seniors live their lives to the fullest.

Tommy Robinson is the Head Fitness Trainer for the MAC gym. He tells us the center helps seniors improve their physical fitness through classes, programs, and encouragement. He says there are many things that seniors can do to stay active as they get older and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

“Particularly, as we get older because our bodies tend to slow down naturally, we naturally lose muscle, flexibility, we lose, or cognitive ability and exercise will help all of that from declining… There are many ways an elderly individual can stay active. Doing sit to stands, a chess press, or a push, and a row or pull, those three will hit kind of, three main areas for strength training.”

The MAC Center also provides healthy recipes for participants to take home and even offers cooking classes to encourage an ongoing healthy lifestyle and encourages all senior citizens to get active.

Between the sweat smell, fluorescent lights and omnipresent television screens, April Herring has never connected with going to the gym.

Instead, she runs, bikes, hikes, plays tennis, pickleball and football — anything to get her exercise outside as often as possible.

“Fresh air, sunshine, the variety of the trees as the seasons change,” said Herring, an administrator at Carroll Community College in North Maryland. “There’s something about the energetic healing quality of nature.”

The health benefits of spending time in nature have long been established, and exercise in general, of course, improves physical and mental well-being.

Combine the two and you double down on what adults need to stay healthy, said Debbie Rhea, professor in kinesiology at Texas Christian University.

“We’ve got to get outside. We’ve got to be active,” Rhea said. “If we’re going to live long lives, this is what it’s about.”

Getting started on an outdoor routine, however, might not be as easy as signing up for another gym membership. Here’s how to get going.

START SIMPLE WITH WHAT YOU LIKE

If you haven’t been active for a while, think back to the activities you enjoyed years ago, suggested Connie Sciolino, founder of the Alpine Training Center in Boulder, Colorado, a gym that trains athletes for outdoor mountain sports.

People who like occasionally hiking or biking should start building an aerobic base by taking progressively longer walks or rides. Once you’re comfortably in the 35- to 45-minute range, start adding some intensity to build strength, she said.

“If jogging is their main activity, I would send them to bleachers or do some up-down on stairs, either in sprint format or put a pack on their back,” she said.

Rhea cautioned against jumping back into a sport you used to play without preparing your body for the proper movement.

“Let’s say they’re in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and they haven’t sprinted and now they try to run around those bases,” she said. “They’re probably going to hurt an Achilles or a hamstring or something by doing something too fast.”

THEN BUILD STRENGTH WITH WHAT’S AROUND

A side benefit of exercising outside is that there’s no need to buy expensive equipment, trainers say.

After warming up with your preferred aerobic activity, add strength training by using your body weight and what is available in the built environment. That could be finding a picnic table or low wall and placing your hands shoulder-width apart to do leaning pushups. Then turn around, put your hands on the same surface and lower your body for dips that work your triceps.

For working your legs, add squats with your feet shoulder-width apart, looking straight ahead with your back straight. Add lunges by taking giant steps and bending down into the space between your feet. For the core, find a patch of grass to do sit-ups.

Start with eight to 10 repetitions, or no more than you are comfortable with, and add sets with short breaks in between as you get stronger.

For a more complete workout, find a park or trail with outdoor exercise equipment, which is installed in one-third of park agencies, according to the National Recreation and Park Association. The equipment can range from basic pull-up bars to gym-style bench presses and rowing machines.

And many cities, including Chicago, San Antonio and Atlanta, offer free group classes outdoors.

HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED — EVEN IN BAD WEATHER

When it inevitably rains or the weather turns colder, it helps to keep in mind an old axiom: There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.

“If we have the clothing for whatever the temperatures are that we may be in, then we’re more likely to go outside to be active when we need to,” Rhea said.

She suggested investing in a jacket that breathes and a light hat with a brim you can use on sunny or rainy days.

Trainer Katie Higginbotham recommended having a contingency plan for inclement weather. Pick an area with surfaces that won’t get slippery when wet or somewhere with some tree shelter so as not to be bombarded by rain.

On those days, having a regular exercise buddy really helps, said Higginbotham, who oversees quality control for TrainFitness, a U.K.-based private training provider.

“If you know someone is there waiting for you, it’s difficult to say no at the last minute,” she said.

Finally, it helps to set a goal, whether that is training for a 5K charity walk or a triathlon. If you’re working toward something, it keeps you motivated to keep going, Sciolino said.

“When you have that day marked on your calendar, you have to perform these things or die out there,” she said.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Albert Stumm writes about food, travel and wellness. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com