Terry Straehley introduced our speaker today, Joel Smith, who will be speaking with the group over the next two meetings regarding exercise. Joel is a USCB graduate who became interested in healthcare technology and services for aging adults while living in New York City, where he worked building digital libraries for the City Hospitals of New York, Mount Sinai Hospital, Lenox Hill Hospital along with numerous biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He returned to Santa Barbara to pursue a full-time career in aging-adult services, becoming a Certified Personal Trainer with specialization in senior health, strength and conditioning.  He has also pursued certification in the balance and coordination program through Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and now volunteers with the ‘Matter of Balance’ program (a weekly class that provides education, training and exercise for aging adults to help improve their mobility). He is also the founder of Rhythmik, Inc., a health-technology company with a mission to empower aging adults to achieve a better quality of life by combining exercise, education and technology. He has launched a blog, “Let’s Talk About Aging”, to provide adults with insights on how to live better and to deal with daily living activities, and most recently a YouTube channel, “Rhythmik Health", focusing on daily exercises, health and wellness.

 

According to a Harvard study, regular exercise is associated with larger gray matter volume (specifically, the areas involved in memory and cognition) than those who did not exercise regularly. Physical inactivity can cause a buildup of stress factors, such as cortisol, that can have deleterious effects on the body (including most of the major organ systems, bones and joints). As we age, we need to increase our protein intake (as our gut is less efficient at processing protein over time). Additionally our muscles, neurological pathways (such as those related to balance, for instance), and endocrine system decline with age. Due to the rising costs of healthcare (average out of pocket costs) as you age, investing in exercise on a daily basis can help reduce these costs, and may be able to lower costs by up to 80%, according to a study by Johns Hopkins.

 

A Pilates ring can be used at home (or even in the office) for both upper and lower body exercises. Resistance bands can also be used in this way. Tension bands are very versatile and can also be used for a wide array of upper as well as lower body exercises. Joel was able to show the group how these 3 pieces of equipment work and how easy they are to use. As a guide, he usually performs 3-4 sets of 10-15 repetitions, but recommends setting a general goal for performing repetitions up to the point of feeling muscle fatigue (but not injury) and then adding 1-2 more repetitions if you can. Joel has just recently launched a YouTube channel which will demonstrate many of these movements. Traditional calisthenics (push ups, jumping jacks, jump rope) are just as good as resistance band work, as long as you carry through the full movement of the exercise (no cutting corners). For beginners, start with the Pilates ring and/or resistance bands. In regards to helping build up your balance, one easy way to help train proprioception (balance sensors) is to take your shoes off before you start to do some movement work to give the skin of your feet good contact with the floor.

 

The Rotarians in the audience had great questions for our speaker and we all learned quite a bit. Part 2 of Joel’s presentation comes next week. Stay tuned!