Physical_Activity_Guidelines

Barbara: An Active, 65-Year-Old Woman
Barbara is recently retired and enjoys spending time being active with
friends and family and at the local recreation center. Barbara does the
equivalent of approximately 220 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic
activity each week, plus muscle-strengthening activities 2 days a week.
Some of her active time is spent doing multicomponent physical activity.
• Twice a week, Barbara takes a 45-minute aqua aerobics class at
the local recreation center with her husband. The class incorporates
aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, and it helps her work
on her balance.
• Many of Barbara’s friends have begun to take dance classes at the local recreation center in the
afternoons. Barbara now joins them; she dances for 45 minutes and typically goes twice a week.
• In addition to her traditional activities, Barbara makes sure to park farther away when running
errands, and she tries to take the stairs whenever possible. These shorter bouts contribute an average
of 40 minutes of relatively moderate-intensity activity to her total weekly amount.
Rumi: A 79-Year-Old Woman in an Assisted-Living
Community
Rumi struggles to stay active. She lives in an assisted-living community
and no longer drives. She is worried about falling and heard from her
doctor that staying active can improve her physical function and reduce
her risk of falls and fall-related injuries.
Her goals and current activity pattern: Currently, Rumi walks 5 times a
week in a loop around her assisted-living complex; this takes her about 10
minutes (50 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week). Her goal is
to increase the number of walks each week and also increase the length
of some of her walks. In addition to her walks, Rumi goes with a friend to do bird watching with a group once
a week at the local park. These outings usually involve at least 20 minutes of walking.
Starting out: Rumi slowly adds to her walks by taking a slightly longer route. After a few weeks, she is able to
walk about 15 minutes 3 times a week. She continues to go to the bird-watching group.
Reaching her goal: Within a few months, Rumi is consistently walking the 10-minute loop around her assistedliving
complex every day. She extends to a longer 15-minute loop at least 4 times a week. She continues to attend
the bird-watching group, and she feels more comfortable walking on uneven terrain; she has extended these
walks to about 40 minutes a week. Rumi has also started going to an exercise class for older adults twice a
week. The leader teaches different exercises that focus on aerobic activity, muscle-strengthening activity, and
balance training. Rumi is now meeting the key guideline of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity.
This class has helped Rumi to meet the twice-weekly guideline for muscle-strengthening activities and adds
multicomponent activities to her routine.
Chapter 5. Active Older Adults 77