Red-carpet debut for senior stars of exercise video

Centre for Activity and Aging, Western University

Exercise is important to independence, regardless of a person's age or mobility restrictions, says the Centre for Activity and Aging at Western University.

Older adults who exercise with Western University’s Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging (CCAA) are the stars of a training video that will help thousands of their peers remain active.

Complete with a desserts, some non-alcoholic bubbly and a blooper reel, the premiere of the video for the Tiered Exercise Program (TEP) takes place in style on Wednesday afternoon.

The video will be used to train front-line staff at long-term care centres, at retirement homes and for caregivers of homebound adults across Canada. Initially, 70 staff at Revera Inc., including some at Windermere on the Mount in London, will use the video to train 700 colleagues across the country.

“TEP is part of our mission to promote the philosophy of physical activity as an integral part of healthy aging,” said CCAA Director Clara Fitzgerald. “It is an evidence-based program of simple, progressive exercises that will help older adults maintain or improve their current functional abilities and help them age in place.”

The stars in the video, nine seniors who participate in the CCAA’s exercise programs, literally got a kick out of participating. Marion Mills said regular exercise is also about maintaining independence. “I find I feel better and have much more energy on the days when I do my exercises” she said. “I’m motivated to do them every day because I want to keep mobile for as long as possible.”

The centre has provided TEP training to frontline staff and caregivers across Canada for three years, and last summer received a grant from the Ontario Sport and Recreation Communities Fund to produce a training video and other resources to spread the training further.

WHAT: Screening of national training video for the Tiered Exercise Program, with local seniors as the stars. Produced locally by Producers Post.

WHEN: Wednesday, December 6, 2 p.m.

WHERE: The movie theatre at Revera’s Windermere on the Mount, 1486 Richmond St. N.

MEDIA CONTACTS: Clara Fitzgerald, Director of the Centre for Activity and Aging, 519-660-1603 www.western.ca/ccaa  or Debora Van Brenk, Media Relations Officer, Western University, 519-661-2111 x85165 or deb.vanbrenk@uwo.ca

ABOUT WESTERN: Western University delivers an academic experience second to none. Since 1878, The Western Experience has combined academic excellence with life-long opportunities for intellectual, social and cultural growth in order to serve our communities better. Our research excellence expands knowledge and drives discovery with real-world application. Western attracts individuals who have a broad worldview and who seek to study, influence and lead in the international community.

ABOUT THE CANADIAN CENTRE FOR ACTIVITY AND AGING: The Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging is a research and education centre within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Western University. CCAA investigates the interrelationship of physical activity and aging, and develops strategies, based on research, to encourage and promote an active healthy lifestyle that will enhance the dignity of the aging process. 

 

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Exercise is important to independence, regardless of a person's age or mobility restrictions, says the Centre for Activity and Aging at Western University.
Even short, 10-minute bursts of exercise can boost brain power, a new study by Western University researchers says. Photo: Western University