Never Forget your ABC's

Last week I came across a headline that read, "about 36 million falls are reported among older adults each year—resulting in more than 32,000 deaths." This headline put a shocked look on my face as it quite scary. As I thought on this, I came to the realization that maybe it is time we check in on our ABC'S: Agility, Balance, Coordination, Speed & Strength. In working with kids, there is a phrase often used to describe one's developmental pathway and that is physical literacy. Just like you learn letters before you embark on reading a novel, you must first learn the fundamentals of movement in an effort to advance towards more advanced training modalities. In time, as we age, these skills and attributes deteriorate which leads to the headline written above. Here are a few ways to fight father time and implement the ABC'S into your training... Agility: Grab an agility ladder and move through some of the more basic footwork drills as part of your warmup. These short quick bursts of change of direction might save you when you trip and stumble over an object. Having the ability to react quickly may prevent you from hitting the ground! Balance: Performance exercises while standing on one leg or pull out the balance beam and get to work! Being able to stand on one leg for 10 seconds is a great starting place. Coordination: Perform an exercise that involves the upper body and lower body working as one. This could be skipping, jumping rope, or learning a complex exercise in the gym. This mind-body connection is important in the fight against mental deterioration. Speed: Find a small hill and run up it as fast as you can. You never know when you might have to tap into that speed and run away from trouble! I am not talking about the police here, I am talking about a loose dog at the park! Strength: Pick a few exercises (squat, bench, chinups) and aim to get stronger in each. Building strength in these lifts has a tendency to last. Being stronger now will mean you will be stronger later! Get creative and have some fun with this stuff. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask!