Pittsburg program promotes senior health and fall prevention through exercise
PITTSBURG, Kan. — It’s Healthy Aging Month, and it’s also, specifically, Falls Prevention Awareness Day.
Tonight, we’re getting a look at how a specialized class in Pittsburg is helping our older population stay active.
“It’s specifically for senior citizens,” said Kayli Montoya-Huston, instructor.
Kayli Montoya-Huston recently started teaching an exercise class at the Villas at Creekside in Pittsburg.
It’s a 55-and-up community, and this class is aimed at keeping residents healthy.
“Stay independent, strong bones, keeping those bones strong. Keeping the muscle as we age, because we battle with sarcopenia, with osteopenia, and osteoporosis. So this helps that,” said Montoya-Huston.
The main focus is on strength training.
“Anything we do to keep and build muscle. I think there’s a big myth that when we age we can no longer build muscle and that’s not true. A 65-year-old can build muscle just like a 35-year-old can,” said Montoya-Huston.
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Montoya-Huston specifically gears the exercises towards helping prevent falls.
Plus, if a senior does fall, building strong muscles ahead of time can help in the recovery efforts.
“I think a lot of us, we want to be able to stay independent as long as possible. We don’t want to have to rely on others as we age,” said Montoya-Huston.
Anywhere from three to nine people show up to the weekly classes.
As a certified personal trainer, Montoya-Huston has a way of keeping track of their progress.
“There’s a test that I do before we start. It’s a grip test. So, you can notice week by week, the grip strength is going up, which means your whole body is getting stronger. So, it’s nice that they can see that immediately the next week when they come. They can see the strength,” said Montoya-Huston.
Many of the participants are seeing that progress.
“I think a lot of people are nervous when they first think of strength training, resistance training. It’s very intimidating, but I’ve always seen smiles and laughter, and they actually get really encouraged when they realize, ‘Hey, I can do this!’ And it’s very uplifting,” said Montoya-Huston.
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