Guide to Fitness After Fifty

350 Pages·1977·12.95 MB·English

by  Raymond Harris M.D. (auth.)

Guide to Fitness
After Fifty
Guide to Fitness
After Fifty
Edited by
Raymond Harris, M.D.
Center for the Study of Aging
Albany, New York
and
J.
Lawrence Frankel
Lawrence Frankel Foundation
Charleston, West Virginia
Associate editor
Sara Harris
Center for the Study of Aging
Albany, New York
Plenum Press· New York and London
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Guide to fitness after fifty.
Includes index.
1. Physical fitness. 2. Exercise for the aged. 3. Physical education for the aged. 4.
Exercise-Physiological aspects. 5. Aging. I. Harris, Raymond, 1919- II.
Frankel, Lawrence J. III. Harris, Sara, 1921- [DNLM: 1. Physical fitness. 2.
Extertion-In old age. 3. Exercise therapy-In old age QT2S5 G946)
RA781.G84 613.7'04 77-2296
ISBN-13:978-1-4613-4141-3 e-ISBN-13:978-1-4613-4139-0
DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4613-4139-0
First Printing - May 1977
Second Printing - June 1978
© 1977 Plenum Press, New York
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1977
A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation
227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
Contributors
Nicholas G. Alexiou, M.D., M.P.H., Medical Director, Employee Health Service, New
York State Department of Civil Service; Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics,
Albany Medical College, Albany, New York.
Lloyd C. Arnold, Ed.D., National Director, Health and Physical Education, National
Council of YMCAs, New York, New York.
Daniel Brunner, M.D., Associate Professor, Chief, First Medical Department, Government
Hospital Jaffa; Head, Donolo Institute of Physiological Hygiene, Tel Aviv Universi
ty, Tel Aviv, Israel.
C. Carson Conrad, M.A., Executive Director, President's Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports, Washington, D.C.
Robert H. Cress, M.D., Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
Albany Medical College, Albany, New York.
Edward Terry Davison, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, State University
of New York, Stony Brook, New York; Attending in Cardiology, Long Island
Jewish Hospital, New Hyde Park, New York.
Herbert A. deVries, Ph.D., Professor of Physical Education and Physiology, University
of Southern California; Director, Physiology of Exercise Research Laboratory,
University of Southern California Gerontology Center and Mobile Laboratory,
Laguna Hills, California.
Andrew A. Fischer, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabili
tation, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York; Physiatrist in charge
of Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical
Center and Jewish Institute for Geriatric Care, New Hyde Park, New York.
Lawrence J. Frankel, Executive Director, Lawrence Frankel Foundation, Charleston,
West Virginia.
John A. Friedrich, Ph.D., Chairman, Department of Health, Physical Education, and
Recreation, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
David Green, M.B., B.S., Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology, Department of
Neurology, Albany Medical College, Albany, New York.
Paul A. L. Haber, M.D., Assistant Chief Medical Director, United States Veterans Ad
ministration; Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, George Washington Universi
ty, Washington, D.C.
v
vi CONTRIBUTORS
Raymond Harris, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, Albany Medical College;
Chief, Subdepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, St. Peter's Hospital; President,
Center for the Study of Aging, Albany, New York.
Sara Harris, Executive Secretary, Center for the Study of Aging; Lecturer, State Univer
sity of New York, Albany, New York.
Eino Matti Heikkinen, M.D., Professor of Gerontology, Department of Public Health
Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
Hollis S. Ingraham, M.D., M.P.H., Sc.D., Former New York State Commissioner of
Health, Albany, New York; Executive Secretary, Steering Committee, Albany Medi
cal Center, Albany, New York.
Herman L. Kamenetz, M.D., Chief, Rehabilitation Medicine, Veterans Administration
Hospital; Clinical Professor of Medicine, George Washington University School
of Medicine; Professorial Lecturer, Georgetown University School of Medicine,
Washington, D.C.
Birgit Kayhty, M.S.C., Department of Public Health, University of Jyvaskyia, Jyvaskyla,
Finland.
Hans Kraus, M.D., New York University Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilita
tion, New York, New York.
Maggie (Margaret B.) Lettvin, Lecturer, Department of Physical Education, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology; Assistant Professor, Leslie College, Cambridge, Mas
sachusetts.
Jana Parizkova, M.D., Ph.D., Research Worker, Research Institute of Physical Culture,
Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Betty Byrd Richard, Associate Administrator, Lawrence Frankel Foundation, Charleston,
West Virginia.
Manuel Rodstein, M.D., Chief of Medical Services and Director of Cardiology, The Jewish
Home and Hospital for Aged; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Albert
Einstein College of Medicine; Associate Attending Physician, Montefiore Hospital,
New York, New York.
Ernst Simonson, M.D., (deceased) Dr. rer. nat. h.c., Director of Medical Electronic Re
search, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Professor of Physiological
Hygiene emer., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Professor of Physiology emer.,
Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University, Frankfurt a.M., Germany.
Ilkka M. Vuori, M.D., Associate Professor, RehabilitatIOn Research Center; Chief, Clinical
Laboratory, Rehabilitation Research Center of Finnish Social Insurance Institu
tion, Turku; Acting Professor of Public Health, University of Jyvaskyla, JyVaskyla,
Finland.
Robert E. Wear, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Physical Education, Universi
ty of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire.
Frederick A. Whitehouse, Ed.D., Professor of Rehabilitation and Director, Rehabilitation
Counseling Program, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York.
Preface
Guide to Fitness After Fifty presents basic and applied research data, authoritative
advice and tested techniques for professional workers who want to learn more about
physical exercise, fitness and health for aging people and for all who seek to become
more physically and mentally fit. The editors and contributors believe that physical
activity and exercise following the pri~ciples and practices ~utlined in this inter
disciplinary volume can improve the health and quality of life by increasing en
durance and cardiovascular fitness, strengthening the musculoskeletal system, im
proving mobility, posture and appearance, and relaxing emotional tensions. Evidence
at hand and discussed in this book demonstrates that properly prescribed physical
activity or exercise can raise the level of physical fitness and health, both physical
and mental, at any age, delay the ravages of aging, and prevent or reduce disability
from musculoskeletal and circulatory disorders.
Section I, Perspectives on Exercise and Aging, surveys the fundamental problems
and relationships of exercise to aging and health and provides historical insights and
philosophic perspectives on the significance and importance of physical fitness and
exercise through the centuries and in contemporary society.
Section II, Evaluation and Physiology of Exercise, presents objective scientific
and medical evidence that reasonable improvement in fitness and other bodily func
tions may be achieved by people of all ages who follow well designed exercise and
relaxation routines for at least 30 minutes three or more times weekly. Such pro
grams, best begun in youth and continued throughout adulthood, but begun at any
age, can improve mental and physical health and help aging people to cope better
with the inevitable and too often self-inflicted emotional and physical stresses and
strains of daily living. Appropriate testing of the individual before and after exer
cise is essential to measure improvement and progress.
Section III, Motivation and Planning, provides examples of tested programs and
recommendations by experts with extensive experience in developing successful
exercise programs for aging people at home, in community agencies, institutions,
and other health and educational systems, including television.
Section IV, Practical Exercise and Relaxation Programs, presents physical exer
cise and relaxation techniques which have helped men and women over fifty develop
better physical, mental, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular fitness. These preventive
and therapeutic programs include jogging, calisthenics, stretching, relaxation and
other types of appropriate exercises. They add vim, vigor, vitality, health and happiness
to the life of middle-aged and older people and cushion the stresses and strains of
vii
viii PREFACE
growing old. Proven by experience and practice to be safe and helpful, they will
do no hann - provided proper instructions and health precautions are followed.
The editors wish to express their appreciation to the contributors, Seymour
Weingarten and Stephen Dyer of Plenum Press, Raymond Newkirk, Robert Newkirk,
James Blake and the staff of Newkirk Products, Inc., Mrs. Laura Campaigne of st.
Peter's Hospital Library, Thomas Erskine, Nancy Bishop and Rosalie Pietrocola of
the Center for the Study of Aging for their assistance.
Raymond Harris, M.D.
Lawrence Frankel
Sara Harris
Contents
Introduction - Physical Fitness For Older Americans - A National Responsibility
And Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
C. Carson Conrad
Section I
PERSPECTNES ON EXERCISE AND AGING
1. Fitness and the Aging Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Raymond Harris, M.D.
2. History of Exercises for the Elderly ..................................... 13
Herman 1. Kamenetz, M.D.
3. Preservation of Physical Fitness ........................................ 35
Hans Kraus, M.D.
4. Public Health and Fitness - The Outdoor Life and Other Antidotes to
Enemies of Fitness ................................................. 39
Hollis S. Ingraham, M.D.
Section II
EVALUATION AND PHYSIOLOGY OF EXERCISE
5. Physiology of Physical Conditioning for the Elderly .......................... .47
Herbert A. deVries, Ph.D.
6. Effect of Age on Work and Fatigue - Cardiovascular Aspects .................... 53
Ernst Simonson, M.D.
7. A Follow-Up Study of the Effect of Physical Activity on the Decline of
Working Capacity and Maximal Oz Consumption in the Senescent Male .............. 67
Andrew A. Fischer, M.D., and Jana Parizkova, M.D.
8. The Effect of Aging and Physical Activity on the Stabile Component
of Arterial Distensibility ............................................. 81
Andrew A. Fischer, M.D.
ix
x CONTENTS
9. Feasibility of Long-Distance (20-90 km) Skihikes as a Mass Sport for
Middle-Aged and Old People .......................................... 95
Ilkka M. Vuori, M.D.
10. Physical Exercise and Cardiovascular Fitness ............................... 143
Daniel Brunner, M.D.
11. Multi-Stage Cardiovascular Testing ..................................... 151
Edward T. Davison, M.D.
12. The Soft Signs of Neurological Problems of Mobility ......................... 163
David Green, M.B.
Section III
MOTIVATION AND PLANNING
13. Motivation for Fitness ............................................. 171
Frederick A. Whitehouse, Ed.D.
14. Gerontological Aspects of Physical Activity - Motivation of Older People
in Physical Training ............................................... 191
Eino Heikkinen, M.D., and Birgit Kiiyhty, M.Sc.
15. Across the Nation - Habilitation ...................................... 207
Lawrence J. Frankel
16. Changing the Habits and Thought Patterns of the Aged to Promote
Better Health Through Activity Programs in Institutions ....................... 215
Manuel Rodstein, M.D.
17. Developing Staff Capability for Physical Fitness Programs ...................... 221
Paul A. 1. Haber, M.D.
18. Community Program for Tension Control ................................ 227
Nicholas G. Alexiou, M.D.
19. Organization of Exercise Programs ..................................... 233
lloyd C. Arnold, Ed.D.
20. Popularizing Physical Fitness After Fifty Via Television ....................... 237
Maggie Lettvin
Section IV
PRACTICAL EXERCISE AND RELAXATION PROGRAMS
21. Principles of Exercise for Musculoskeletal Reconditioning and Fitness .............. 247
Hans Kraus, M.D.
CONTENTS xi
22. Conditioning Exercise Programs for Normal Older Persons ..................... 253
Robert E. Wear, Ph.D.
23. At-Home Television Exercises for the Elderly .............................. 271
Maggie Lettvin
24. Gerokinesiatrics - A Pharmacopoeia of Exercises for the Elderly ................. 299
Lawrence 1. Frankel and Betty Byrd Richard
25. Exercises for the Elderly ............................................ 307
Herman L. Kamenetz, M.D.
26. Rehabilitation Exercises for Home-Bound Patients ........................... 313
R. H. Cress, M.D.
27. Tension Control Techniques to Combat Stress ............................. 323
John A. Friedrich, Ph.D.
APPENDIX
Definition of Terms .................................................. 341
Robert E. Wear, Ph.D.
Index .......................................... '.' ............... 347