Staying Active Offers Big Benefits for Older Adults

In honor of National Senior Health and Fitness Day on May 27, we invite you to mix more motion into your routine. Whether you’re learning to exercise for the first time or are a fitness enthusiast, now is a great time to take the next step toward better health.

Physical exercise offers significant benefits for all older adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other well-respected researchers. Being active helps maintain your ability to live independently and reduces your risk of developing diabetes and some cancers. It can help control arthritis pain, reduce your blood pressure, and improve your stamina and strength as well as your mood and emotional well-being.

Given those benefits and so many more, it’s essential that we stay physically active as we age. It’s also why Beatitudes Campus proudly fosters an engaging, active lifestyle. And, because everyone enjoys different types of activity, we offer a wide variety of fitness and wellness opportunities. From line dancing and tai chi to walking and water aerobics, from putting on the golf green to Wii bowling and more, there’s something for all ages and all fitness levels.

CDC Fitness Fast Facts

  • Improve your energy and stamina by doing activities and exercises that get your heart beating faster several times a week.
  • Get stronger by making your muscles work harder at least twice a week.
  • Virtually all types of motion counts as exercise, including walking the dog, doing laundry, taking the stairs and playing catch with grandchildren.
  • Among adults aged 65 years and older, walking and gardening or yard work are, by far, the most popular physical activities.

Try a Class

If you’ve ever played sports or enjoyed playing outside with your kids or grandkids, you know that exercising with others can be a lot of fun. It brings laughter and camaraderie and provides motivation and social support.

The best fitness classes bring together all of those elements plus an experienced instructor who takes the guesswork out of what to do, how to do it and when. If you’re looking for motivation and expert guidance while staying at home or want to try a class before taking it in person, check out the free exercise videos on the Beatitudes Campus Fitness YouTube channel.

Free Exercise Videos on the Beatitudes Campus Fitness YouTube Channel

Beatitudes Campus’ fitness trainers Mike Smallwood and Camille Beaubien lead you through a variety of exercises that promote strength, balance, mobility and flexibility. You’ll also find instructor-approved tai chi and yoga videos posted by residents. You can follow along in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

For most exercises, all you need is a chair and hand weights. If you don’t have hand weights, you can use something around your home that has some weight and is easy to grip. For example, try a filled water bottle, canned goods, a book, or bag of rice or beans.

Beatitudes Campus is all-in with fitness and wants to help you stay active and motivated. Be sure to join our fitness trainers Mike and Camille as they guide you through various wellness activity YouTube videos from home!

If you’re looking for additional research and education on the benefits of physical activity, check out this science-based guide from the CDC for the benefits, how to track your progress, and more.

Growing Stronger — Strength Training for Older Adults

To learn more about all of Beatitudes Campus’s fitness and wellness opportunities call us today at 602.883.1358 or contact us online at BeatitudesCampus.org.

At the heart of any great community is a thriving, active resident population. With opportunities to laugh, to learn and to lead, people flourish, nowhere is this truer than at Beatitudes Campus. We’re deeply proud of how engaging our community is and especially grateful to share it with others.

We’re pleased to announce that Beatitudes Campus recently received the Holleran Choice Community Award for Independent Living Engagement. The honor recognizes the most engaging senior living organizations in the nation — where both residents and staff feel deeply and passionately engaged with their community.

To earn the award, communities had to score 85 or higher on a 100-point scale. The score was based on more than 160,000 resident and employee surveys from over 700 communities.

Top 15% of communities to create a deeply engaging atmosphere

The Holleran Choice Community Award places Beatitudes Campus in the top 15% of the hundreds of communities surveyed. It’s easy to see why.

The residents and staff at Beatitudes Campus collaborate enthusiastically every day to create an active, engaged community where everyone feels welcome to participate, contribute and truly enjoy life in a myriad of ways. Residents enjoy musical events and spiritual services, games and neighborly get-togethers, and fitness classes and clubs of all sorts.

Related article: How to evaluate a senior community’s life enrichment program

Beyond participating, residents actually lead the way here, deciding on the activities and programs. They manage the Beatitudes Center for Lifelong Learners as well as its three-semester curriculum. Collectively, they volunteer thousands of hours every year to help others. They operate the community gift shop and secondhand store, show new residents the ropes, visit homebound seniors, and offer help and hope to those in need.

We’re truly honored to accept this award on behalf of the amazing residents and staff at Beatitudes Campus. We’d love to show you what makes our community so special and, indeed, award-winning. To schedule a visit or request a FREE Life Enrichment & Activities Guide, call us today at (602) 833-1358. We hope to see you soon!

Keep On Learning—It’s Good For You!

Throughout our lives, we’re teachers and learners. It doesn’t just stop when we reach a certain age. In fact, it often increases when we get older and have more free time. As we celebrate a new year, it’s exciting to think about the new opportunities that await us. Did you know that beyond increasing our knowledge, learning is actually good for our health?

Lifelong learning programs are growing all over the world, according to Pass It On, an international grassroots organization that promotes teaching and learning opportunities for older adults. In many countries, it’s common for older adults to attend classes alongside younger students. The topics range from the serious—law, politics, science, and technology—to the fun and entertaining—fashion, belly dancing, music, and art.

When it comes to lifelong learning, experts tout big benefits, from generating new neuron connections in your brain to a feeling of overall well-being.

Here are more benefits that come with lifelong learning:

Discover lifelong learning at Beatitudes Campus
As we live longer and healthier, enjoy access to enormous amounts of information, and have myriad ways to shape the world around us, older adults are taking charge of their learning. And, it’s happening right here at Beatitudes Campus.

With traditional education, peer-to-peer learning and new experiences, it’s easy to be a part of this important growing trend. Beatitudes offers guest speaker presentations, art classes, day trips, social and entertainment opportunities and more. The topics and venues continually change to give you a rich variety of easy in, easy out learning experiences.

Meanwhile, the Beatitudes Center for Lifelong Learners offers a structured academic program akin to a college environment. Entirely managed by residents, the program features nearly two-dozen non-credit courses each semester. There are no grades or tests. The relaxed classes foster an atmosphere of learning by encouraging discussion, exploration, and understanding.

In tandem with learning, Beatitudes Campus offers the chance to pass on what you know to others through teaching and mentoring opportunities—from leading a committee to participating in our own Design Studio (the campus residents’ “think tank”) to teaching a literature course and more. Our new Life Enrichment & Activities Guide highlights these and the many other options available here on campus.

If you’re as excited as we are about the new year and looking forward to sharing what you know and learning more as you go, we invite you to visit Beatitudes Campus. To schedule your visit or request a FREE Life Enrichment & Activities Guide, call us today at (602) 833-1358 or submit a form online. We look forward to hearing from you!

Have you heard the term life enrichment? It’s used quite a bit these days by parks and recreation departments, senior living communities, and colleges. While it may bring to mind a list of activities, life enrichment isn’t adding things to do to your calendar for the sake of being busy.

A well-created life enrichment program brings joy, meaning, and a sense of purpose and belonging. It indulges your curiosity and creativity and teaches you something new. Above all, it’s good for your health.

“A fully comprehensive life enrichment program in a retirement community hits all five dimensions of wellness—emotional, social, spiritual, physical and educational,” according to LeadingAge, a well-recognized, national trade organization focused on education, advocacy and applied research in senior living, to which Beatitudes Campus has belonged for more than 40 years.

Developing a great life enrichment program is a team effort, requiring the time, talents, experience, and expertise of many people. At Beatitudes Campus, our team is comprised of several life enrichment specialists, as well as staff from a variety of areas, including fitness, transportation, and our CARECorps volunteer program.

“Collectively, we spend hundreds of hours every year ensuring residents have an abundance of opportunities to socialize, take Lifelong Learners classes, volunteer, exercise, attend special events on and off-campus, and more,” explained Director of Life Enrichment Jon Schilling, who has been with Beatitudes Campus for 11 years.

The life enrichment team at Beatitudes Campus has built its success on being:

  • Creative. While routines and familiarity are important, people need diversity. The team incorporates a variety of social, educational, spiritual and wellness opportunities.
  • Organized. It takes a well-organized team to coordinate and plan dozens of complex programs. Everyone knows their role and is empowered to make decisions for the greater good of residents.
  • Good Communicators. Whether it’s arranging a speaker presentation, creating a new fitness class or planning a holiday party, ongoing communication ensures that the many details are taken care of correctly and on time.
  • Adaptable. Even the most organized group can experience issues related to equipment, venues, weather or resident health. The team is flexible in any situation.
  • Collaborative. To promote the health and well-being of residents, the team understands residents’ interests as well as their strengths and limitations and chooses appropriate activities and programs. When needed, the Beatitudes’ life enrichment team collaborates with the resident, as well as their family and caregivers to ensure the best possible outcome.

Most importantly, the team follows the lead of residents.

While most senior living communities boast about their activities and amenities, only a few have a well-developed life enrichment program driven by residents themselves.

“At Beatitudes Campus, residents are integral to the process. In fact, they help manage and drive it. We listen to them, get their feedback and incorporate their ideas. Here, anyone can make an idea come to life,” said Schilling.

Before choosing a senior living community, be sure to check out its life enrichment program. Here are a few questions to consider:

  1. What’s on the calendar? Are there a wide variety of activities and programs? Would you enjoy participating in any of the options?
  2. Is their a life enrichment team dedicated to developing new and interesting programs? Who is on the team?
  3. Are residents encouraged to participate in the process, provide feedback, and help develop ideas?

“At Beatitudes Campus, our team works great together. We do our best to create an environment where there are no barriers to participating,” said Schilling. “Wherever you live at Beatitudes, we want you to feel welcome at each and every program.”

To learn more about Beatitudes Campus’ extraordinary life enrichment program, call us today at (602) 833-1358 or get in touch with us online.