Southend United Community & Educational Trust

Welcome to the Blues Fit For Life programme!

Weekly activity session for the over 55's suitable for all abilities.. 

No need to book just turn up and have fun!

Your five week programme will consist of the following:

Week One
An Introduction to Active Living:
This will involve looking at your current fitness levels and to assess your general well being. The positive effects that exercise can have on your body will also be discussed along with the question of what is fitness?
Practical: Exercise to Music session

Week Two
Dispelling the exercise and ageing myths:
This week will look at dispelling any myths and fears that participants may have in relation to exercise.
Practical: Fitness Walking

Week Three
The benefits of resistance training:
The session will look into the different types of exercise and the benefits that they can bring.
Practical: Resistance Workout

Week Four
Nutrition and diet basics:
A very popular subject at the moment is healthy eating and the new food labelling system used in shops. This week will investigate exactly what to consider when buying food and planning a healthy diet.
Practical: Circuit Training

Week Five
Good posture and body alignment:
The final session will investigate the importance of flexibility and core control and the effect that the stresses and strains of everyday life can have on our body.
Practical: Yoga/Pilates

So, what are the benefits of being physically active?

• Taking part in regular moderate physical activity can:
• Lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of heart disease
• Build stronger bones and joints
• Maintain and develop stronger muscles and a better posture
• Reduce the risk of diabetes
• Reduce the risk of colon cancer, breast cancer and cancer of the uterus
• Helps achieve and maintain a healthy weight
• Helps relaxation
• Provide opportunities to make friends
• Helps relaxation

What is moderate exercise?

Moderate exercise will make you feel warmer whilst increasing your heart rate.

Your breathing rate will also increase, but only up to a rate where you are still able to talk and feel comfortable.

If you are concerned about taking up regular moderate exercise you should check with your doctor about which is the best form of activity for you to take up, particularly if you have not been active for a while.

There are a wide range of different forms of sport and physical activity which you can get involved with, providing social interaction, a chance to improve your fitness and can provide competitive opportunities – this completely depends on what you desire to gain from your new healthy lifestyle.

Healthy Eating

The current recommendation is that you should eat five portions of fruit and vegetable each day and this will help to create a balanced diet.

All of the below count towards your 5 A DAY:

• All fresh, frozen, dried and concentrated pureed fruit and vegetables,
• 100% pure fruit and vegetable juices,
• canned fruit in juice or canned vegetables in water
• A portion of fruit or vegetables is counted as the following:
• a portion is 80g which is roughly a handful of e.g. dried fruit
• 1 medium apple, banana, orange or pear
• 2 small satsumas
• 3 dried apricots
• Beans and other pulse vegetables do count, but only once a day no matter how much you eat
• A medium sized glass of 100% fruit or vegetable juice/smoothie

In order to achieve the most benefit you should aim to include a variety of fruit and vegetables within your diet, as the different types will contain differing combinations of fibre, vitamins and other nutrients.

For more information on healthy eating and guidelines go to www.5aday.nhs.uk

Easy ways to burn off the calories:
The ideal way to burn off calories and to enjoy taking part in physical activity is to build activity into your daily lifestyle.

This could be by joining a gym, taking part in a class, joining in with a health walk, joining a sports club or taking a bike ride just to name a few! However, in between taking part in one of these activities, which could be new to your lifestyle, there are other ways that you can build up your fitness levels without even knowing it!

For example:

• Raking the leaves on the lawn for 30 minutes could burn off up to 110 calories
• Mowing the lawn for 30 minutes could burn off between 150 and 225 calories, depending on how much you have to push the lawnmower!
• Vacuuming for 30 minutes could burn off between 75 and 125 calories
• Standing up rather than sitting down can burn off 30 more calories an hour!
• Gardening for 20 minutes can burn up to 110 calories
• Sitting at your desk at work typing for 20 minutes can also burn up to 25 calories!!

Above are just a few ideas and tips about how to develop a more healthy and active lifestyle and are designed to show you how it can be easy to incorporate these things into your every day life. For further advice on taking up new activities you could consult your GP or a fitness consultant at your local leisure centre.

For further information about the different sporting and physical activity opportunities that are available for you to take part in, check out www.sportessex.com. This website contains a wide range of opportunities and also gives you the option of creating your own activity journal and keeping track of your progress within your own online diary.

Good luck and keep up the new healthy you!