Seniors Test Fitness Levels at YMCA

The West Valley Family YMCA conducted its first-ever “Senior Fitness Day” earlier this week to evaluate the fitness levels of senior citizens.

Sponsored by Secure Horizons, the event is part of the statewide LifeSpan program, a physical assessment study of older adults.

Senior citizens age 60 and over were subjected to six tests developed by Cal State Fullerton kinesiology professors Jessie Jones and Roberta Rikli. The data collected from the program will be used to set standards to determine average physical fitness levels among seniors according to age and gender, Jones said.

“It’s the first comprehensive way of measuring physical status in older adults,” Jones said. “These six tests provide health professionals in the community a screening tool to identify those at risks and to prescribe exercises for them so that they can do something about it before they become frail.”

About 50 seniors were given the 45-minute exam, directed by Charmaine Gudgeon, wellness director of the West Valley Family YMCA.

The test consisted of the “chair stand” to measure lower body strength; the arm curl to measure upper body strength; the “sit and reach” to measure lower body flexibility; the “up and go” to measure speed, agility and balance; the “scratch test” to measure upper body flexibility; and the six-minute walk to measure cardiovascular endurance.

The test results will help determine the physical fitness levels of participants, who will be prescribed exercises based on their individual needs, said Gudgeon. She added that future senior fitness days are in the works.

“We plan to do this next year in March, and probably again in August and in November,” Gudgeon said. “Right now, were trying to figure out what works and doesn’t work.”