SFCS and Warm Hearth Village worked hard with the students to make sure that the work could continue remotely this year. Seven teams of 4 - 5 students each, alongside seven mentors from SFCS Architects did the work remotely.
As we get older our bodies ability to “snap back” and be mobile starts to decline.
Starting in the early 30s, muscles start to deteriorate and weaken through a process called atrophy. The cause for atrophy is unknown, but could include a reduction in exercise.
The change in muscle density also affects posture and walking patterns in older adults and contributes to a loss in balance. If not corrected, the change in balance and mobility can lead to falls and other serious injuries.
Graphics Courtesy of Oriana Nordt
Exercise is crucial in aging people, not only because it reduces the risk of falling, but it helps with flexibility maintenance, balance, and basic motor skills.
However, 60% of older adults do not engage in physical activity or strength training.
Falling at an old age is very serious. Starting at 30, organs lose one percent of reserve energy each year. So by the time you’re 65, you have lost 35% of reserve organ energy. This loss in organ function is the issue when it comes to falls. An injury from a fall will take a lot more energy and time in older adults to heal and can end up leading to further health complications.
According to the National Council of Aging Every 11 seconds, an older adult is admitted to an emergency room for a fall-related injury,
And every 19 minutes, a senior dies from a fall.
One of the best ways to prevent falls is regular exercise. The National Council of Aging says that regular exercise reduces the likelihood of falling up to 23%.
We were able to talk with Brian Belfield, a Physical Therapist at Belfield PT, about preventative exercises that older adults are doing right now. When asked about the importance of core exercises in older adults, Brian agreed that a stronger core helps to prevent balance and extension issues, that many elderly adults experience.
A special Thank You to the team at...
Graphics Courtesy of Oriana Nordt
The Rectus abdominis, or what we all think of when we say abs, is located in the front of the body, beginning at the pubic bone and ending at the sternum.
The main function of this muscle is to flex the trunk, or the central part of the body. This keeps our spines in line and stable.
The muscle is activated while doing crunches, because it pulls the ribs and the pelvis in, and curves the back.
Graphics Courtesy of Oriana Nordt
The Obliques are located on the lateral sides of the abdominal wall.
The obliques allow for side to side movement as well as twisting. The strength of our obliques determines how much support we have on our lower back and overall posture.
We can workout this muscle group by doing Russian twists.
Graphics Courtesy of Oriana Nordt
The transversus abdominis is located on the front and sides of the abdomen. It is deeper than all the other abdominal muscles
It does many jobs, but most importantly is critical for the body’s overall function and stability.
Common workouts that can be done to strengthen this muscle group are leg pulses and lower leg lifts.
After talking with Community members of Warm Hearth, we found that there are two key demographics that highlight the issues of doing core workouts.
Gerald loves being active but finds discomfort in the current exercises he is doing, and is looking for an alternative to his typical high impact workout.
Esther has had back problems for a while and has not implemented a workout routine into her life. She is now looking for a way to introduce low impact core exercises into her routine to improve the quality of her daily life.
Render Courtesy of Claudia Hasenfang
Graphics Courtesy of Claudia Hasenfang
1. To use Tilt, the user takes a seat on the chair by using the arm rests to stabilize themselves.
2. Once seated, they use their core and pelvic muscles to push the backrest back and forth against the resistance cord for a duration of 30 minutes or one tv show.
3. Once finished, the user can safely lock the back rest in place by pulling out two metal bars from under the armrests and securing them behind the chair. They are now free to relax!
To create a low impact core workout, the backrest moves in a reclining or “rocking” motion with the use of resistance cords.
Pushing back against the resistance cord engages the side core and lower back muscles.
Slowly sitting up and not allowing the cords to push your body weight upright engages the front and lower abs.
The resistance mechanism for the chair is made up of a resistance cord that locks into the back legs and runs through the backrest of the chair.
By pushing against the backrest, the resistance cords are activated. The applied pressure creates a low impact core workout as well as keeps the user reclining at a safe and steady pace.
Assisted by the elastic cord, bearings inside the metal housing rotate around a shaft to support the forces on the chair during use.
Keyways inside the hinge limit the range of motion to 15 degrees with soft bump-stops for a smooth motion.
The 15 degree angle of motion allows enough movement for successful exercise without compromising balance and stability.
the user, but the back cushion includes lumbar support. It is
important to stabilize the lower back while performing core
exercises, which the lumbar support offers.
For the packaging, we wanted the user to be able to remove the chair with ease. So we designed the box to lift easily off the chair, so no difficult movements are required. And the cords are packaged in a smaller container with a thick pull tab.
