ABSTRACT
The ‘one size fits all’ approach to prescribing habitual exercise for a ‘standard adult’ has largely failed to gain the uptake one would expect given the advertised positive outcomes, in particular, staving off a multitude of psycho-physical ailments. This chapter starts with the description of barriers to taking up and maintaining an adequate habitual exercise programme. The chapter then illustrates the known impact of exercise on the health of older persons, concentrating, where available, on research studies that have collated the evidence in older persons as opposed to assuming effects based on data from young persons. The chapter discriminates between resistance, aerobic and low intensity-impact exercises. The effects of exercise on fall-prevention and cognitive function maintenance are expanded on, given that these two outcomes are, arguably, key physical functioning markers. The chapter continues by discussing the extent to which compliance to, and/or the ‘health success’ of exercise may be a factor of the context in which it is carried out. Thus it explores the impact of indoor vs. outdoor activities, the energetic demands of the activity and the existing health status of the end-user. It also proposes that the circadian rhythm could be another important consideration. The chapter concludes with recommendations for practical applications of our current state of knowledge as well as a bullet point summary of the key arguments for old age-specific exercise programmes.
