If exercising on your own isn’t your thing, nor is joining a local gym, maybe a community-based exercise program for older adults may be the right thing for you.

A study, due out early next year in the journal American Journal of Public Health, looked at 544 people who were on average 66 years old and who took part in one of three nationally-recognized workout programs for older adults, depending on to which group they were assigned.

After 10 months of participating, although the subjects didn’t see any changes in weight or general healthy, there was a significant change in their total physical activity and arm strength. They were compared with a control group, who didn’t exercise, and the exercise group increased their activity by about 26% while the control group only increased by 9%. For arm strength, the average number of arm curls before the exercise program was 15 arm curls in 30 seconds, which increased to 20 arm curls in 30 seconds by the end of the study.

Perhaps community centers or areas that serve seniors should take this type of information and design programs for the seniors, rather than just a one-size-fits-all approach.

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Image: iStock

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