By Stephanie Dailey, Director, Go4Life Campaign, and Gerda Gallop-Goodman, Writer-Editor, National Institute on Aging
This September, join the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and our network of Federal, state, and local partners to celebrate the third annual Go4Life Month!
Encourage Older Adults to Move More
Go4Life® — based on research showing that exercise reduces the risk of many of the chronic conditions and disabilities associated with aging — is a national health campaign designed to help adults 50+ fit exercise and physical activity into their daily life. This September, the campaign is challenging older adults to “Move More with Go4Life®!” by asking them to step up their physical activity, work out a bit more frequently, and try all four types of recommended exercise: endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility. All across the country, Go4Life campaign partners, senior services organizations, and others will target one exercise type per week, helping older adults find fun and creative ways do a little more, while exploring new ways to be active.
Participate in Go4Life Month
Are there ways you can get involved? Absolutely! For starters, you can watch “Celebrate Go4Life Month 2017!”, a dynamic and upbeat video guaranteed to inspire you to “Move More with Go4Life!”
Need ideas to help you or your organization celebrate the month? Try these simple and fun activities to mark each week:
- For Endurance Week (week one), you might organize a 10-minute Go4Life nature, mall, or community walk.
- For Strength Week (week two), you could encourage older adults to workout out to this 10-minute Go4Life lower body strength video.
- For Balance Week (week three), why not use this Go4Life Tip Sheet to discuss falls prevention?
- For Flexibility Week (week four), you could show older adults how to add Go4Life ankle and neck stretches to the end of a workout. Or, if you already do them, add a few more.
Older adults participate in a stretching class to improve flexibility.
You can find these ideas and much more in the new Go4Life Month Toolkit. It’s full of useful activities, social media messages, videos, tip sheets, and other tools you can use to help older adults ramp it up during September. Download and print many of these resources directly from the website, or order free copies!
Help Spread the Word
NIA will promote Go4Life Month events and activities during September via Twitter and Facebook. To mark Strength Week (September 10–16), NIA and YMCA Fit & Well Seniors, a Go4Life partner, are hosting a Facebook Live broadcast of a strength training class. Watch live at 9:00 a.m. E.T. on September 13th at www.facebook.com/NIHAging.
Be sure to send us pictures, videos, and short descriptions of your Go4Life Month activities. We’ll post them on the Go4Life website or include them on social media. Also, consider promoting Go4Life Month by helping us spread the word:
- Use #Go4Life and #Go4LifeMonth on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to show us how you’re celebrating the month.
- Retweet our messages on @NIAGo4Lifeor share our Facebook posts from NIHAging.
Here are some social media messages you can use:
Twitter:
- Celebrate #Go4Life Month w/ @NIAGo4Life by moving more! Be sure to include all 4 types of exercise! http://bit.ly/2tKzApg
Facebook:
- Celebrate Go4Life Month this September and challenge yourself to move a little more often, at a faster pace, or try a new activity. Make sure your exercise routine covers all 4 types of exercise—endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility. Visit Go4Life, the exercise and physical activity campaign from the National Institute on Aging at NIH, to learn more: http://bit.ly/2tKzApg #Go4Life
Let’s Work Together
Go4Life relies on organizations like yours to get the word out to adults 50+ about the importance of exercise and physical activity. It will take all of us, working together, at the Federal, state, and local level to encourage and empower adults to be more active. Together, we can challenge older adults in our communities to move a little more, work out a little harder, and try all four types of exercise with Go4Life!