ABLE Bodies Balance Training by Sue Scott

From the Publisher

ABLE Bodies Balance Training offers an activity-based program to improve balance and mobility for both fit and frail older adults. This practical instructor's guide provides more than 130 balance and mobility exercises that consider flexibility, strength, and cardiorespiratory endurance. The exercises enhance older adults' abilities to maintain balance in completing their everyday tasks, thereby fostering increased self-confidence, reducing the occurrence of falls, and improving quality of life.

The text is based on ABLE Bodies techniques, which were proven effective in a randomized, controlled study funded by the National Blueprint and Active Aging Partnership. Results showed that ABLE Bodies training significantly improved balance, mobility, activity levels, gait speed, flexibility, and strength for participants 70 years of age and older living in retirement and assisted living facilities.

ABLE Bodies Balance Training uses current research and a component-based approach to balance training. Instructors are encouraged to use activities covering all five components of the program: flexibility, posture and core stability, strength, cardiorespiratory endurance, and balance and mobility. The exercises and activities are easily implemented with the use of existing facilities and inexpensive equipment. They also encourage fun and social interaction, helping instructors to create and maintain an energized and positive environment that improves communication, motivation, and overall progress. The program may be used in group or individual settings and can be customized according to level of experience:

-Beginning instructors can follow the 16-week session planas a well-balanced training program that safely progress older adults through the exercises. The material is complete and may extend to a yearlong program.

-More experienced instructors may select exercises and activities from each of the five component categories to meet the individual needs of their older adult clients. The component-based organization of the text allows instructors to easily incorporate both exercises and conceptual ideas in fun, engaging, and creative ways into their existing programs.
As a bonus, access to a dedicated ABLE Bodies Balance Training Web site is included with the book. It offers 15 downloadable activity handouts that instructors can print out and distribute to patients or clients for use at home. It also offers downloadable handouts of all the balance training activities in the book—over 130 conceptual ideas and activities to choose from either for planning their own sessions or for aiding their delivery of the 16-week session plan. The text also offers a variety of tools, including step-by-step instructions, sample phrasing to use when encouraging participants, ideas on making activities progressively more difficult, and tips on promoting safety while performing the exercises.

The proven exercises and conceptual activities found in ABLE Bodies Balance Training offer both fit and frail seniors increased independence in daily living. By incorporating the ABLE Bodies Balance Training program into their work, fitness and health care professionals will educate and motivate older adults to increase stability and improve self-confidence and health.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Jean A Krampe, MSN, RN (Alexian Brothers Community Services-PACE)
Description:This manual for instructors describes and demonstrates component-based activities intended to improve balance in older frail adults. Using the Adventures in Better Living through Exercises (ABLE) model, this book provides a comprehensive and fun approach to increasing activity for older persons.
Purpose:There have been several similar books written over the past 25 years. This book incorporates the necessary theory, detailed instructions on how to practice the exercises, and firsthand knowledge on facilitating the classes, to potentially achieve specific balance-related outcomes. The book meets the objectives, resulting in an important therapeutic instruction manual.
Audience:The audience may include physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, recreation therapists, exercise leaders, personal trainers, or anyone interested in working with balance activities and older frail adults. The author has a background in theory, research, and practice.
Features:The author sets an aggressive goal of addressing the five major components of balance training for the elderly: flexibility, posture and core stability, strength for a purpose, balance and mobility, and cardiorespiratory endurance. She treats each of these separately and weaves them together as appropriate. Each subject is covered thoroughly. The section on logistics for instructors is handled with a level of specificity that leaves readers and future instructors empowered to replicate the successes noted in this book. The section on safety is handled with due diligenceand provides a breadth of knowledge. The position glossary is a valuable at a glance tool. The book comes with supplemental online resources that include exercises depicted in the book, take home hand outs, and a certificate of achievement. The web site is user friendly and facilitates a process to print key information. The activity finder is a comprehensive table that combines a training component, intensity level, and specific need. This section serves as a cross-reference for persons developing therapeutic activities focused on achieving specific outcomes. The anatomical figures are high quality and use a readable font. The generous photos of older persons demonstrating the activities are clear; the older persons actually look like they are having fun. This book comprehensively focuses on movement and activity, as intended in the objectives. The author notes the benefit of combining music to activities and offers a few appropriate and applicable examples. An expansion of the music component would be an enhancement. Instructors can access other resources for music, but there are opportunities to include additional suggestions in this book. Some links or web sources for music also would be helpful.
Assessment:This is an exceptional resource for anyone interested in movement and older persons. It is an enjoyable, user friendly book to read cover to cover, and a resource filled with invaluable information. This is a rare combination. I look forward to incorporating this book into my practice.

Product Details

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Table of Contents