What are the design requirements for outdoor fitness equipment for the elderly?
Due to the increase in age, the elderly gradually leave the social arena, receive less and less attention, and their social status declines. The elderly are more suspicious and sensitive, and their mood is greatly affected by the outside world. Too much free time caused by detachment from social activities, and less and less social attention, makes the elderly feel a sense of loss, and the slowness of the body also leads to untimely coping with certain life activities. There will even be greater mood swings, depression, anxiety and irritability. Therefore, the design of fitness equipment for the elderly needs to consider the psychological needs of the elderly. By taking into account the psychological demands and physiological characteristics of the elderly, the targeted design not only solves the daily fitness problems of the elderly, but also enhances the happiness of the elderly in their later years.The application of the concept of "re-health" for the elderly in fitness facilities
The concept of “re-health” for the elderly aims to provide a brand-new fitness method for the elderly through new facility configuration, so that the physical and mental state of the elderly can be adjusted to a healthy level through exercise and other methods, and the body caused by aging can be reduced. Hypofunction, psychological loneliness, and increased sense of social exclusion can strengthen the body, reintegrate into social life, and bring a new life state. For the elderly, it may be difficult to be as strong and full of vitality as young people. Therefore, the concept of "re-health" for the elderly is based on the physical status of the elderly and is formed under the conditions permitting by considering their biological age. At the same time, it emphasizes the spiritual care for the elderly to achieve a good living atmosphere.
Most community outdoor fitness equipment is designed with reference to the body size of young and middle-aged people. The physical state and range of exercise of the elderly cannot be matched. There may be hidden dangers during exercise. Not only can it not achieve the purpose of exercise, but it may be possible. Will cause damage to the body. These damages may affect the participation of the elderly in community activities.
What are the design requirements for outdoor fitness equipment for the elderly?
Excessive exercise intensity. The original intention of certain existing community fitness equipment is to promote muscle growth. It uses high-intensity, wide-angle, and large-meter repeated stimulation to achieve the purpose of exercise speed, strength and explosive power, such as stretchers, bench presses, etc. People have stiff joints and osteoporosis, and body functions can no longer adapt to these fitness methods. On the contrary, frequent use of these fitness equipment may cause muscle strain, joint damage and other injuries. Therefore, excessive exercise methods need to be discarded. .
Improper exercise. The slackness of the muscles of the elderly becomes higher, the curvature of the joints becomes larger, and the moisture content of the cells becomes lower, resulting in lower elasticity. Certain exercise methods such as arm pullers, sit-ups and other extreme angles are too large. The equipment that achieves the effect of stretching muscles is not suitable for use by the elderly. They can cause cramps and joint dislocations in the elderly during use. At the same time, the elderly will have slow response and poor flexibility when the nervous system is degraded, so large-scale exercise is not suitable for the elderly. Therefore, design considerations for the limit and corner of sports equipment are also indispensable.
The lack of protection measures. Many of the existing community fitness facilities are not equipped with protective measures, and users are also in danger while exercising. At the same time, some bodybuilders are not familiar with the usage method or change the fitness method by themselves, so that the fitness effect is not achieved, and the equipment may be bumped, scratched, or even dropped by the equipment, which is quite dangerous. Similarly, Tai Chi kneaders, balance rollers and other equipment may injure users due to excessively fast speeds, causing disasters.
Innovative exercise method
Elderly people over 60 see more in their leisure time, and the phenomenon of empty nests is serious. The monotony of life causes psychological loneliness, and the elderly have the strongest awareness of health preservation. Most of them choose to participate in community fitness exercises to maintain their health. People with different physical conditions choose different ways of life. The elderly with better physical conditions have an optimistic and positive attitude towards life, and participate in more fitness activities, such as chess, walking, square dancing, and Tai Chi. Elderly people who are physically inconvenient or need walking aids have a relatively small range of activities. In addition, their own control is reduced, their inner inferiority and rejection will increase, and they are unwilling to participate in too many sports activities. This increases the human care of community fitness equipment and allows More elderly people can participate autonomously, through intuitive designs such as vision and touch to increase their interest in fitness, and through changes in usage and interaction methods, to stimulate the elderly's fun in exercising and fitness. The elderly’s ability to respond to external things becomes longer, and their memory and analytical abilities are weakened. However, the patience and calmness of movement behaviors will increase. Design some links to exercise thinking ability or cultivate patience. Games that achieve fitness goals, improve the use of equipment based on the mental characteristics of the elderly, enhance their interest in sports and fitness, and achieve human-computer interaction, so that the elderly can perform daily exercises autonomously.
Improve social integration
For the elderly, the range of daily activities is a short distance around the place where they live, so their social activities are often within this range. Too little contact and closed information lead to the integration of the elderly into the society. At the same time, after leaving the workplace and social posts, there is more leisure time and too little direct contact with social life, which easily leads to a decrease in self-social awareness, an increase in loneliness, and an increase in social exclusion. Compared with young people, it is a bit more difficult for the elderly to accept external information. The speed of response to stimuli is reduced, the completeness of the received information is greatly reduced, and their thinking ability deteriorates. They always appear passive and weak in fast-paced social life.
Therefore, increasing the social integration of the elderly is a very important issue. I have seen a lot in leisure time, and the scope of interpersonal communication is too narrow. As a result, community activities occupy a high proportion of the elderly’s daily life. The time for the elderly to participate in community fitness activities is prolonged, and the degree of participation of the elderly in social activities can be increased. The elderly in community life still feel that the society attaches great importance to and cares for them. Under the background of the increasingly obvious empty nest phenomenon, reduce the loneliness and exclusion of the elderly, and allow them to participate more in social life and achieve their own goals. Realization of social value.
Increase the sense of security
Enhancing the safety of equipment is a prerequisite for improving the use of fitness facilities for the elderly. The physical function of the elderly will gradually deteriorate with age, and the nerve response ability will gradually become slower. Therefore, for the fitness equipment for the elderly, it is necessary to avoid the parts that may cause harm to the body such as right angles and hard bumps. Due to the aging of motor nerve cells, the degree of wear and tear of the bones and joints has increased, and the ability to control itself is gradually weakened, resulting in a decrease in the support behavior of the legs and a poor ability to control body balance. Therefore, during the use of fitness equipment, improvements should be made to its stability, such as designing the backrest to support the strength of the waist and abdomen; adding functional components such as handles, anti-skid pads, and balance springs to assist users in preventing the center of gravity during fitness. Instability leads to falls and reduces the risk of occurrence. When getting on and off the fitness equipment, the stability and safety of the initial and ending states of the equipment should also be considered to avoid unnecessary injuries caused by the equipment to the elderly before and after fitness. Allow the elderly to safely perform physical activities during use, reduce the sense of resistance caused by worrying about their physical condition, create a safe use environment, and reduce the generation of anxiety and anxiety. Guide the elderly to participate more in community fitness exercises at the level of psychological needs.
Interactivity of equipment
For the elderly, because of the lack of communication, loneliness and boredom are the biggest problems that need to be faced. In the daily life of the elderly, it is necessary to increase the demand for fitness and increase the interactivity of equipment. Under the condition of functional deterioration, the elderly have an increased desire for goal completion. In the process of using equipment, they will try their best to achieve the amount of exercise they set. Therefore, equipment feedback and interaction are very important aspects. Installing a display panel on the equipment or installing a device such as a metronome counting principle can not only remind the elderly of the completion of the task, but also remind the elderly to control the appropriate amount of exercise.
Experience affinity
In terms of human and machine size, the general size of the elderly will be slightly lower than that of ordinary adults. In the case of physical deterioration, the body size of the elderly in the standing and sitting postures when using fitness equipment should follow the principle of appropriateness, and reasonably select data slightly below the 50th percentile to meet the needs of most elderly users. At the same time, in key positions such as handles, pedals, backrests and other parts, fully consider the extreme angles of the elderly's body to reflect humanized care. In terms of materials, the material in direct contact with the body needs to take into account the comfort of the elderly when using it. The existing equipment is considered to be easy to maintain and store. The use of hard iron materials results in the poor fit between the equipment and the body. Causes damage to the body, such as abrasion, crushing, and puncture. The use of soft materials or a shape that conforms to the body curve expresses the practical consideration of the user, and enhances the comfort and affinity in the fitness experience, so that the elderly have a better sensory experience during use, thereby improving community fitness activities To achieve the goal of letting the elderly go out of the house and participate in community life.