While we are packing for our holidays, parents and grandparents are getting ready to spend the summer in the city. Even with an ailing heart, they can actively enjoy the delights of their town.
A sick heart combined with the heat is, in the minds of many, a ticking bomb. The elderly, who are prone to cardiovascular problems, tend to stay at home in front of the television, forgoing even the chance to meet up with friends. This does not have to be the case. Reasonableness combined with preventive health care is a recipe for an active summer. However, all under the watchful eye of a doctor.
Movement is health
During the summer holidays, many activities are organised for children and young people in so-called "half-day camps". However, more and more programmes are being offered with the label "for seniors". Demographic changes in Polish society have forced the market to adapt its offer precisely for this age group. In a larger city, but also in a small town, older people have the opportunity to enrol in senior citizens' clubs, which are run by housing cooperatives and NGOs.
Libraries and cultural centres provide extra-curricular activities, including computer courses, music therapy workshops, choir or mind gymnastics. Thanks to such programmes, they can make the most of their old age, meet with their peers and exchange health-related experiences without embarrassment. So illness need not slow them down and isolate them. After all, Nordic walking is the number one sport for seniors today. Organised meetings in various districts of the city offer an opportunity to get moving and try out one's strength regardless of age.
photo: ojoimages
The training sessions are led by professional instructors, are often free of charge and do not require you to have your own walking sticks. All it takes is a bit of willpower to have a pleasant and active time, regenerate and stimulate the body. Equally popular is aqua fitness, combined with gymnastics and therapeutic activities.
These exercises delay the signs of ageing, have a soothing effect and alleviate depressive states, while above all strengthening the heart, the body's most important muscle. So how senior citizens spend their leisure time today is largely up to them.
