Elderly fitness clap dance simple square dance

Elderly fitness clapping dance is currently the most adaptable simplified square dance branch. It is far more friendly to the elderly who have no sports foundation, inconvenient legs and feet, and degraded memory than conventional square dance. The dual benefit ratio of fitness and social interaction is the first echelon choice among the same type of activities for the elderly.

Three years ago, the morning training team in the garden downstairs of my house was still competing with the square dance team in the opposite neighborhood. Who had the best lines and difficult moves? They even arranged a skewering dance with twists and squats to prepare for the district competition. As a result, before the competition, three elderly people in the team stopped practicing due to knee effusion and waist sprain. The team leader, Aunt Zhang, went to the community hospital three times to seek medical treatment. After consultation with the rehabilitation doctor, he asked the elderly fitness instructor in the district to change the movements for half a month, and finally changed the entire dance to clapping dance. Now the team has expanded from more than 20 people at the beginning to almost 70. Even Aunt Wang, who is in a wheelchair in the neighborhood next to her, asks her husband to push her over every day and sit and film for half an hour. She said, "I just love to join in the fun, and my arms are not stiff anymore after being patted."

Different people’s evaluations of this dance vary quite a bit. Dr. Liu, who engages in sports rehabilitation for the elderly, talked to me. The core of clapping dance is actually lightweight upper limb resistance + tactile stimulation. When clapping, it naturally drives the muscles of the shoulders, neck, and upper arms to move. There is no need to bend or squat during the whole process, and the pressure on the knee joints and lumbar vertebrae is almost zero. It is especially suitable for the elderly over 60 years old with degenerative joint diseases. Many elderly people with mild shoulder problems insist on clapping for two or three months, and the range of raising their arms can be significantly increased. Of course, there are some old square dance enthusiasts who don’t buy it, thinking, “This is considered square dancing? You don’t even move a single step, how is it different from clapping at home?” In the past, the community held a fitness show for the elderly, and some teams were questioned because they signed up for clapping dance to make up for the numbers. In the end, the average age of the team was 72 years old, and the eldest, 84-year-old Grandma Chen, stood in the C position and was full of energy. She received the most applause from the audience, and actually won the most popular award, and the doubts subsided a lot.

There is no barrier to entry if you really want to start dancing. You don’t need to buy classes or special equipment, just wear a pair of well-fitting soft-soled shoes. There are at least a dozen versions of hand clap dance circulating now. One school pays attention to health care, saying that you should clap according to the acupuncture points, the tiger's mouth to the tiger's mouth, the heel of the palm to the heel of the palm, and some want to clap the meridians on the inside of the forearm, saying that it can stimulate the reflex zone to regulate the body; the other school is much more casual and feels that there is no need to be so complicated when dancing for the elderly. , shooting casually to the rhythm of familiar old songs, the most important thing is to be able to move around and have fun together. There are many followers of both opinions. Aunt Zhang and her team now switch between two sets. From Monday to Friday, they shoot according to acupuncture points, and on weekends they just move around casually. They also change their movements and add some small movements of tiptoeing and turning shoulders to keep the picture fresh.

Of course, it’s not all good, so be careful to avoid pitfalls. There was a recently retired Uncle Li in the team. When he first joined the team, he heard someone say, "The harder you hit, the better the effect." He kept hitting it hard for three days, and his hands were so swollen that he couldn't even hold chopsticks. Finally, he went to the hospital and was prescribed an ointment to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, which took about a week to heal. Now there is a handwritten reminder posted on the small tree at the entrance of their team: When shooting, use the intensity that feels comfortable to you. Don’t seek pain. Dance for up to forty minutes at a time. If you feel dizzy with high blood pressure, sit down and rest. The sound is also specially equipped with a decibel meter. When it exceeds 60 decibels, it will automatically turn down. I had two quarrels with the residents of the unit next to me because of the volume problem, but now I have never had any conflicts.

I saw them dancing yesterday morning when I was passing by the garden. The music was played to the song "To the Clouds" which has become very popular among young people recently. In fact, for most elderly people, there is no "standard" square dance. It can stretch their muscles and bones, chat with old sisters and buddies about daily life, and there is no need to memorize complicated movements and there is no need to worry about holding back the team. It is better than anything else.