Lifting the bar: Living longer conference in Melbourne 22 July

Council on the Ageing’s Living Longer Living Stronger (LLLS) has, in less than ten years, directly enabled over 10,000 and indirectly thousands more, older people to participate in quality strength training programs across Victoria, and the numbers continue to grow.

The 2008 Living Longer Living Stronger annual conference in Melbourne on Tuesday 22 July 2008, looks to the new challenges of the next ten years.

Progressive strength training is the key to LLLS, and progressive thinking is the theme for this conference, which aims to ensure that LLLS continues to be effective and relevant in a rapidly changing environment.

LLLS is funded by the Office of Senior Victorians, and the Victorian government has committed funding of $1.35 million to ensure that strength training programs for seniors will be available in all local government areas across Victoria by 2010.

According to Council on the Ageing Victoria (COTA) executive director, Ms Sue Hendy, the 2008 conference will be an opportunity to review the strengths of LLLS, as well as looking at new ways forward.

“LLLS broke new ground when it was established, and we are still leading the way in strength training for older people”, she said.

“We are now starting to see some of our participants training as fitness instructors, including those in their seventies. That  shows how much the landscape has changed.”

The conference program draws on the skills and experiences of both LLLS partners and other health and fitness experts to address emerging issues.

Preliminary findings from the National Ageing Research Institute research into the impact of LLLS, will also be presented for the first time.

As Ms Hendy says, “Our participants tell us LLLS works, but this research is of great interest because it looks at the impact of strength training as it is delivered in the community, rather than in a laboratory.

“Significantly, it also considers the effects on mental as well as physical health.”

Appropriate strength training programs have been demonstrated to contribute to improved strength, balance and flexibility for older people, contributing to greater independence and ability to cope with everyday life.

It also assists in prevention and management of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and osteoporosis, reduces the pain associated with arthritis, and has benefits for mental health.