Even if the relaxation of the restrictions, especially during the summer period, has allowed the UISP Ciriè Settimo Chivasso Committee to go abroad several times for the meetings linked to the various European projects – which it has been dealing with for almost 15 years. he last meeting held in Turin did not see the presence of all the partners involved. The worsening of the health situation, especially in Eastern European countries, did not allow the representatives of the Serbian University of Belgrade – Department of Sports and Physical Education to be present at the final appointment of the FIT & Wise project.
This project, co-financed by the European Commission as part of the Erasmus + Sport program, was specially structured for the over 65s -paying particular attention to those who reside in the Residences for the Elderly and who live alone- with the aim of contributing to the protection of the physical health of these subjects, through a gradual program of exercises. Four different modalities: balance exercises, muscle strengthening exercises, flexibility exercises and multi-component physical activity, or a combination of the three categories previously mentioned. This exercise protocol was the subject of a training meeting – held in telematic mode – which led to an interesting and stimulated comparison between the Adapted Physical Activity instructors. The strengths and criticalities of the FIT & Wise exercises were analyzed on Wednesday 1 December, when the Director of the UISP Committee Ciriè Settimo Chivasso, the collaborator Giada Rapa and the volunteer of the Civil Service Alexandra Marchino met at the Hotel Piemontese together with Stefania Scaramuzzi from the ASD Margherita Sport e Vita – from the Apulian municipality of Margherita di Savoia – and Simon Wltavsky, representing the Slovenian association Institute TREND-PRIMA of Maribor, also project leader In video link Milos Markovic and Vladimir Mrdakovic, respectively of the University of Belgrade and the Croatian association SPORT VIV. Both the Italian partners and the Slovenian leader have encountered various difficulties in having some types of exercises carried out by users, preferring to adapt them to the needs of individuals or to modify them for the whole group if they are considered to be complicated.
“In our case we found a notable muscular effort, which is hardly reconciled with the elderly over 65, mostly inactive. Without forgetting that some exercises can be difficult to perform due to physical problems, such as joint pain and / or rheumatic pain. The exercises to be performed in space, i.e. forward and backward, are also complicated. Even if the backward movements create new connections between the synapses, some instructors prefer to avoid these exercises, for the safety of the elderly themselves, who could fall and get injured, “explained Rapa. Furthermore, other exercises have not been proposed due to the lack of adequate equipment. “Overall, however, the users were very satisfied. I am sure that, with some necessary arrangements, the results obtained in FIT & Wise can be a springboard for future projects as well ”concludes the Director of the Committee.