In the home exercise days of yesteryear, we were getting in shape by Sweatin’ to the Oldies with Richard Simmons and with Jane Fonda’s popular fitness series. But just because many of us are now housebound to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus doesn’t mean that we need to pull out that old VHS player from storage to get in a workout. Instead, many of us are finding a variety of home exercise videos online. And that includes those in their senior years.

In fact, thanks to their SilverSneakers benefit, many of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota’s Medicare-age members have a variety of virtual fitness options.

And, member or not (young or old!), SilverSneakers is now streaming Facebook Live fitness classes twice a week. The livestream events, which are open to anyone—just follow SilverSneakers on Facebook—take place on every Monday and Wednesday. If you join the crowd, you'll be among a million other viewers, also getting fit from home, SilverSneakers reports.

“Our first class had 15,000 attendees and that quickly spiked to 56,000 attendees and another 8,000 plus views after the event went live,” says Steve Janicak, president, healthcare business unit, at Tivity Health, the parent company of SilverSneakers. “It’s been a huge success.”

Janicak notes that comments and emails have flooded in since SilverSneakers started the live classes, all expressing gratitude for the ability to continue to partake in the classes.

One member said the classes are a godsend, saying, “I’ve missed my class so much and am so afraid of losing all I’ve gained. Thank you!”

SilverSneakers help seniors access fitness routines right at home

And, while many seniors may be used to using this great program at their fitness center of choice, SilverSneakers is ready to help members pivot their routine in response to the isolation recommendations put in place in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

While fitness centers across Minnesota are temporarily closed, SilverSneakers members can still find plenty of fitness and other health programs by logging into the program’s website. When doing so, they’ll find a variety of member exclusive live events with trainers as well as meditations and other resources for overall health and wellbeing.

“Instructors really become the Pied Piper of their groups,” Janicak says. “We’re working with them to try to keep their groups active,” he says.

The trainers at SilverSneakers have reported that members are successfully experiencing both social interaction and fitness, all virtually.

“It’s all proving to be immensely powerful and a great benefit to keep senior’s spirits up and bodies moving during a challenging time,” Janicak says.

And while there’s already plenty of videos and other health and wellness content on their website, SilverSneakers promises more to come.

“We’re trying to add more each day,” Janicak says. “There’s really been a huge momentum of usage and interaction as we’ve started this. We’re doing everything we can to keep seniors engaged.”

 SilverSneakers is available to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota members enrolled in qualifying Medicare plans. The program provides seniors with access to thousands of fitness locations across the country. We have all the details you’ll need about this fitness program on our website.

More Information

The most up-to-date information from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota can be found at bluecrossmn.com/coronavirus.

More information about guidelines specific to Minnesota can be found on the Minnesota Department of Health website.

Information from the CDC can be found on their website.