Silver Sneakers provides a variety of fitness classes aimed at accommodating the needs of people age 65 and older. Certified instructors can help guide you through workouts designed specifically for older people.
Silver Sneakers aims to help seniors properly exercise and stay healthy with benefits including:
— Silver Sneakers is an exercise program for senior citizens available through some Medicare Advantage plans.
— Retirees can participate at thousands of gyms throughout the U.S. or access on-demand and live classes online.
— Fitness classes range from yoga and stress management to Zumba and bootcamps.
What Is the Silver Sneakers Program?
Silver Sneakers is a fitness program aimed at helping senior citizens to stay fit and improve their health through interactive classes at local gyms and online. Certified instructors can help you reach your fitness goals in a way that is appropriate for your age group.
“Our curriculum continues to reflect industry trends, so we have Zumba classes, we have dance classes,” says Richard Ashworth, president and CEO of Tivity Health, which operates the Silver Sneakers program. “Line dancing is a massively loved class. There’s an element of fun to that.”
New classes are added to the program on a regular basis. “The popularity of certain new types of fitness classes, we’re incorporating them into Silver Sneakers, so it’s never stale and boring,” Ashworth says.
[See: 10 Important Ages for Retirement Planning]
What Is Included With a Silver Sneakers Membership?
Silver Sneakers memberships include in-person classes and online classes, which could be live or on-demand. The program also provides access to fitness centers throughout the country and their amenities, such as pools, hot tubs, tennis courts and saunas.
How Much Does Silver Sneakers Cost?
Silver Sneakers is a benefit that is provided by some Medicare Advantage plans. If you are not enrolled in a participating plan, there is no option to pay to join.
[See: Great Senior Discounts for 2022.]
What Are the Eligibility Requirements for Silver Sneakers?
You must be at least age 65 and enrolled in a participating Medicare plan to sign up for the Silver Sneakers program.
[READ: What Medicare Does Not Cover.]
How to Find a Silver Sneakers Location
Silver Sneakers offers a variety of different types of real-time virtual classes, ranging from bodyweight boot camps to line dancing, stress management and Zumba. To attend online classes, log on to the Silver Sneakers portal and check your eligibility for each class.
Hundreds of exercise and nutrition videos are also available on-demand through the portal, helping you work out wherever you are without needing to be online in time for a specific class.
There’s also a fitness center search tool you can use to find one of the over 15,000 Silver Sneakers locations in the country for in-person scheduled classes.
When selecting a class, “probably the most important (consideration is) the actual instructors themselves,” Ashworth says. “We want to make sure the instructors understand the right protocols for senior fitness.” Silver Sneakers instructors receive a certification after demonstrating knowledge of elderly fitness support.
How to Join Silver Sneakers
Silver Sneakers has an eligibility confirmation page where you can find out if you’re qualified for the program. “We also have a 1-800 number (1-866-584-7389), which a lot of our members like to call” to activate the membership, Ashworth says.
Your Medicare Advantage plan will likely tell you at the beginning of your term year or in an initial enrollment packet how to join or activate a membership. “You can also just go straight to the (eligible) gym and tell them that you’re a Silver Sneakers member,” Ashworth says. “They have a portal to look you up on our site and make sure that you get taken care of.”
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What Is the Silver Sneakers Program? originally appeared on usnews.com
