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Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks

Shane Sauer

Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks

By Shane Sauer

This past week, while working with my Z-Health Master Practitioner material, I came across a very interesting article that I wanted to share with you.

This review article (one that summarizes a number of studies on a given topic) discussed how well older adults can learn and perform new motor skills.

The main takeaway – You CAN learn new skills at any age!

When it comes to learning a new skill, there are two main components:

  1. Sequence Learning

  2. Motor Adaptation

Sequence learning means being taught the different phases of a movement. Take the golf swing for example. There’s your stance, backswing, contacting the ball, and follow-through. That’s it! Believe it or not, that sequence is the same for almost all actions.

Motor adaptation is making alterations to the sequence to accommodate changes in the environment. Sticking with golf, that might mean hitting the ball on a hill or into the wind.

In both of these areas, older adults faced more difficulty than younger adults. Fortunately, the difficulties for older adults when learning a new skill can be easily overcome:

  1. Complexity - When a sequence is too complex, it is harder to learn. Solution, work on smaller parts.

  2. Consolidation - Remembering what was learned. Solution, get some good sleep before trying to learn more.

  3. Challenge - Adjusting to environmental changes. Solution, maintain and develop sensory tools like vision so changes are less “scary”.

I hope this comes as no surprise to you, but all of these considerations are accounted for when training MATRIX!

Whether you want to try a new sport or regain a skillset you’ve lost, now is the time to get started! Age is no longer an excuse.

I’m going to be starting a Small Group Training this September. It will be a great opportunity for you to have some fun, work on movement basics, and learn some new skills.

Just send us an email if you’d like more information on Small Group Training.

Oh, and if you want to check out the review article, click the button below.