As a follow up to our recent post on fall risk factors and how to mitigate fall risk, Jeff also did a review of the 60uP Balance Board, a device which allows us to receive the benefits of physical therapy for older adults from the comfort of our own home.
This piece of equipment is intended to help older adults mitigate their fall risk and improve their stability and strength. Look for a follow up post on the top 10 60uP exercises to come soon. If you would prefer to read, rather than watch, then skip below the video for a full transcript of the video.
Note: We paid for this product with our own money because we were interested in whether or not it is effective for older adults seeking to mitigate fall risk. We are not receiving any kickbacks or compensation from the company.
Here’s the video:
The following is a transcript of the video above:
Hello, my name is Jeff Petersen and I’m a physical therapist with Petersen Physical Therapy. I’m going to do a review of this piece of exercise equipment called the 60uP. I was up late one night, flipping through TV channels and I saw a commercial with Bob Eubanks. Some of you may remember him – people my age will! He was advertising this piece of equipment and it’s called 60uP. I presume the name is because anyone 60 years older and up may benefit from this. So, I thought it might be a good idea to buy it and to look at it. We are doing this review without any consideration or remuneration. I just wanted to show it to you.
60uP cost
The first thing I wanted to look at was the cost. It’s about $250, the one that we bought. That may be an issue for some people. As with any exercise equipment, it’s only as good as how often you use it. We’re just going to emphasize that as we go through.
Ease of Assembly
As far as putting it together, it was really easy to put together. There’s just a tension pin that you snap in as you put the poles in for safety and there’s two different positions. The first position is out wide, and then there’s another position in close. One part of the assembly is that it’s very ruggedly made. The poles fit in there very snug, so you may need some assistance getting the poles in there initially, or when you change them out. That’s probably the most challenging part of assembly.
Features of the 60uP
It comes with a poster that gives you all the instructions for assembly, and it was really easy to assemble. It looks like it’s fairly rigorous, and it’s going to tolerate some rigorous activity, and looks really well made. It comes with a little balance ball for some of the more advanced exercises that they do. In the middle area under the balance ball, you store a plug so that when you want to disassemble the arms or move them you don’t have to poke it with your finger. It has a little device for that.
It comes with short and long bands that have some pretty good handles, and the arms have a little hook that you can store the bands on. These are for the advanced exercises. The other thing I noticed is that I went through and watched all the exercise routines. The beginning exercise routine is about 22 minutes and it starts at a fairly low level of intensity. So, if you’re a person who has fallen before, or has some kind of balance deficit, it really is a good exercise program with the beginner routine. It’s a three week program. Again, if you were to follow this three week program and do it three to five times per week, I believe it will help improve your balance, but you’ve got to use it.
60uP balance and stability workouts
You can check out the three week beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercise programs here.
What I really appreciated is that when they start the exercise routine, it’s fairly low level. As you progress, there are some exercises that are a little more advanced that would work on some strengthening. You could use this for a period of time and it would be a long time before you progressed out of it – I really appreciated that.
The intermediate workout is about 33 minutes and it involves some single leg standing and some side to side stepping. The advance workout is when you start to get into the bands, and you can do some upper body strengthening and some core strengthening. In the poster, it has the beginning workout. It seems very basic, but if you’ve not been exercising and you’ve experienced a fall or you have any one of the risk factors that we talked about in our previous article, this is really a good place to start.
Is the 60uP safe for older adults?
I really like the way the emphasize safety. One of the safety features is they always suggest you put it on a carpeted area or a non-slip mat, that you always wear non-slip shoes, and that when you start, you always have someone with you. Additionally, there were consistent reminders about hydrating yourself. Each of the exercise programs starts with a warmup, a stretch routine, and ends with a cool down and a stretch routine.
Should you buy the 60uP?
If you were to purchase this piece of equipment, use it regularly if you’re in the category of over 60 and you have any of the risk factors for falling, I really believe it would be a helpful piece of equipment. I’m giving it 4.5 out of five “Rudy heads”. The only issue is related to, and the reason I didn’t give it a five out of five is the cost. Secondly, you really have to have some computer savvy – enough to be able to load a DVD and watch the DVD or to go on the website. So, you need to have access to either a computer or a smart TV. Speaking for myself, sometimes that’s a challenge! So, if that’s a challenge for you, or if $250 is a challenge for you, it might not be the piece of equipment for you. Other than that, I give it 4.5 Rudy heads!
If you are interested, you can find a link to buy the product here.
If there’s other pieces of equipment you’d like us to review, please leave a comment below letting us know! As always, if you have a concern or would like an evaluation for yourself or a loved one, then give us a call or contact us!
