Older adults are cycling beyond borders, enjoying exercise and adventure on 10 new Centivizer exercise bicycles at Yee Hong Centre.
Participants in our Adult Day Programs enter a virtual world, travelling by video to new sights and memories. Video playback is controlled with feet or hands pedalling a stationary bike – if the pedalling stops, so does the video playback.
The grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the experience of Professor Mark Chignell of the University of Toronto brought the program to Yee Hong in 2021. “Exercise is the best drug and we are not getting enough of it, especially when we get older,” said Professor Chignell.
Professor Chignell’s “Centivizer” system makes exercise fun, helping older adults to overcome the barriers that discourage exercise. The $52,100 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation paid for VR pedalling units, sanitizing equipment for users and some staff costs.
“Yee Hong has done it again!” said the Honourable Raymond Cho, MPP for Scarborough North and Minister for Seniors and Accessibility. “This Virtual Reality Exercise project will take Yee Hong’s Seniors on virtual bike rides around the world. I can hardly wait to bike through the rest of North America, the Arctic, Africa, Asia and so on. Congratulations.”
The pandemic significantly decreased the opportunities for older adults to engage in physical and cognitive activity. More exercise games are planned for Adult Day Program participants, and for Yee Hong seniors living in our buildings too. Yee Hong is grateful for the generous support of our sponsors.