It’s never too late to get fit…
We live in a youth-obsessed society and we’re conditioned into believing that we’re ‘over the hill’ at 40, after which we expect our bodies to begin a steady decline towards frailty and immobility - but it doesn’t have to be like that.
Many of the symptoms we associate with old age are actually due to a loss of fitness, and according to Diana Moran and Muir Gray in their book ‘Sod Sitting, Get Moving! Getting Active in your 60s, 70s and Beyond’, aging by itself is not a major cause of disability until our 90s.
Countless studies show that regular exercise significantly lowers the risk of a whole host of life-threatening diseases, but exercise also plays a vital role in helping you to stay fit, active and mobile into old age. Exercise improves balance and consequently reduces the risk of injury through falls, and improves flexibility and joint strength. Resistance training (using weights or body weight to make an exercise more challenging) helps to build muscle, which counteracts the natural reduction in muscle mass that happens as we get older. Regular resistance training and weight-bearing exercise both add an extra load to your bones, which respond by becoming denser and therefore stronger, which lowers the risk of osteoporosis and associated fractures.
Our bodies are designed to move and need to keep moving to stay healthy and mobile. We need to realise that the way we live our life in our younger years will impact on our physical ability as we get older. If you are in your fifties or sixties and starting to find it difficult to stand up from a chair without using your hands, this doesn’t have to be the start of an inevitable decline, it may be that the muscles in your legs have weakened and decreased in size simply because they haven’t been exercised enough. Exercising and strengthening your muscles and joints is totally achievable and it really is never too late to make changes that will pay dividends as you age.
What better way to highlight the potential capabilities of the human body in later life than some examples of truly inspirational people who are positively redefining what it means to be elderly:
- Ernestine Shepherd, 80, was crowned the world’s oldest competitive female bodybuilder in 2011. She walks 10 miles every morning and then works out at the gym. Ernestine’s journey from inactivity to the world of competitive fitness began at the age of 56, because she wasn’t happy with a photo of herself in her swimsuit. Her advice to those that want to get in to shape is to start with small steps. “If your doctor says yes, then start with a walking programme because it is very good for you.”
- Last year, at age 71 Doreen Pechey, became the oldest person to pass the Royal Academy of Dance Grade 6 Ballet exam, just two years after having knee-replacement surgery. Doreen has ballet lessons 3 times a week and also practices for 30 minutes a day on a barre she had installed in her kitchen. Doreen only started to learn ballet 10 years ago. She said: “My shape has changed totally, I’m fitter, I’m more flexible and my posture has improved”.
- The late, great Charles Eugster rowed in his youth and then became relatively inactive until he took up rowing again at age 60. When he reached 80, he started lifting weights. Charles gave up rowing at age 95 and instead took up sprinting! Two years on, he held the indoor 200m and outdoor 400m sprint world records for men over the age of 95. “I'm not chasing youthfulness. I'm chasing health. People have been brainwashed to think that after you're 65, you're finished. We're told that old age is a continuous state of decline, and that we should stop working, slow down and prepare to die. I disagree. To me, a 65-year-old is young.”
Of course, you don’t have to be breaking records and winning medals to improve your strength and fitness, just as you don’t have to run or lift weights. The 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise recommended for adults can include brisk walking, aqua-aerobics and riding a bike on level ground. The two muscle-strengthening activities also advised for adults per week (vital for retaining/regaining muscle mass) can include carrying or moving heavy loads, heavy digging in the garden or activities that involve stepping and jumping, such as dancing.
If you feel inspired to improve your fitness and start reversing the aging process, the NHS Live Well website is a great place to get lots of exercise ideas and sensible advice.
Jo Ellis – Mojo Fitness, Tavistock
Personal Training and Weight Loss Support