Sidenote:  I will be doing a Free one hour Lunch ‘n Learn this Thursday, April 26, from Noon to 1:00 PM at RISE Well-Being Center in Reston, VA. See details and directions here. If you are in the Washington, DC area, you are welcome to attend. The topic is: You Are Your Own Fountain of Youth.

“Exercise is not enough. Working out three times a week is not enough. Being active throughout the day is what keeps you healthy.”  — Tom Rath, Eat Move Sleep

I often say that you must Make Friends with the Floor if you want to create an effective exercise program as a Senior. You must also adhere to the maxim that Inactivity is Your Enemy. As with most adults, Seniors don’t move enough. I don’t mean just exercise. I mean time spent being active throughout the day, just as Tom Rath says in the quote above.

According to Tom Rath, author of the book, Eat Move Sleep, “we now spend more time sitting down (9.3 hrs) than sleeping in a given day . . . .   Watching your diet and exercising 30 minutes a day will not be enough to offset many hours of sitting.”  Tom Rath, Eat Move Sleep, p. 14

There has been a lot of material published recently about the deadly aspects of “sitting”. I believe it. We certainly sit more than we stand. We sit and stand far more than we move — and it’s deadly. Isn’t one of the more recent buzzwords going around that “Sitting is the New Smoking”? It’s true. Our bodies are made to move, not be idle for an extended period.

“To restore life to your life, to defeat aging, to regain the youth you still possess, get your body in motion.” — George Sheehan, from the Essay Act Your Age.

Part of my basic message to Seniors has always been: If you don’t move your body the way nature intended you to move, your muscles will atrophy and your limbs will look like sticks; your bones will become brittle and will snap like a dry twig; your circulation will slow down and your blood will pool like a stagnant pond; your lungs will weaken and your breathing will become shallow — you won’t get the oxygen your body needs; your immune system will weaken and you increase your susceptibility to disease; and your joints will stiffen and creak like rusty hinges. That’s not a pleasant thought.

“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” — Plato

So, get your body in motion. Move it. Stay active during the day.  Get a lot of exercise. The alternative is not pleasant.

Thank you for reading.