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We hear a lot about Functional Fitness for seniors.  What does it mean?

Most older adults don’t want to exercise for the sake of exercising.  But they do want to be physically able to do the things that people should be able to do.  In fitness terms, these include the basic ability to:

• Push things
• Pull things
• Lift things
• Carry things
• Bend and Twist
• Maintain balance
• “Ambulate” — move from point A to point B.
• Get up and down from the floor.

If an older adult can do those things, they can do pretty much anything that a person should be able to do.  They also want to be able to do it all without breathing hard, having heart problems, or falling.

But as we age, we lose the ability to do some or all of these things.  That loss of ability happens so gradually that we really don’t even realize it’s happening.  Our muscles gradually get weaker.  Our bones slowly become brittle.  Our digestion slows down.  Our joints get rusty.  Our breathing becomes difficult.  Our reflexes slow, and on and on until suddenly we realize that we can’t do the things we used to easily do.

We start to develop aches and pains.  We feel the stiffening of the joints, maybe even become arthritic.

We catch colds and otherwise become ill more easily.  We run out of breath quickly.  We discover that some of our parts are wearing out and need repair or replacement.

We slow down.  Our weight goes up.  Often we wonder: “What happened to us?”, “How did it happen?”, and most of all we ask, “When did all this happen?”

It didn’t happen all at once.  Researchers tell us our bodies start to decline in our late twenties.  I’ve seen old research that suggests that our bodies begin this gradual decline as early as age 19 or 20.  I doubt that is true today.  Many are realizing the importance of exercise, are starting earlier, and are keeping it up longer.

Is any of this stoppable?  It certainly can be.  In fact, some research suggests that the aging process can even be reversed if we catch it.

How?

You already know the answer.  Exercise, proper nutrition, deep breathing, moderate sunshine and plenty of rest and sleep have all been shown to be able to slow, halt, or even reverse the aging process.  Exercise strengthens the body and helps keep the mind active.  Fresh air, deep breathing and sunshine add to it.  So does plenty of rest and sleep.

Proper nutrition provides the fuel to make it all work.

Put together, we end up with a healthier body, a more active mind, and if we add a little mindfulness or even meditation, a peaceful soul.

A sound mind and body help fend off the ravages of aging and can help keep us filled with personal energy.  When our body and mind are filled with personal energy, we have a more positive and enthusiastic outlook on life and living.

Isn’t our goal to live a long, fully functional, energy filled and enthusiastic life, free from chronic long term illness?

I’ll be writing more deeply on specific exercise techniques for older adults in future posts.  I also hope to include some guest posts with discussions of the many and various nutritional theories.  I hope you’ll keep on reading.

Thank you for reading today’s article.

 

 

Draft 564 wds.

The most exciting time in most athletic events is during the fourth quarter in football, the last innings in baseball, the last few minutes of basketball, or sometimes, even in overtime or extra innings.  Why can’t the last quarter of life for an active older adult be just as exciting as the last quarter of a football game?  It can be, of course.  There is so much to do today and so many opportunities to take advantage of.

Using football as the example, the first three quarters of a game are just the preliminaries.  Then, in the last quarter, when the game is close or tied, the game starts to get more interesting.  The first three quarters are mostly back and forth, up and down the field, with the score either totally one-sided, or close until the end of the 3rd. quarter.  Then it starts to get exciting.

One team scores, then the other.  It’s back and forth down the field with a seemingly greater emphasis on getting the ball in the end zone quickly.  Often the game comes right down to the last play.  The stadium rocks.  The noise is deafening.  Sometimes the game goes into overtime.

The same can be said about life.  For many, life is exciting for the first two quarters but then middle age malaise sets in for the third.  For many, the fourth quarter becomes a transition from that middle age malaise into old age atrophy, deterioration and depression.   Sadly, for many of us, that means sickness, bad health, shuffled gait and poor posture, boredom, depression, often leading into dementia and Alzheimer’s.  All too often, we are incapacitated, incoherent, and have lost much of our functionality.  I don’t want that to happen to me and I doubt you want it to happen to you.  So, what can we do about it?  The answer is . . . plenty!

We can remain healthy, fit, and physically functional, and have a mental clarity and sharpness to go with it.  there is no need to fall into the realm of the “default” senior whom so many of us look to as the definition of getting old or aging.  It doesn’t take a complete overhaul of body, mind and spirit, but a bit of rewiring might be in order.

For that to happen, you have to do certain things, take certain actions, follow certain rules that you may not particularly like, and get into a pattern of actively experiencing life as it is meant to be lived.  That means you must actually exercise both your body, as well as your willpower, eat nourishing foods, get plenty or rest, breathe deeply, and get some sunshine.  That’s not necessarily easy.  You must actively engage with  and participate in life.  The results will be well worth it.  You will be far ahead of your peers, and will live a long, healthy, and independent life.

Sounds good to me.  Thanks for reading.

EB 82 – Exercise Lite

One of the this year’s buzz phrases is “too much sitting”.  It’s true, sitting for long periods of time behind a desk, in a car or on an airplane, can be dangerous for an older person.  Too much time spent on a couch watching endless television can be deadly.

Try a couple of these movements and stretches while you are watching TV or working at a desk and you will get a little bit better blood circulation, and if you breathe deeply while you do them, you will reap enormous benefits.

Move your ankles forward and back fifteen to twenty times, and then rotate your feet at your ankles in a circular motion ten times in each direction.  It loosens up your ankles and gets the blood circulating in your lower extremities.  It’s not particularly important for a younger person, but for an older person, it can be very important.  As we get older, we sit more and aren’t on our feet nearly as much as our younger brethren.  So we need a way to circulate the blood as well as activate the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments in the outer parts of our body.  Open and close your toes as wide and as tight as you can for ten or fifteen times.  Do the same with your fingers.

A couple of minutes of that and similar movements a few times a day is something you need to at least stimulate a little circulation, and you can do it while you’re reading the paper, or even when you’re watching “the box” or wasting (I mean spending) your time on facebook.

I used to call exercises like foot or ankle rotations and other similar exercises, “wuss exercises” until I realized how valuable they are after sitting in the car for long periods, or writing at a desk or table for hours on end.

Squirming in your seat is another example of an “exercise” that can help keep your body circulation process going.  If you are sitting for what seems like it will be a long time, move your butt around in circles on the seat in both directions.  It provides space for circulation to flow and gives your butt a massage at the same time.

Try doing shoulder shrugs while you’re sitting.  Lift one shoulder at a time toward your ear.  Then rotate both your shoulders forward and back.  Try raising one arm over your head, and then the other, bending sideways slightly in each direction while you are sitting at a table or desk.

These exercises don’t really do anything to get the heart beating any faster but they do stimulate joints, ligaments and tendons, and even the local muscles.  Give these moves a try and see if they don’t refresh you a bit.

You don’t have to do them in public when you think other people will stare at you, unless you’re comfortable in your own skin, and don’t mind other people knowing that you take care of yourself.  I’ve stopped letting the “wuss exercise” label hold me back, and I feel a lot better during the day as a result.

Doing just those simple moves alone will not get you fit.  They will help your circulation, mobility and overall well being.  They should not replace a regular exercise program, but are simply things you can do short term to keep your blood circulating and your joints loose.  Give them a try while you read this post.  You’ll feel better.

Thanks for reading.