The Come Alive Project

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  • Energy Bite 324 – A Role Model for my 80th Birthday

    I turn 80 years old tomorrow, April 1, 2020. April Fools Day. I was thinking about what the future looks like for a healthy and fit 80 year old as I get older.

    I  thought of an old blog post I wrote many years ago (read it here) about a man (age 93 at the time) who had turned to weightlifting and bodybuilding at age 87, and was in the prime of health. At age 93, that man, Charles Eugster, gave a TED talk in Zurich (watch it here) about the importance of health and fitness at his age and older. He said he started because he said his body was in “sad shape” and he was losing muscle mass at an alarming rate. He said he was very vain and wanted to look good for the “70 year old ladies”. Maintaining muscle mass is very important to Seniors and resistance exercise is the best way to do it.

    While the talk was a bit racy in the beginning, he gave some very worthwhile advice on what to do to become and stay fit at an older age.

    When you follow the link and watch the talk, you will notice several important markers of health and VITALITY. Notice his posture throughout the talk, and particularly notice the vitality and strength in his voice, along with the enthusiasm with which he delivers it.

    Charles Eugster passed away in 2017 at the age of 97 from complications from heart disease. But in his nineties he learned to swim. At the age of 95, he took up sprinting. Yes, I said sprinting, not jogging nor walking. After he learned to sprint, he proceeded to gain two world records in Masters Competitions as a competitive sprinter.

    So I don’t know what my future will bring. But I hope I can have Charles Eugster’s strength, vitality and enthusiasm for life as I move through my eighties. I changed a great deal about myself and my lifestyle at age 70 and will continue to do the things that have kept me feeling youthful and ALIVE!

    Anyone can do the same. The cost of poor health and lack of vitality is too great to let poor habits sabotage your Senior years. Work, nutrition and exercise worked well for Charles Eugster, they worked for me, and they can work for you.

    You don’t have to start weightlifting at 87, learn to swim in your 90s or become a sprinter at 95, but there are incredible lessons to be learned from the man who did them, particularly that “it’s never too late” to become healthy and fit.

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 323 – The Value of Taking a Walk

    Some time ago, I wrote an article for this blog about how a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that your walking speed is a predictor of longevity. The faster you walk, the longer you may live

    I don’t really know whether that’s true or not. I’ve seen it reported numerous times in articles in newspapers and magazines.

    Regardless of whether walking speed is a predictor of longevity, it has been well demonstrated over the years that walking is good for your overall health and wellness. If you make walking a part of an overall exercise program, you should be substantially more healthy and fit than if you don’t. Makes sense.

    Walking has often been called the “Universal Exercise”, particularly for seniors. Much of the benefit that younger people get from running, seniors will get from walking, without most of the accompanying chances of joint injury, foot problems and other challenges associated with running.

    And as an added benefit, many Senior walkers report a feeling of “flow” much like the well known “runners high”, a sort of “altered state” or “hypnotic trance” that is sometimes associated with steady, consistent, undistracted movement.

    How much walking is best? I haven’t seen any sort of standard answer. I’ve read that several 20 to 30 minute walks a week will keep seniors healthy. My wife and I walk around 40 minutes twice a week (most of the time), along with our visits to the gym.

    If you are physically able, I suggest that walking a couple of times a week is the best way to start a new exercise program. You can build from that. But whether you choose to expand from simple walks or not, it’s in your best interest to get in some walking during the week.

    You swing your arms. You exercise your legs. You breathe deeply. If you have a local park or trails, you can even get a feel for the joys of nature.

    Right now, if your local or State Government hasn’t shut you down, walking is probably as “good as it gets” for a pleasant distraction. If it’s not allowed in your locale, then some other form of exercise may be the distraction and stress reducer you are likely in need of.

    And later this afternoon, my wife, grandson and I, plan on going on one of those walks on one of the many nature trails in our town. We walk relatively fast. Will it make us live longer? I’ll bet it will help.

    Maybe we’ll run into some of you there.

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 322 – Exercise and Your Immune System

    It’s well known that moderate exercise helps keep the immune system healthy and responsive. But can it be detrimental to your immune system to exercise too much?

    Exercise can have both positive and negative effects on your immune system. Risk of respiratory tract problems decreases with moderate exercise but increases significantly when you overdo it.

    In fact, overdoing exercise actually reduces immune function. If you are a normal exerciser like you should be, then here’s a interesting conclusion.

    In a recent study, researchers found that of three classes of people studied, elite athletes had the highest risk and incidence of respiratory illnesses, couch potatoes who did little or nothing had the second highest incidence of respiratory tract dysfunction, and recreational athletes and moderate exercisers came out the healthiest by far.

    That study was done with humans. Nearly identical results showed up in a separate study using rats.

    As seniors, we are in the “at risk” demographic for the current flu bug that has popped up around the world. So, it’s probably NOT a good idea to engage in overly vigorous exercise for a while. Why not? Re-read the above. Since respiratory dysfunction is a major problem with the current virus, the results of the above studies become particularly relevant.

    But don’t stop moving your body. If you are exercising moderately, you should be in better shape than most. Just don’t wear yourself out.

    After this virus settles down and we are back to normal, it will be wise for most seniors who are not exercising now, to start some sort of fitness program consisting of moderate exercise and good eating habits. As responsible seniors, we need to take special care of our immune system, as well as taking overall responsibility for our own health and well-being.

    We will want to make sure that when another new “flu” hits us, our immune response will be in the healthy range, and not a part of the risk factor that faces us now.

    None of the above is medical advice. If you need medical advice, go to a medical professional.

    Thank you for reading and please stay vigilant.