Category: Senior Fitness

In looking back at last week’s article, I was perplexed by the idea that so many people on the island of Martinique perished during a 1902 volcanic eruption. Most were unable to escape, in part because they didn’t have the strength or stamina. Yes, the speed of the lava flow was certainly a major factor, but according to the rescuers, many more could have saved themselves had they been physically able, particularly since they had been warned of the eruption well in advance.

Most available information on Health and Fitness for seniors (or for anyone for that matter), relates to (1) Longevity and Personal Energy, or (2) the ability to function comfortably during daily activities.

So I will start addressing a third form of fitness for seniors (3) Survival in the event of an emergency. There is some information available, but the subject isn’t stressed nearly as much as it needs to be.

Longevity and Personal Energy are self-explanatory. If we exercise, our body parts work better and our mind works better too. We tend to live longer and better. The ability to function comfortably during daily activities should be a “no brainer”. Seniors need to be able to push, pull, lift, carry, twist and bend, balance, and walk or run.

But what if you were in a building fire or natural disaster? Could you get out? Could you help someone else get out? Could you pull your spouse or a neighbor to safety? Could you push a fallen door or bookcase off yourself or pull it off someone else? How far could you drag someone to get them out of the way of danger? If you fell and injured yourself in your home, would you be able to crawl or drag yourself to your phone or to the door? Would you be able to reach the door handle to open it to call for help or assistance. If there were smoke, would you be able to drag yourself flat along the floor to stay under the smoke to prevent smoke inhalation? “Think on these things”.

I brought the topic up during a talk I gave this past week to a group of very active 70 and 80 year olds, including a trim, limber and fit 92 year old who “showed off” with a couple of knee bends for the group during the talk. There was substantial interest in the topic of Emergency Fitness . . .  enough interest for me to cover the topic specifically in upcoming posts.

I’m putting together a small “instruction manual” which I will share online sometime in the next few weeks – free to subscribers, of course. This is a topic that is not given enough coverage. I will provide some common sense guidance.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be our own “first responders”; to be able to help ourselves and others in the event of emergencies? That will be the focus of these posts for the next several weeks. Stay with me, you’ll find the information useful.

Thank you for reading.

In May of 1902, there was a massive volcanic eruption on the French Caribbean Island of Martinique. A young, French naval officer by the name of Georges Hebert led a rescue mission, and was able to save many of the residents. Nearly 29,000 out of approximately 30,000 residents perished in the incident.

Georges Hebert recognized that most of the people who perished could have saved themselves had they had a basic amount of useful fitness, so he made it his Purpose to create a system of exercise that would provide all men and women with the functional skills necessary to “March, run, jump, swim, climb, lift, throw, and defend themselves by natural means”. He called his system of exercise Movement Naturale Methode, or Natural Movement Method and it was based on using the same movements that cultures such as Ancient Greece had developed in their quest for strength, endurance and physical excellence. No gym machines need apply. Note: You can pick up the Kindle version of Hebert’s book (translated) on Amazon for $2.99.

Hebert’s methods have evolved over time. The military developed some of their “obstacle courses” based on Hebert’s system. Parkour, a French derived art of natural movement uses walls, railings, stairs, ramps, light poles, and other obstacles found in normal urban areas, as it’s own built in gym. While originating in the night time streets of the cities of France, Parkour is becoming a World Wide fitness craze (for younger folks). Just search the word “Parkour” online and you will find some amazing examples of what you can do with your body using whatever environment you find yourself in.

Even though Parkour is a bit much for those of us who are past our early adult years, the point is that you can build strength, muscular and cardiovascular endurance by using your own body in an everyday environment, using whatever natural elements you find around you, to get just as much strength and cardio work as you will get in any gym.

Today, the best example of Natural Movement can be found in Erwan Le Corre’s MovNat program. It is patterned on Georges Hebert’s Natural Movement system and is one of the more popular and effective fitness programs available. I spent a week with Erwan Le Corre in 2009, at age 69, in the wilds of West Virginia, when he first brought his program to the United States. Since that time, he has expanded his program World Wide as a competing force in the fitness industry. You can find his program at www.MovNat.com. I later wrote a guest post for his website which detailed my experiences as a senior in his program. The link to the essay is long gone but you can find the YouTube video I made at a local park at age 71, and that accompanied that essay at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnZnXoZWBms.

The world can be your gym if you let it. If not a cityscape or a forest with trees, hills rocks, then your own home can be your gym. All you need is a floor, a door jamb, a chair, and a couple of soup cans, and you can get all the exercise you need to remain a functional, vital senior adult.  Georges Hebert’s motto was “Be fit to be useful”. He went on to write: “Only the strong will prove useful in difficult circumstances of life.” (Note: Georges Hebert quoted by Christopher McDougall in his incredible book, Natural Born Heroes).

Chances are you won’t be rescuing anyone from an erupting volcano anytime soon, but you will always need the skills that Georges Hebert recognized. I’ve modified those skills a little bit to apply to seniors. Your ability to push, pull, jump, lift, carry, bend and twist, and to move balanced and comfortably from point A to point B, will serve you well and keep you “useful” as you get older. But you have to continue to move your body to be able to keep doing it as you age. Eating well, breathing well, resting and sleeping well, will help too. And remember, too, that it all starts with the way you’re thinking.

Thank you for reading.

This week with all the snow shoveling I did during the 24 to 30 inches of snow that fell on the Nation’s Capital, I was reminded of the importance of personal independence as we get older. Several years ago, during a lesser snow, one our senior neighbors was literally begging for help in getting his sidewalk shoveled so that he could have access to emergency vehicles. Naturally he was accommodated and his sidewalk was cleared by his neighbors.

That points out the dread, if not panic some seniors have at the thought of losing some or all of their personal independence and points out just how valuable that independence is to us.

All the other fears that we have as we get older seem to be part of that overall fear of having to  depend on others to take care of us. Most of those fears are legitimate and while most of the readers of this article aren’t yet at the stage of becoming reliant on others, being forewarned is truly being forearmed.

What are some of the underlying reasons we may become dependent on others?

The first and foremost reason is falling. Many of us can catch ourself when we start to fall. It is when we reach our late sixties and up that our muscles weaken and bones become brittle to the point where a simple household fall may cause major injury. Broken hips are one of the main causes of loss of independence as we age. Some statistics show that most Emergency Room admissions for adults over 60 are a result of a fall. Most older fall victims end up in Nursing Homes or Assisted Living facilities within a year of breaking the hip. I must add that the number is declining as medical technology for repairing or replacing injured hips and knees improves and the procedures become more commonplace.

Another reason for loss of independence among older adults is a result of a long, lingering, debilitating illness. Most of us are able to recover fairly quickly from common illnesses. But as our immune system deteriorates from lack of self care, our immune system weakens and what may be just a normal illness, becomes a long term illness often requiring hospitalization or long term care.

Loss of vision and hearing as we age is another problem. We lose our driver’s licenses and we become dependent on others for mobility and other simple, basic needs. Some grocery stores and pharmacies are responding to those needs by providing delivery services to older adults, and some municipalities provide subsidies or free rides to older adults who can no longer drive.

Some things just “happen” with age.  Knees and other joints begin to hurt and even need replacement. Heart conditions are often caused by things other than blockages (I speak from experience), and even being in the best physical condition cannot prevent them.  It can help slow problems down, but can’t prevent them.  And there are diseases that are “in the air” and we will get, no matter what.  Even these can be fended off to some degree by good health and fitness, but the germ theory is still valid to the best of my knowledge and we can get sick even though we are in good health otherwise.

But for the most part, “diseases” of aging can be held off or even eliminated if we truly make an effort to exercise and eat sensibly.  If we get plenty of oxygen in our blood, if we move our bodies, if we get the vitamins and minerals and macronutrients we need, we are more likely to live long healthy lives than if we abuse our bodies through stagnation and junk food.

Older adults don’t want to become dependent on anyone:  the government, their kids, their neighbors or anyone else.  Yet that can happen if we don’t take care of ourselves. The responsibility is ours to stay in decent physical condition, eat sensibly, and otherwise look after ourselves. Health, Fitness and Personal Energy are the cornerstones of true personal independence and it is up to each of us to make sure that we guard our own Fountain of Youth.

Thank you for reading.