EXERCISES FOR SENIORS

Let’s face it. Very few people of any age get enough exercise. That’s why we have such an obesity epidemic in this country and many other parts of the world. As we get into our 50’s and 60’s we are pretty much set in our ways and our bodies are a reflection of that. Some stay fairly fit and trim their entire lives, and others just let it go. I believe that there is very little empirical evidence that those who stay fit and trim live a lot longer. But I’m convinced that they stay more active and enjoy more of their later years than those who haven’t made any effort to stay in shape. Well, round IS a shape. Anyway, if you have not done much in the way of exercise for many years and you have a sedentary job, you might be afraid to start now. It would be wise to first talk to your doctor about it, and if there are no medical reasons why you should not get started, then start slowly. The idea is not to cause health problems but to prevent them. Being sedentary can lead to all sorts of problems that regular motion might help you avoid. High blood pressure, lack of appetite, poor sleep habits, low energy, and a whole cascade of other things you would do well to avoid. Since this blog is focused on STAYING well rather than getting well, I want to encourage you to take some action. We’re not training for the Olympics, but we are in training to stay fit and active for as long as we can.

Lets start by just walking. Not far, not too fast, and not for too long at first. You want to get your muscles and ligaments and tendons and lungs used to idea first, so just take a little stroll for five or ten minutes, longer if you are up to it. If you live in an area where it is safe to walk outdoors, that’s best. Distracted by things going on around you, the time goes by more quickly. Walking in a shopping mall serves the same purpose. Just don’t stop to look in every store window. Gradually, you want to increase your pace and total duration of your walks to thirty minutes or more at least three times a week. Vary your route from time to time so you don’t get bored, and if possible, walk with someone else.
In our neighborhood the streets are not all flat so I can get a little more strenuous walk from time to time by going up and down some gentle hills. I have a treadmill, and I always start out at a 3% incline.

After you have made walking a regular part of your week, it’s time to add a little weight training or some sort of resistance. Muscle tone is important if you want to be able to fend for yourself in the years ahead. You don’t have to become a body builder, but you have to counteract the natural aging process. After about the age of 25, you will begin to lose muscle mass at the rate of 3% to 5% every decade. That could mean a loss of 20% by the time you hit 65. Weight training can offset that to some extent. You can’t stop it entirely because your body is changing whether you like it or not. You’re giving up nitrogen, an essential factor in muscle protein, faster than you can take it in. You’re also losing bone calcium. Your body is becoming more acidic. Decrease the acidity in your system by increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat. And counteract the muscle loss with some regular resistance training. You can get some 2 to 5 pound hand weights and do mostly upper body exercise while seated or standing. These include biceps curls, French curls for the triceps, and butterflies. E-mail me if you want more complete descriptions of any of these. For resistance training of the legs and hips, I suggest moves adapted from T’ai Chi Chuan. We call it T’ai Chi, but that’s like saying “foot” instead of “football”. Without getting into the Taoist philosophy, we can benefit from the exercises. These moves will not only strengthen your legs and hips, they will help to improve your balance and ability to recover from an imbalanced move that might lead to a fall. Falls resulting in broken bones are harder to recover from as we get older, so let’s try to prevent them by making ourselves stronger and more stable. But we not only lose muscle mass, we lose flexibility, balance and endurance as well. So here’s a very simple series of moves to help improve all four, along with the upper body resistance training. You don’t need to buy any equipment, but I do suggest that you use the back of a sturdy chair for balance until you feel strong enough to do them without it.

· First, stand behind a chair holding lightly to the back, feet a comfortable width apart (shoulder width). Now, slowly shift your weight to the left until 95% of your body weight is on your left foot. Now bend your knees slightly. Inhale deeply. Slowly lift your right foot and move it beside your left foot. With both feet on the floor and close together, stand erect as you exhale completely. Now reverse the move, inhale and exhale slowly and completely as you go, until the right foot is back in the starting position. Now, very slowly shift your weight to the right foot and repeat to the right side. Once you have returned to the starting position, count as one repetition. Build up to ten complete reps over a period of a few weeks. Take your time. What is important here is not how fast you can do this, but how s l o w l y. And always in total control. If this is too easy, you are going too fast!
· The next series of moves is only slightly more complicated. By now, after several weeks perhaps, you have strengthened your legs with the first series, so adding this should not be too hard. As you shift your weight to the left foot and slowly bend your knees to a half-squat, lift the toes of your right foot from the floor, keeping your right heel firmly planted. Now slowly pivot your whole body to the right, keeping your left foot firmly in place pointing forward. If you are doing this correctly, you will turn 90 degrees to the right, your left leg will be bent at the knee and your upper body will be erect, facing to the right, your right heel will be on the floor, right leg fairly straight, toes pointing up. Now pivot back to the front, both feet back on the floor and slowly exhale as you stand very tall. Repeat to the opposite side.

These simple moves look and sound easy and perhaps pointless until you actually do them through ten complete repetitions very slowly. Then you will see just how powerful they can be. Don’t forget to observe your breathing. Holding your breath is never good.

I know people who have practiced t’ai chi for decades who remain strong, flexible and agile into their 70’s and 80’s. Using these simple t’ai chi moves can help you in the same way. At the age of 60 I can stand on one foot at a time and put my socks on.

I will write soon about this whole problem of acidity vs. alkalinity and aging and how you can combat it with your diet. Here’s a sample: One of my favorite things to add to spaghetti and certain casseroles is parmesan cheese. It is one of the most acidic common foods you can put in your body. Not so good. Spinach is one of the most alkaline vegetables. Look for this article in the next few weeks.