George Burns (who lived to be 100) used to say, “If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself”. An active lifestyle is more important than ever as we age! Why? Regular exercise can help boost energy, maintain your independence, and manage symptoms of illness or pain. Exercise can even reverse some of the symptoms of aging. It is never too late to start!
Exercise is the key to healthy aging:
Starting or maintaining a regular exercise routine can be a challenge as you get older. You may feel discouraged by illness, ongoing health problems, or concerns about injuries or falls. Or, if you’ve never exercised before, you may not know where to begin. While these may seem like good reasons to slow down and take it easy as you age, they’re actually even better reasons to get moving. In fact, exercise is the key to staying strong, energetic, and healthy as you get older.
3 Myths about exercising:
Myth 1: There’s no point to exercising. I’m going to get old anyway.
Fact: Exercise and strength training helps you look and feel younger and stay active longer. Regular physical activity lowers your risk for a variety of conditions, including Alzheimer’s and dementia, heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, high blood pressure and obesity.
Myth 2: Exercise puts me at risk of falling down.
Fact: Regular exercise, by building strength and stamina, prevents loss of bone mass and improves balance, actually reducing your risk of falling.
Myth 3: It’s too late. I’m already too old to start exercising.
Fact: You’re never too old to exercise! Exercise can be invigorating and help build muscle mass at any age. If you’ve never exercised before, or it’s been a while, start with light walking and other gentle activities.
Muscle keeps us strong, it burns calories and helps us maintain our weight (muscles are a 24/7 consumer of calories – the magic words: “weight loss”). It is also an essential contributor to our balance and bone strength. Without it, we can lose our independence and our mobility.
Research shows that inactivity is responsible for the majority of age associated muscle loss. Fortunately, correct and specific strength training (rather than just cardio exercise) in just 25 minutes a week can reverse much of this decline by stimulating the regeneration of muscle fibers.
Proper strength training with the focus on no stress on the joints, is ideal for people with arthritis. This type of strength training can help alleviate symptoms by strengthening the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that surround joints.
Conslusion: Excercise is good for you so, get up and go!