The Most Important Thing To Do As We Age

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My blogpost on this important topic is a result of watching my mother get feeble by limiting herself over the years to very restricted activities around the house. “Everybody wants to live forever, but nobody wants to grow old!” – Jonathan Swift

Hah! Yes of course! But we do know that everything and everyone ages and grows older!

Even a new-born baby is aging! Aging is inevitable. That is reality, and a fact of life. We need to accept this… And do whatever is needed to stay youthful in mind, body and spirit! 😊

As we age, our bodies change a lot. Every organ and organ system in the body changes in a small or big way from as early as age 30 ! Our hormone levels change, our metabolic rate changes, and we can see the physical changes in our skin, face and hair. What most people do not realise or observe is that even our muscles begin to diminish in size and strength unless we do something to maintain them!

It always depends on what WE choose !

Our quality and intensity of life as we get older depends on what kind of life we choose for ourselves – top class quality OR mediocre/poor quality ?

Do we want to be limited, dependent, weak, sick, unable to move as we age?

OR

Do we want to be active, independent, healthy, flexible and energetic even as we get older?

If you choose to be in the second category, read on to know about that ONE thing we must do to be able to enjoy our lives doing what we love doing, while staying active, healthy, and independent for as long as possible.

At any stage of life, of course our wellness relates to many dimensions – physical, mental, spiritual, social, financial, emotional etc. While we must pro-actively choose what to do in each of these dimensions, in this post I focus on the very vital physical /fitness aspect of wellness. Being in great health makes a world of positive difference to the other dimensions of wellness!

The basis of all movement – Marvelous Muscles!

Our level of activities is determined by our muscular strength and we tend to lose this as we age. How beautifully they help us move!

When we turn our head to watch a sunrise,

When we pick up a laptop and sit to work,

We walk to the car to go buy groceries,

Smile a huge smile for that pic with our family 🙂

Wave at that neighbour in the park,

Try on a new shirt at a store

Climb the steps to board a flight, or even

When we just swallow our food !

Yes, we are indeed using a variety of muscles for these everyday actions ! There is no movement without muscles. This means we can do no external physical activity without using our muscles (of course, inside our bodies, many muscles including those of our stomach, heart and gut are carrying on many important activities without us being explicitly aware of them).

Simply put – when we lose our muscles, we are rendered weak and immobile. Muscle mass is THE most important component that determines our physical health. Consequently, to be physically active and fit, our aim should be to keep our musculoskeletal system really strong. And to achieve this, we must work out since muscles are built or maintained only when we use them properly and adequately.

So, the One thing that we must do to keep ourselves active, healthy and strong as we grow older is – maintain muscle mass! The best part is that since our muscles are intricately connected with our skeletal system, we are taking care of our bones and joints too when we keep our muscles in good condition.

This makes ALL the difference to how we feel when we age !

Here’s something everyone should know !

1.Maintaining muscle mass (or building it) is an intentional activity.

This means that muscle will not just build or maintain itself in size or strength !! We MUST make an effort to build it through strengthening and resistance exercises.

My mother’s stair-climbing story – a case in point about age not being an obstacle to improvement.

My 77-year old mother wouldn’t climb any stairs at all as she thought it would make her knees hurt more. While she stayed at my place for a few months to recover from a fall, I urged her to climb up to the first floor. She gave it a try. At the end of the 2nd month, she could actually climb up to the second floor (using the banister for support) much to her own astonishment!

2. No Challenge = NO Change!!

If you already have a workout routine, that’s great!! However, it isn’t enough to do a regular easy routine every day and expect to stay strong. We get better, and the benefits accrue ONLY when we challenge ourselves to continually improve. Specifically, it is only when we do more and increase the intensity of our workouts, we do better and get fit enough. For this we need to add to what we are doing in terms of a) level of workouts b) the duration and c) type. There are many exercises to choose from to achieve incremental progress in strength.

Bear the aches 🙂 ! It will hurt when our muscles are working more and differently than what we are used to ! Subsequently our bodies adapt and we get stronger !

3. Resistance and strength training – The first step to building muscle is breaking it. When the muscle repairs itself, that is when the muscle building happens ! Resistance or strength workouts help maintain muscle mass and improve bone density and strength. These are not difficult to do, they can be done at home and do not need any special equipment. We can build muscle using just our own body weight! We can use simple hand-held weights as well if we want to have some variety in our exercise routines.

Here are some strengthening exercises –

Basic exercises like plank holds and all the variations build a strong core and upper body, both are essential for our posture. Lunges, squats, and stair climbing make our hips, legs/lower body stronger. Push-ups and upper body exercises keep our arms and shoulders strong and flexible. Yogasanas, including Surya namaskars, done with correct form and with the postures held for a certain time are an amazing way to be fit and flexible.

It is equally essential to incorporate stretching into our daily routine to relax and tone our muscles.

4. Yes, what we eat matters a great deal – treat yourself to the best !

The body is a beautiful and responsive system. We need to treat ourselves with care, love and respect. This means enjoying food that is nourishing and nutritious, preferably sourced ethically and non-violently.

Rise to the next level – kick it up a notch !

If you have a standard workout routine that you follow, it is time to work it up a notch! Do more, increase the intensity, try a different set of exercises, for example, ones that test your balance and stability. By working different sets of muscles and training in a variety of ways, we improve our overall fitness. CONSISTENCY is the key to improvement and results.

Encourage the seniors in your homes to do more physically. Urge them and guide them to start small and work their way up to do better.

“Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” Samuel Ullman

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw

In conclusion, Keep the enthusiasm going ! Keep playing ! 🙂

Whatever be your age, it is never too late to start taking care of yourself ! Taking care of yourself means you care for your loved ones !

Would love to hear about your experiences with the seniors in your families! Do share in the comments below !