Most people who get older who are fit and heathy have been doing it a long time, and are very aware of the saying “use it or lose it”..
They didn’t just put a few things right, and then go back to their old unhealthy lifestyle and hope for the best.
They kept on top of things, they kept moving practically every day, they didn’t stay in a chair longer than they had to, they did plenty of strength training, they often took the stairs instead of the lift, they found ways to be more active, because as we all age and if we don’t keep moving, our bodies get stiffer, they become less durable, injuries aches and pains become more of a part of life.
When our joints lose their ability to move in a full range of motion, our body becomes less efficient at everything else, and starts making compensations. Things you used to take for granted now you may have to think twice about.
This is how many people as they age eventually lose independence, because their body begins to let them down, slowly first of all, then rapidly. Losing balance leading to falls, losing strength leading to weaker bones and general function as well as poor lung capacity will be devastating for anyone.
The answer is to keep your movement standards up, training regular may sometimes demand a lot of you you think, but exercise should be designed to stretch you and get you stronger, keep your high standards very high, keep your mobility very good, stop pain invading your body and not let you slip into any kind of movement decline, which can have dire consequences for many, in both body terms and of course in the mind.
It is a biological fact that most of us will slow down as we age, but our daily habits will either slow that down dramatically and help us thrive into old age or radically speed the ageing process up by sitting around too much, giving up on ourselves and eating and drinking poorly, instead of having a go at what we are really still capable of in life.
