Anyone know any over-80's who work out and stay healthy?

[Teacher Terry]

I would not be surprised if longevity is more of the genes you inherit and then do you do anything to screw that up. Like smoking or drinking in excess or never moving, etc. Both my Mom's parents lived a long time considering the normal age for people at that time. My Dad had parents that lived a very long time but he was a smoker and also a tool grinder before they used protective equipment so that shortened his life span considerably.

 

[rodi]

My stepmom was doing water fitness classes at the Y until 2 years ago. (She just turned 89). She still swims laps 2-3 times a week at her senior community.

She also still works (which is what I thought this thread was about till I reread the title). She's a nursing educator (PhD nurse) and teaches online statistics courses for nurses. She keep trying to quit and keeps getting drawn back in. Her older brother worked till age 90... doing rounds at the teaching hospital he helped found... He finally let his medical license lapse when his back pain got too bad. (He died at age 93... so he had a *short* retirement.)

Stepmom uses a walker/wheelchair following a broken hip... but insists on staying fit - using the pool. She is amazing.

 

[Walt34]

There are a few people at the gym who I'm sure are over 80 but I only know of one for sure - he's 83 and told me that in a conversation. But he also attributes his health to eating right and getting a good set of genes. He looks ~70.

For myself, I'm 66 and can tell if I skip a day at the gym. Next time it is noticeably harder to do the exercises. And when I took a two and a half month layoff because of surgery and then an injury, on some machines I could only lift half of what I was. My doctor told me it would take exercising twice as long as the layoff to get back where I was. The atrophy sets in fast and is a bear to work away.

 

[bltkmt]

My dad died last year at 92. Up until the last few months of his life he golfed 2x per week and went to the gym regularly.


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[Alan]

Talking with friends today who told me a good story about a friend of theirs who was still riding his bike well into his 80's and he lives just outside of Whitby, Yorkshire at the top of a very steep hill. Last year, to everyone's relief he finally stopped riding his bike. (They were worried about his safety on the roads).

He said that he decided to stop biking one day when he was riding up that hill and a coke can, blown by the wind, overtook him.

 

[Teacher Terry]

So got curious and looked this up and basically the genes matter more once you hit your 80's and before that it is lifestyle factors.

 

[Which Roger]

So got curious and looked this up and basically the genes matter more once you hit your 80's and before that it is lifestyle factors.

Sure, but a fit person will begin the inevitable decline from a much higher starting point. A person with good muscle mass and bone density might escape a bad fall with just some scrapes and bruises, whereas an unfit person might end up with a broken hip or worse, which can lead to a downward spiral. And when a person is healthy, the body can devote more of its resources to healing the injury, rather than having to also fight various other ailments.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Yes, I agree. I think that is why my Mom survived 3 different bouts of cancer and a few TIA's with no residual effects because she took such good care of herself and was stubborn. She lived alone until 1 week before she died. She was almost 90.

 

[highlow65]

I know many +80 year olds that attribute their health to exercise.

We're both ambassadors for the sport of pickleball and I know of dozens of people in the 80+ bracket that play competitively. Most come from a tennis or raquetball background and play sometimes 6x/week for 2 hours per session.

The oldest player that I know of is 94 and she plays just about every day and is constantly lobbying her local community government to add more pickleball courts.

The oldest player in our own club is 92. He stopped playing for awhile and we were concerned that he was slowing down. Turns out he had a new girlfriend who didn't play and she was annoyed that he was gone so much... the girlfriend is gone (don't know what happened) and he's back on the courts.

what is pickleball? Never heard of it.

 

[eytonxav]

I don't think there are any 80+ in my gym, but certainly plenty of folks in their 70s who are in pretty darn good shape. As I do play softball, there are several players in our 65 and up division that are in their 80s, and the way they move, you would never know it. I play in a 55 and up division and there are I believe 2 players that are in their 80s and still capable of hitting line drives.

 

[Sunset]

I know a fella, he is 91, just replaced his treadmill as he wore out the other one.
He is on the tread mill many times per week.
He just painted his upper hallway, he had to build himself a scaffolding to put the ladder on.
Then he went and bought an arc welder as he wanted to weld up a metal frame to put a piano on wheels so he can move it around.
He also controls his diabetes by diet, and is really strict about no sugar and not much in carbs. He is not overweight at all, again the food intake watching.

Honestly I don't think I have the will power like he does, so I'm fated to die younger.

 

[Sunset]

My Uncle is 95, he had to give up cutting down trees and chopping them into firewood when he got too old at 85
He was always active, including golfing, walks, swimming whenever I saw him.

 

[O2Bfree]

Two of my gym friends are over 90. The 92-year-old didn't start working out until after he retired in his 60s. He's lean as a limb and sharp as a tack. Comes in every day to play racquetball, use the weight machines, and gab with his many friends there. The other guy is 93. He's slower and less agile mentally and physically, but still comes in several times a week to ride the bike and use the weight machines.

Now my parents were together for 65 years, both quite active because they ran a restaurant, but quite different physically. Dad was overweight much of his life, and though he was very sharp he tended to be a bit introverted and melancholy, Type B. Mom is petite and more high-strung, Type A. Always busy at something, not the type to vegetate in front of the TV, as dad started doing later in life. They had a similar diet all those years, lots of red meat, dairy, and processed food. Dad ended up with heart disease, and prostate, colon, and bladder cancer, and two broken hips, but made it to 87, though with very poor quality of life for the last 7 or 8 years. Mom's still going ball-o'fire-strong at 87.

Seems to me that genetics is a major factor in longevity, another 80/20 example. People stay active largely because their body type lets them. But that 20% can make a big different. I'd bet that if my dad had pushed himself to exercise, and also kept current on his cancer screenings, he'd still be around in fair shape today.

 

[NYEXPAT]

Dad, just had his 98th B'day yesterday and is fit as a fiddle though can't exercise any longer. In his 80's was playing tennis,swimming and would walk 5 miles every morning on the beach in front of his house. He is another everything in moderation guy and was drinking beer and eating wurst's at a local German restaurant to celebrate.

 

[bhoferp]

I have 3 ladies in my water aerobics class in their 80s. The 80 year old is quite heavy, and uses a walker when on land, but has a great personality-quite sassy! The 86-year-old is my across the street neighbor. She is quiet and has lots of family around, although her husband died within the last year. The 88-year-old is my hero, tiny and sassy, but I've noticed in the last year she is not as strong. When the water is pouring out of the water slide, I have let her take my arm to get past the current. All 3 live in their own home and drive to class.

 

[PawPrint53]

My grandmother never learned how to drive so she walked everywhere. She mowed her lawn (push mower) into her 80s. When she was 95, she fell and hurt her arm, but did the PT exercises religiously so she could hang her clothes to dry (no dryer). At 99, she could still climb stairs. My uncle moved her into assisted living when she was 101, which, imho, started her decline. She died at 103, but those last two years weren't good. Her mother lived to 96 so I believe a combination of good genes and exercise were at play. My grandmother outlived two of her kids (smokers) and the youngest died just after his 80th birthday (smoker who quit in his 60s).

 

[Amethyst]

Perhaps uncle saw evidence of decline earlier than the rest of the family did, and decided to get ahead of the downhill curve? 100 years old is really "pushing it" for anybody! Thanks for the story about your grandmother. She sounds wonderful.

MMy uncle moved her into assisted living when she was 101, which, imho, started her decline. She died at 103, but those last two years weren't good.

 

[Taxman59]

I don't know if this counts, but my Mother has been swimming daily for 30 years and goes to a personal trainer 3 days a week. She isn't in as good shape as she once was, but for 88 years old, she is doing well. Up until she had a fall last year, she was often mistaken for someone 15 years younger!


Have the day you deserve, and let Karma sort it out.

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[braumeister]

A former neighbor still walked half a mile, four times a day at the age of 100. He said "use it or lose it."

 

[Amethyst]

This is just what I had in mind. People over 80 who have made a lifetime habit of keeping in shape and seem to be reaping the benefits (something we might all wonder about, as we drag ourselves to the gym or whatever!) I hope it's also helped her recover fully from her fall.

I don't know if this counts, but my Mother has been swimming daily for 30 years and goes to a personal trainer 3 days a week. She isn't in as good shape as she once was, but for 88 years old, she is doing well. Up until she had a fall last year, she was often mistaken for someone 15 years younger!


Have the day you deserve, and let Karma sort it out.

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[Taxman59]

She used to fully recover from any setback (knee replacement, afib, colds, flu etc) within a few weeks. This latest fall cracked a rib (she fell into a plastic trash can while at the gym). She has recovered about 50%, and her dr and trainer says that's about it, she now has the fitness of a healthy 80 year old.


Have the day you deserve, and let Karma sort it out.

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[Amethyst]

It took me over a year to recover full strength after just 4 weeks in a cast with a minor wrist fracture (plus a major sprain - arguably the worse injury, as I bent my wrist completely backward landing on it with my full weight). And I am only in my late 50's. So her recovery looks fantastic to me.

I bet she continues to improve because she won't give up.

Amethyst

She used to fully recover from any setback (knee replacement, afib, colds, flu etc) within a few weeks. This latest fall cracked a rib (she fell into a plastic trash can while at the gym). She has recovered about 50%, and her dr and trainer says that's about it, she now has the fitness of a healthy 80 year old.


Have the day you deserve, and let Karma sort it out.

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