Health of Active Elders

[Tekward]

Yes, there is survivor bias, but the results are very encouraging:

Regular Exercise May Keep Your Body 30 Years ‘Younger’
The muscles of older men and women who have exercised for decades are indistinguishable in many ways from those of healthy 25-year-olds.

Together, these findings about muscular and cardiovascular health in active older people suggest that what we now consider to be normal physical deterioration with aging “may not be normal or inevitable,” Dr. Trappe says.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/...cise-may-keep-your-body-30-years-younger.html

 

[braumeister]

In short, use it or lose it.

My favorite example was a guy named Larry Lewis. He was a waiter in San Francisco who stayed active as a runner until his death at the age of 106.

 

[Nemo2]

And Walt Stack...."Start slow and taper off"

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Jogging-guru-Walter-Stack-dies-at-87-3160349.php

 

[MRG]

I believe it. I regularly see a gentleman who was involved in sports his working career. He's pushing 80 and still does unassisted dips and pullups. I have a hard time keeping up with him.

 

[audreyh1]

I don’t know about the “indistinguishable from 25 year olds” part, but I have been doing pretty regular strength training for decades, so maybe it will pay off!

On the other hand, my Dad, who ran long distances until his 70s, ended up having some leg and ankle problems and by his late 70s really slowed down and is now quite frail. So it’s really no guarantee.

 

[gauss]

DW's 75 year uncle does about 3000 pushups several times per week in less than an hour span.

 

[6miths]

The world record is 2,682 pushups in an hour set by a 52 year-old so you should get that uncle to call Guinness. (Yes I had to google it!)

 

[TwoByFour]

It is not so simple as just saying exercise and you will have wonderful elder years. I was an avid rock climber, skier and volleyball player in my younger years and I now am paying the price with creaky knees with little to no meniscus, arthritic ankles and hands, and bad shoulders. It somewhat limits how much I can do now. I am not going to have any replacement or arthroscopic surgeries; I just live with it. So I exercise to the extent I can but have otherwise shifted my interests, which is fine. It is a bit of a tautology after all - exercise so you can have a well functioning body so you can get out and do the things you like doing, like exercising. In any event I am not after quantity (of years), I am after quality and quality is quite subjective. So far I believe the quality is high, so I am happy.

 

[ERD50]

DW's 75 year uncle does about 3000 pushups several times per week in less than an hour span.

The world record is 2,682 pushups in an hour set by a 52 year-old so you should get that uncle to call Guinness. (Yes I had to google it!)

Yes, 3600 seconds in an hour, so 3000 is ~ 1.2 seconds per pushup average for an hour!

3000 pushups in a year would be a closer estimate for me!

-ERD50

 

[aaronc879]

The world record is 2,682 pushups in an hour set by a 52 year-old so you should get that uncle to call Guinness. (Yes I had to google it!)

I also Googled it, before I read your post.
https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/52-year-old-sets-world-record-for-most-push-ups-in-an-hour-1725095

 

[imoldernu]

Coincidence... This week, w/Dr.approval, I'll be starting an exercise regimen, at our CCRC "A.J.'s Fitness Center". Starts with a two session evaluation, and then a planned routine.
All new state of the art exercise equipment using machines with credit card type programmed exercise, based on the Phys Ed Therapists plan. Ie. first day 20 minutes on exercise bike, 5 minutes on treadmill, 10 minutes on rowing machine... etc, etc.. Nine different types of equipment. So automatic that if the card isn't signed in, a phone call to check on health.
The best part is that this is all included in our HOA "Campus" fee... even though we are not yet living in the CCRC facilities. (we'll live in the "Villas" 'til it's necessary to go into other facilities.)
Jeanie has already started her routine, and loves the Therapists... It was her college major, and they have a lot in common.
It's time for me to get back in shape... My college athleticism strength is starting to run out. More than two years since my 15-20mi. bike rides.

At some point along the way, sitting and watching TV becomes easier.

 

[Amethyst]

Sounds like an excellent plan.

Coincidence... This week, w/Dr.approval, I'll be starting an exercise regimen, at our CCRC "A.J.'s Fitness Center". Starts with a two session evaluation, and then a planned routine.
All new state of the art exercise equipment using machines with credit card type programmed exercise, based on the Phys Ed Therapists plan. Ie. first day 20 minutes on exercise bike, 5 minutes on treadmill, 10 minutes on rowing machine... etc, etc.. Nine different types of equipment. So automatic that if the card isn't signed in, a phone call to check on health.
The best part is that this is all included in our HOA "Campus" fee... even though we are not yet living in the CCRC facilities. (we'll live in the "Villas" 'til it's necessary to go into other facilities.)
Jeanie has already started her routine, and loves the Therapists... It was her college major, and they have a lot in common.
It's time for me to get back in shape... My college athleticism strength is starting to run out. More than two years since my 15-20mi. bike rides.

At some point along the way, sitting and watching TV becomes easier.

 

[Red Badger]

I have been an avid walker for a couple years after giving up running due to too many injuries.

Flashback early 90's: got RIF'd from the army. Discovered poverty for second time in my life. Married, baby, no insurance, f-ing perfect. Worked 2-3 PT jobs until I landed a FT job. Had the great fortune to land at a private company that would pay for finishing my BS (and later MBA). Anyhoo, I was working a high stress job with frequent travel, going to school at night, and serving in the army reserves at least one weekend/month. Eating tons of fast food, because it's both cheap and quick. Zero exercise since leaving the army.

Heart attack at 42.

19 years later and doing great right now. An hour later, who knows? I used to do a fair amount of PU/SU plus my 3-5 miles walk 5X/week. The lifting at my volunteer gig replaced the PU/SU sessions (I do make a conscious effort to use proper ergo plus make every lift an anaerobic moment).

Plan to keep up the walking for a few years, but see aquatics as next logical option... before it is only option.

Keep pushing all!

 

[Rianne]

Sitting is the new smoking. Not that I live by that rule, but keep the blood flowing, the intestines working, muscles protect bones (especially abdominal muscles protect the back), leg muscles protect the knees, everything works better when you move. It doesn't matter what you do just move. Get the heart rate up.

Forget about every little pain. Many people are not disciplined to follow a work out. All you have to do is keep moving. It's what most animals do in the wild. Fish/mammals in the sea move constantly.

Many companies are incorporating stand up desks and even tread mill desks.

 

[youbet]

......my Dad, who ran long distances until his 70s, ended up having some leg and ankle problems and by his late 70s really slowed down and is now quite frail. So it’s really no guarantee.

That's the thing about life, there's never a guarantee. You take what you get and expect the unexpected. A little "odds tilting," yes. But no guarantees.

Best wishes to your dad!

 

[RAE]

Sitting is the new smoking. Not that I live by that rule, but keep the blood flowing, the intestines working, muscles protect bones (especially abdominal muscles protect the back), leg muscles protect the knees, everything works better when you move. It doesn't matter what you do just move. Get the heart rate up.

Forget about every little pain. Many people are not disciplined to follow a work out. All you have to do is keep moving. It's what most animals do in the wild. Fish/mammals in the sea move constantly.

Yep, that is the key. If I sit for 30 minutes, that's a long time for me. I am always walking around the house and yard, doing something. I also take two long walks daily and do a (very) short exercise routine, but I think just the routine daily movement is probably the most important. My short exercise routine involves mostly bodyweight exercises, as it's important to maintain muscle strength as you age, for both functionality and disease prevention.


The bottom line is that you don't have to run for miles or work out at the gym often to gain some fairly significant benefits.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Oh well, sucks for me then.
I was the classic awkward kid, you know the one chosen last for teams back in the recess/phys ed days. Turned me off to exercising . Until a brief period in both high school and college when I got into cross country. Awkward did not matter so much for that, just determination, especially to to stick with it when stitches and shin splints had to be overcome. Enjoyed the camaraderie as well as it seemed several other physically awkward kids gravitated to cross country too. Still was not enough to overcome an overall aversion to exercising. I was so awkward in elementary school the phys ed teacher actually teased me in front of the whole class. made so upset I stopped bringing my "PE shoes" to school. At least until the threat of a paddling from the principal ended that plan.

perhaps this study will ease me back into some kind of routine. Time will tell.

 

[Amethyst]

I was thinking about this thread, and others like it. It seems to me that people sometimes miss the point about exercise, which is that you were given a set of equipment, and it's up to you to maintain it. Never mind living longer than the next person; it's about living as long, and as well, as your particular equipment was meant to do. (And over-exercising is not good maintenance).

Many if not most people on this forum would be critical of anyone who obtained a marvellous set of equipment, and then just let it go for years and years, expecting it to just go on performing. They would criticize someone who didn't clean their teeth or ever visit a dentist. Analogies exist.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

I was thinking about this thread, and others like it. It seems to me that people sometimes miss the point about exercise, which is that you were given a set of equipment, and it's up to you to maintain it. Never mind living longer than the next person; it's about living as long, and as well, as your particular equipment was meant to do. (And over-exercising is not good maintenance).

Many if not most people on this forum would be critical of anyone who obtained a marvellous set of equipment, and then just let it go for years and years, expecting it to just go on performing. They would criticize someone who didn't clean their teeth or ever visit a dentist. Analogies exist.

Heh heh, put me down for pleasure over duty, although the health benefits are expected and quite welcome.
Many of the best times in life were had with a small group of good friends going hard at one of the favored sports....cycling, running, x-country skiing, or hiking.
Dean Martin famously said "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning that's the best they're going to feel all day"
It's safe to assume he never experienced the pleasant buzz that can come with intense aerobic fitness. Keeps me in the game.

 

[Rianne]

Dean Martin famously said "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning that's the best they're going to feel all day"


I agree, I don't drink and look forward to activity everyday. I always thought Dean Martin's intoxicated personality was an act. That he really didn't drink that much.

 

[Amethyst]

If you love it, so much the better. Some people get great pleasure from maintaining their cars, boats, hobby equipment etc.

After all I am no duty-worshipper. I just feel like there are things one has to do to get along in life, and body care is among them.

Heh heh, put me down for pleasure over duty, although the health benefits are expected and quite welcome.
Many of the best times in life were had with a small group of good friends going hard at one of the favored sports....cycling, running, x-country skiing, or hiking.
Dean Martin famously said "I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning that's the best they're going to feel all day"
It's safe to assume he never experienced the pleasant buzz that can come with intense aerobic fitness. Keeps me in the game.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

If you love it, so much the better. Some people get great pleasure from maintaining their cars, boats, hobby equipment etc.

After all I am no duty-worshipper. I just feel like there are things one has to do to get along in life, and body care is among them.

Yea, I left weightlifting off the fun list, that goes in the dutiful maintenance category.

 

[mystang52]

I was thinking about this thread, and others like it. It seems to me that people sometimes miss the point about exercise, which is that you were given a set of equipment, and it's up to you to maintain it. Never mind living longer than the next person; it's about living as long, and as well, as your particular equipment was meant to do. (And over-exercising is not good maintenance).

Many if not most people on this forum would be critical of anyone who obtained a marvellous set of equipment, and then just let it go for years and years, expecting it to just go on performing. They would criticize someone who didn't clean their teeth or ever visit a dentist. Analogies exist.

A year or two ago I read a snippet in Runner's World magazine about a study. IIRC, the study was by its own admission not scientifically/statistically valid because it was limited to one college graduating class. But its conclusions were interesting. To wit, runners had a better quality of life even if not necessarily longer.

I presume this could be translated to other active pursuits.