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60+

  Keeping fit as you age

 

Will you be fit and healthy in your later years or dependent on others?  The answer greatly depends on how physically active you are.

With each passing decade after age 50 we lose about 15% of our muscle strength and equivalent amounts of heart function.

These losses come from a combination of factors like poor nutrition, hormone changes, and declining muscle and nerve cells. But the main cause of dwindling independence as we age is usually a sedentary lifestyle.

The good news is that if you begin exercising in your later years you can still make significant gains in cardiovascular and musculoskeletal fitness.  So it’s never too late–even if you’ve been physically inactive all your life–to start reaping the rewards of more exercise.

So age in itself is not a limiting factor to exercise training, but a more gradual approach to exercise at older ages is prudent and many health benefits from physical activity can be achieved at lower intensities of exercise if frequency and duration of training are increased appropriately.  This means that you can accumulate physical activity through the day in shorter bouts of say 10 minute durations, and still get the same benefit.  This approach is often easier to adapt to if you’ve been relatively inactive in the past.

However, it must be recognised that any exercise guidance should be used in the context of the your own needs, goals, and initial abilities, and the time allotted and intensity of effort for cardiovascular, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility components of an exercise programme carefully gauged to ensure that you can attain maximal benefit at the lowest risk.

But if you do take up exercise, the benefits can be tremendous:

·          Increased muscle mass, strength and flexibility

·          Lower body fat, especially in the abdomen

·          Higher metabolic rate and less tendency to gain weight

·          Improved ability to perform everyday tasks like lifting or cleaning

·          Better balance and less risk of falls or fractures

·          Increased joint mobility and less arthritic pain

·          Decreased risk of many chronic diseases, including:

o         Heart disease (better heart function and cholesterol levels)

o         High blood pressure (improved blood pressure readings)

o         Diabetes mellitus (greater sensitivity to insulin)

o         Depression (reduced fatigue and better mood)

o         Memory problems (improved sleep and thinking ability)

o         Osteoporosis (increased bone density)

o         Cancer (lower risk of some types)

·          Increased longevity (decreased death rate from all causes)

·          Improved quality of life (greater self-sufficiency and independent

Clearly the benefits will be achieved to a lesser or greater degree depending on your age, history of past exercise and ability, but any improvement in general fitness will have a knock on effect and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, help in the control of blood pressure, and prevention of falls.

Below are some specific examples of how different exercises can benefit the older adult. 

Type of Exercise

Benefits Gained

Movements to increase and maintain flexibility by working on mobility of joints, suppleness and stretching of muscles.

If you don't stretch your muscles, your body can become tight and rigid, making it more painful and difficult to do ordinary activities like putting on shoes and reaching for things on shelves.  Stretching maintains and promotes full range of movement in the joints.  

  • Makes it easier to reach into high or low cupboards, dress and be able to do up buttons and zips etc.
  • Easier to drive in general and manoeuvre your car.
  • Helps to avoid injury and muscle soreness. 
  •  Encourages active participation in other physical activities such as swimming or badminton.

Exercises to increase muscle strength and endurance.
  • You can walk further and carry shopping.
  • Easier to get out of a chair unaided.
  • Walk up and down stairs safely.
  • Strong muscles help support your skeleton, keep your bones/back aligned properly so that you don't walk around with a stoop. Also helps keep your body balanced.
  • Building strong muscles will keep your metabolism up and hence there is less tendency to gain weight.

Exercise to improve cardiovascular fitness and endurance, including as appropriate, low impact work to help lesson the risk of osteoporosis.
  • Over time, improves efficiency of your heart and lungs leading to increased blood supply and oxygen to essential organs and working muscles which means you can be active for longer periods of time without getting out of breath.
  • Reduces risk of heart disease and circulatory problems.
  • You have stronger bones which lessons the risk of osteoporosis.
  • Higher metabolic rate and hence less tendency to gain weight.

Movements and activities to improve skills such as balance and coordination.

It is important to do balance-building exercises so that you can react to situations and not fall and break a hip. You can do balance building exercises during the routine course of your day: stand on one leg while you are waiting in line, or go up and down on your toes.

  • Improves balance which reduces the risk of falls and fractures.
  • Challenges and promotes both memory and co-ordination and may help to delay onset of diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

To find out how often you should exercise see our article on “How often should you exercise” and “Exercise recommendations for mature adults”.