The right exercises to keep you healthy at any age
The right exercise routine will give you a healthier, longer life, and it’s not too late to start in your 70s, 80s or 90s. Whatever your age, regular exercise will help to keep you mobile, feel energised, strengthen your bones, improve circulation and protect your joints by building up muscles. Group activities such as yoga, ballroom dancing or a doubles game of tennis will boost your social life by keeping you in touch with other people.
A paper published last year in the US by Dr Mark Stibich on life expectancy, showed that a highly active 65-year-old could expect to outlast his or her peers by about 5.7 years, taking the average life expectancy in that age group to 83.4 years.
There are three main elements to be considered in your routine: cardiovascular, strength and flexibility. Each of these has a significant impact on how you feel and each needs to suit your abilities according to your age. And whatever ageyou are, check with your doctor before starting a routine.
Pre-workout
Before every session you must warm up and mobilise your joints. Your tendons and muscles need time doing mild activity to increase circulation and to help you feel less “stiff” generally. Try to take a five or six-minute walk. The pace is dependent on what you can physically achieve, but you should try to raise your body temperature levels slightly, become mildly out of breath and raise your heart to a moderate level, without feeling as though you are exhausting yourself before you even start.
IN YOUR SEVENTIES
Aerobic You should work out moderately so that your heart rate is raised and you are feeling out of breath, three or four times a week. Start by doing 15-20 minutes, two or three days a week, and build up your duration and frequency over six to eight weeks.
Swimming is fantastic for the heart and is kind to the joints, so try to go once or twice a week. However, as swimming does not apply stress to your bones, to help maintain calcium levels and prevent osteoporosis you also need to walk or cycle once a week, which will help to improve your bone density. If you have always enjoyed running, there is no reason why you should not continue, but I would not advise you to start for the first time.
Finally, for your fourth workout each week try something social. Ballroom dancing, salsa dancing (yes, you can!), bowling - great for hip, back and knee mobility - and tennis, particularly doubles, are all fantastic.
Resistance training You don’t need to “pump iron”, but you do need to protect your muscles, tendons and bones from wasting away. If you want to go to the gym, do so under some guidance. If exercising at home, you should focus on the big muscle groups. Squats are great for legs; a press-up, on your knees, or standing upright with your hands against a wall, will strengthen your arms, shoulders and chest. While a shoulder press - pushing weights or perhaps water bottles directly upwards above your head - will help shoulders and upper back. Try to do 10 repetitions of the exercise and repeat twice, at least twice a week.
Stretching Try doing a yoga class to help your mobility. There are many great classes for your age group, so check at your local health centre or health club for details. Or try to spend ten minutes a day, every day, stretching thighs, hamstrings, back and shoulders. Your doctor should be able to advise you of some good stretches.
IN YOUR EIGHTIES
Aerobic Walking is still the most effective method of increasing your heart rate. You should try to do this three times a week for about 20-25 minutes. You don’t need to walk fast as you will still be helping to increase your circulation levels. Exercising in water is also something that you can do. It may not be swimming, but you could take part in an exercise class specifically for your age group that focuses on mobility. Most local authority health clubs have a range of classes. Dancing is also a great way to keep active, as is bowling, and both are a great social boost.
Strength Simple exercises that work your large muscles will be beneficial. Just by standing up and sitting down on your chair 10-12 times in succession, will help to increase the strength of your legs. You should also work on the stomach and back muscles for strength and mobility. A “cat stretch”, in which you start on your hands and knees and simply arch your back, as a cat would, and then flatten it back out again, will help the middle areas of your body - 10-20 repetitions will suffice, two to three sets, two to three times a week. If you like gardening, this is a great way to maintain strength in your legs and back.
Mobility Spend 10 minutes a day stretching the big muscles, with no more than 8-10 seconds spent on each stretch at a time. Longer stretches may stress the tendons too much. Try to use “arm rotations”, circling your arms in large cycles slowly to help mobilise your shoulders and upper back. Also try to mobilise your back by starting with your hands together in front of you, arms straight, and then pull your arms back to form a crucifix position, press back behind you by using the muscles in your upper back and then return to your start position. You can do this 15-20 times.
IN YOUR NINETIES
If you are still active and mobile, follow the exercises for the eighties age group. However, if you have joint and mobility problems, your goal is to maintain as much movement as possible in your body.
You should try to do a daily body check for mobility. Try to move every joint in the body in turn, starting at the top and working your way down. First you should move your head from side to side, holding in each “end position” for no more than a couple of seconds. Next, try looking around from side to side to test your neck rotation. Take each movement to the point where it ends comfortably and not to the point where it hurts too much. Then lift your arms from your sides and try to reach straight above your head if possible.
You can continue this process down your whole body, moving every joint in sequence. Losing mobility is something that happens as we grow older, but the extent to which you lose it depends on how much you consistently use it. By doing a “check-in” every day you will ensure that you are not giving your joints the opportunity to seize up.
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