Getting Old is No Joke

Guest post by Lawrence Fuhrken

We are all aging. The first half of our life we grow bigger and stronger, and really don’t give too much thought to the ‘aging’ process. But we all reach an age where the progress we’ve made in our younger years stops, and even begins to wane. We’re not as agile. We’re not as strong. We’re not as steady. We’re not as fast. I started running when I was 58. I ran slow (12min/mile). I joined a local run club with all my insecurities and they helped me run faster. I tried keeping up with people faster than my ability or strength allowed and developed shin splints. It’s been quite a journey learning to grow my muscles and improve my agility in years that I had thought the best I could hope for was maintaining what I had. I never believed I could actually improve. The truth is we can improve our current state of being even in these years referred to as ‘over the hill’. It takes consistency (every day) and it takes patience. The improvement will come, but it is sneaky and it takes much longer than your younger years, and much longer than your mind tells you it should take. That’s why people give up. Just one set back gets many people to sit down again. But I promise, if you keep doing it and don’t give up, you can improve. I have identified 8 activities that we should work into our life habits to improve our quality of life as we age, especially as we enter the so called ‘years of decline’.

With all these activities, start with what you are able to do. Don’t let your knee jerk reaction be, ‘I can’t’ or ‘I could never’ or fill in the blank with all the things that are wrong. Even people that are in wheel chairs or have other physical limitation can modify the activities to strengthen the muscles groups that still function. The message is KEEP MOVING FORWARD. Start where you are at, be consistent (every single day), and don’t give up.

1. Always take the stairs. Skip the escalator and the elevator. Some struggle to make it up one flight of stairs. Well do one or two steps every day. On good days add a third and then a fourth. If hotel room is on 5th floor, and you can only do one flight of stairs, catch the elevator on second floor. Then third floor. Stair work every day!

2. Don’t use handrail when taking the stairs. I have to remind myself of this every day, especially in the morning coming down the stairs. My ankles are stiff, my knees hurt, my back is stiff. I go slow in the mornings, but I can get downstairs without assistance from the handrail. Be safe. Going up is easier than going down. Same rule applies. Do one step with no handrail, then 2. It’s amazing how early on in life we develop dependency on the handrail.

3. Park away from store and walk. If you get dropped off at door, stop doing that. Park further and further away from store. There are always parking spots and you get extra steps in. I have a 94 year old friend that lost strength in his legs and ended up needing a walker. He started going to the gym 3 times/week to build muscle. He called me excited to tell me that he had his cane with him to balance if needed, but walked to the mail box without walker or cane. He built strength back at 94. No excuses.

4. Lay down on floor and get up without using furniture or other assistance. I lay on the floor flat on my back for at least 10 minutes every day. I was surprised the number of people that cannot get down and up from the floor. What if you fall and no one is around? Practice! Get down on one knee holding onto something and lift back up, then both knees, then all fours, then lay down, then roll on your back, and keep doing this every day until you can get up and down without assistance.

5. Stand on each foot with other foot lifted for a minimum of 30 seconds every day. Falls are mostly from lack of balance. The complications from falls can be fatal. This exercise will help you maintain balance. ‘Oh, I could never do that’ is repeated way too often. You can stand next to counter, set timer for 30 seconds, hang on counter with one hand, lift foot, then let go for 1,2,3, then 4 seconds. Keep letting go and catching yourself. Every day (getting the theme?) and you will be standing on one foot for 30 seconds without holding on to anything. It may take 6 months, but it will happen.

6. Put your pants / underwear on while standing up and not leaning or holding on to anything. I started sitting and leaning. I was amazed how quickly I lost my ability to balance on one foot and lift my leg high enough to put on pants. Once you master number 5, this is your next goal. Same rule, start leaning hip against dresser or counter and keep at it until you are able to put pants on without balance assistance.

7. Move every joint through full range of motion every single day. Full circles with arms, bend at waist, lift knees, rotate hips, neck in full circle, wrists, ankles, twist, reach for the sky, stand on tip toes, even flex fingers and toes. (Jumping up and down while shaking arms is a bonus).

8. Find a stretching routine, and stretch your muscles. You should be able to bend over and touch your toes without bending knees, pull heel of foot to your butt, lay on back and put knee to chest. If you can only bend down and touch your knees, do it every day. On the good days go a little further, you will eventually touch your toes.

Once you’ve mastered these basics or even while mastering these basics, add some strength training. Get some dumbbells and do some curls, do pushups or planks, jumping jacks, sit-ups or crunches, squats, lunges, etc. My 84 year old mom was weakened from a sickness. She held onto sink and did squats every day until she had her strength back. You CAN do this!

Be safe especially with the balance movements. There are so many excuses for all the things we know to do, but don’t do them. Chip away at the excuses. Biggest excuse for me and I hear a lot is, ‘I don’t have time’. Do you have time for a trip to the ER or worse, surgery and recovery? It’s also why I’ve identified activities that we can include in our everyday life without a lot of extra time but yield huge rewards. A person said to me the other day, ‘I could never run, I can’t run more than 30 seconds’. I answered, well start running 30 seconds every day, then walk for as long as you need to catch breath and run another 30 seconds. Add repetitions and lengthen running time over time. You will improve, you will be surprised, and you will improve your quality of life in these cruel years of decline. Start where you are at, do it every day, stick with it, and you WILL improve. Keep moving forward! Here is to staying active well into our 90’s!