AAA member Jennifer Grumbley applies her years of knowledge as a pilates and fitness instructor to look at how we can best keep exercising throughout our life and into later years.
A good many of the people often unkindly referred to as “bed blockers” in hospitals are not really ill: they are old and frail, and unable to return home as they are unable to look after themselves.
So, how can we reduce our chances of frailty in our later years? Research has proved that exercise is a great preventative, as exercise is largely what keeps us healthy, preventing the need for medication and hospitalisation.
But this exercise habit has to start with the schools from the youngest age, through adulthood and continue into old age. Exercise should be a daily necessity. Because that is how our bodies have evolved.
“Sitting is the new smoking” as declared by our public health services, and I have read several articles by medics to simply move, at least every 20 minutes. Dr Michael Mosely was an amazing advocate of how to look after yourself, especially with his “Just One Thing,” which includes diet, exercise and mental health: just one step at a time, in the hope of slowly overcoming resistance to looking after yourself.
Because we are living longer, poor life choices are manifesting as we age, demanding attention from the medical services. But the deterioration can be slowed or even avoided if people were engaged with looking after themselves beyond personal hygiene, and having an unchallenging retirement. Doctors are, at long last, trying to prescribe active pursuits instead of medication, including going to the gym. But care needs to be paid that you are being given the right exercise regime.
Staying strong
So why should gym machines be better than classes, home workouts, or golf, cycling and tennis? Absolutely any movement is good, and if you play a sport or go to yoga, Pilates, tai chi, that’s great. However, I am not at all sure that they are sufficiently challenging. I have yet to see any research on the elderly using gym machines, where we can really use considerable weight whilst being supported. Pilates Studio equipment is also supportive whilst using springs and body weight, but expensive.
We are living longer, so we are prone to conditions of old age, superficially physical ones being sarcopenia, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis. The latter two seem to be addressed with drugs and very similar exercises which can be done at home. Organisations that suggest exercise for older people and conditions rarely suggest gyms or Pilates machines, although they suggest older people need to work on resistance. This seems to involve using free weights at home, and using Youtube. There are unqualified people on Youtube, and many of the professional company videos are not motivating, using young fit models, instead of fit elderly people, to which the watcher may aspire.
We need to be aware of lack of balance, lack of strength and lack of proprioception as we age. In addition, various medications can induce unsteadiness, particularly if taking more than four, which includes aspirin: yet another reason why supportive equipment gives confidence whilst exercising.
Gyms (which excludes body building gyms) and Pilates studios always have a knowledgeable member of staff on hand, and are very helpful, in my experience. A fitness community of like-minded and supportive people can build, making it a social event. But this can only happen if older people, and younger, can overcome the reputational barriers that gyms and Pilates studios have acquired.
It is all too easy for older people to feel intimidated by the lycra-clothed, muscled individuals seen around. During the day there are far more retirees, particularly in the afternoon, when classes are rarely held. Incidentally the elderly have to work considerably harder to build muscle, as our hormones diminish. And just as with younger people, we are able to eat more without putting on weight.
Staying flexible
Why do international athletes find themselves having to retire, usually in their 30s? Because of ageing. We are all different, but all start aging around 30. In some, such as Andy Murray, it was obvious that he was simply suffering more and more injuries, because he had to push himself maximally.
Some of the reasons are because the body structures become less elastic, and unable to take as much punishment. By the time an individual is 70 plus, those structures are very much less elastic and flexible, which often results in stiffness and pain, especially if mobilisation exercises are not habitual. So that is the first reason to exercise, and pretty well any exercise is helpful. Pilates endeavours to mobilise all joints, including every single one of your 24 spinal joints. Tai chi, yoga, stretching are also excellent, using slow and controlled movements.
Eating and drinking oneself fitter
Further problems are the general desiccation of all joints: it’s obvious in skin, but our spinal discs desiccate, as does the cartilage in our joints, along with everything else. Older people are often being told, by people that know, that they need to keep drinking water, to keep hydrated. To hydrate efficiently, people need to drink hydration salts, which can be found on the internet, with a little salt and some sugar added to plain water. No-one seems to have done any research on my preferred drink: black tea with milk. The tea contains polyphenols, and with the milk, a smidge of calcium and protein. I find it difficult to drink water, except when I’m in the gym, as water is boring. As I say we are all different, and as with most things, we have a choice: please give us choices.
Keeping our hearts strong
We all need exercise with resistance, as our muscles weaken with age (sarcopenia), as does our connective tissue (wrinkles) and bones (osteoporosis.) Those are the obvious results of aging. But do not ignore your cardiovascular system, digestion, neurological, hormonal systems, and all those other body systems that are not working as well as they used to, particularly the mind. Exercise will slow the aging and degeneration, and help with the management of the condition.
Research has shown that with exercise, some medications may be withdrawn: it is never too late. It will be more difficult to take up exercise if you are not a regular exerciser, because it will probably be uncomfortable, or even painful at times. And it takes time for the dopamine pathway (happy hormones) to establish itself, until the exerciser is comfortable and confident with exercise. Reluctant exercisers, such as my husband, realise that if they don’t exercise, certain movements become painful and joints may seize. It would be better still if that mindset can be changed to realising that they actually enjoy exercise.
The problem we now have is that many do not know, or perhaps do not want to know, how to exercise. Or if they do, how to manage should they suffer from one of the aging processes, typically osteoarthritis. By the time the medics have told you that you have arthritis, it is painful and difficult to solve. Usually increasing amounts of painkillers are dispensed, which the medics admit may only work to begin with, but largely do not manage pain. This results in eventual surgery to replace the affected joint. However, maintaining and improving muscle strength delays and perhaps even avoids surgery.
Managing arthritis through exercise
It is possible that more people would exercise if they knew that arthritis can be better managed with exercise. My elementary anatomy and physiology simplistically told me that to keep a cartilaginous joint healthy, by putting pressure whilst moving (sitting is the new smoking) on the cartilaginous structures, nutrients and fluids are sucked in, synovial fluid oils your joint, whilst forcing out detritus and waste products.
We’re all different, and there are several varieties of arthritis, but if your body does not move, the joint accumulates waste products, and it becomes stiff and painful. So even if the joint hurts, keep it moving. I was diagnosed at an early stage almost 30 years ago, and I find that any discomfort quickly disappears on exercising.
This of course is difficult for some, particularly those who need to use a wheelchair, for example. I am guessing that with passive exercise, from a physiotherapist or knowledgeable person, will assist in managing joint pain, along with massage. However, I have yet to find any research on this.
It is by appropriate exercise and eating freshly cooked vegetables, we can learn to manage our various ageing conditions, including managing our mental health. All exercise helps with mental conditions, which requires focus. And exercise helps with energy, which helps when discipline is waning.
It’s a virtuous circle!
