Let’s be truthful: can seniors really get fit as they age? Or is it asking for trouble, i.e. injuries, pain, and—well, probably a bit of humiliation. Sure, it’s easy if you’re already doing sports or exercise. But what about your average Sam and Sally Senior, who’ve had busy lives, working, raising families, and who’ve never been to a gym?
YES! Even sedentary seniors are joining programs to get fit. Millions of seniors today are returning to gyms and sports fields. As more knowledge about aging and health is accessible to everyone (thank you Dr. Google), seniors are taking action.
There are increasing numbers of gyms that cater to older people (one chain in LA is called “Nifty After Fifty”). As the oldest of the baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 started turning 60 last year, the $16 billion health club industry is cashing in. In less than 25 years, there will be more than 71 million 65-year-olds, twice as many as there were in 2000, according to the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.
Seniors control more than 70 percent of the country’s disposable income. So, with a growing population of relatively healthy seniors with some money and time to spend, you can bet that smart seniors get fit by joining gyms and working out. Others are playing sports and using tai chi, Pilates, and yoga classes.
The Pitfalls When Seniors Get Fit
Unfortunately, seniors don’t always think of ourselves as “old” (that’s a good thing, actually!). So we either go too hard or too easy. Sometimes we don’t use common sense. We don’t use Goldilock’s rule of “just right.”
When you think about it, how would we know what’s prudent anyway? We’ve never been this old before! Most of us aren’t trained in exercise physiology. That’s why it’s so important for seniors to start right, start smart. I advise taking a beginner’s mind.
Start Right: Beginner’s Mind
What do I mean? A beginner’s mind refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness and lack of preconceptions. The word in martial arts and Buddhism is Shoshin. In Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, the Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki, notes “in the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” If you’re starting a senior fitness program, you need a beginner’s mind.
Think about it: working out as a senior is a bit like learning to drive a car all over again. Don’t drive too fast, follow the rules of the road (posture and form), and STOP before you feel the pain of a wreck. In other words, our advice to fellow seniors is this: don’t spin out and crash because you think you’re smarter, fitter, and younger than you really are. (That’s something I tend to do more often than I admit!)
Start Smart: Self-Talk
No matter your age, pay attention to your attitude and self-talk. Don’t convince yourself you’re too old, too tired, or too clumsy to learn to exercise. The body dictates to the mind how it feels and it can change by the hour.
Upon rising, we can feel stiffness due to how we’ve slept or just because it takes longer to get the blood circulating to joints. A few hours later, we might feel more invigorated. In the afternoon, we can contract a “second wind,” or in other cases, we’re just too tired and exhausted, and end up taking an afternoon snooze. Later that day, we eat dinner, read a book, or spend an evening on the couch watching Netflix―which can easily turn into another nap!
Remember, it’s all in our minds. We tell ourselves stories about the energy we feel (or don’t feel). So much of what we experience is created within our own brains. The stories we tell ourselves about how tired we are can stop us from engaging in life-extending exercise. Alternatively, what we tell our selves can propel us toward a lifestyle of strength and self-confidence. All we need to do to change our mindset is to change our self-talk.
Start Your Senior Fitness Program Now
I don’t believe many seniors would opt to keep their sedentary habits if they knew what some of the medical research is showing. To me, it’s worth a change in diet and exercise if we can live longer and stronger.
Does a senior fitness program including regular exercise and nutritious food help us live longer? There’s only one answer: YES!
So, it’s now or never. Our clocks are ticking like crazy. In some diabolical conspiracy, the hands of time seem to increase with speed and determination with each new year. Birthdays and anniversaries come at us at a breathtaking pace, as most of us continue to use our lousy excuses, instead of treating our bodies and minds to a better, healthier life. Start right, start smart, start now!
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