Exercising in the Golden Years at He's Fit

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Exercising in the Golden Years

Posted June 22, 2008 at 01:00 PM by Donnell Peavy

Section: His Health, Mental Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health

older guy I’ve never been afraid of heights. I’ve never been afraid of bugs or animals. Heck, most people I know are afraid of spiders and snakes, and I love both of those. I’ve almost died more than a couple times, which lead me to the conclusion that I am not afraid of that notion either. What always has absolutely terrified me though is the thought of getting older. Judo, kick boxing, even simpler things like sprinting…chances are that your average 75 year old cannot do these things, nor has he done them for quite some time. I have always been an active person and simply cannot picture being any other way.

Over time, I have been given some glint of hope, however. A few years ago, I worked out with a man who, at age 67, could bench press 275. I knew a man who in his 50s could kick so fast that he killed a fly on a heavy bag before it could fly away, and another who had a kickboxing match to celebrate his 50th birthday. One of the toughest men I know is my first judo coach, who still teaches to this day, though he is in his 80s. Then there is blind water skier Gerald Price, who at the age of 74 still shreds the waterways. People like this seem to be few and far between though, thus not doing a great job of negating my fear of aging.

Lynn Dorman recently posted the following in her blog: “Most of us said that this made us sad and a bit angry - we still like to think we can keep on going like we did in our 20’s or 30’s - but our bodies say NO! There is no way to turn back the clock - we are aging.....but we are trying to figure this out as we go.”

She is saying that she can still perform strenuous exercise, but she no longer feels the need; she is irritated by the recovery time involved. Of course, it is still of the utmost importance to continue exercising into our old age. A study conducted at Wake Forest University revealed that revealed that of 252 men and women ages 60 and older, the participants who ate a calorie restricted diet and enjoyed regular exercise had a twenty four percent increase in physical function and more than a thirty percent decrease in knee pain. A study on oxidation of fat cells done by Washington University showed that with rigorous exercise, an older person may continue to burn fat at the same rate as a younger person.

Though I loathe the idea of getting older, I quite obviously can’t avoid it; it’s just a battle that I will have to fight. However, given that being older does not mean that I have to be sedentary, perhaps there is a silver lining to the cloud that I call old age. I’ll let you guys know when I get there.