I hit a “significant age” in 2019. This, along with the people I see in clinic on a weekly basis has made me think a bit…. If I gave you a list of things that in 20/30/40 years you might not be able to do – would you be scared? Well, here is a list of things that I’ve seen people not be able to do….
Getting older doesn’t mean stopping what you love
Sitting on the floor and then standing up.
Standing up off a chair.
Standing up off the toilet.
Walking up the stairs.
Walking down the stairs.
Walking to the end of the road.
Walking to the shops.
Getting into or out of a car.
Walking in the garden.
Playing on the floor with children or grand children.
Walking from the car to a shop and around the shop – and back.
Getting up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet.
Standing on a stool or a chair to get something out of a cupboard.
Walking to from the kettle to a chair with a mug of tea.
That is quite a list.
Any of these make you think? Made you think… oooh – life might be a bit different if I can’t do that.
And now, if I said there was a way to attenuate that decline. Something that you could do to enable you not to have those problems? Would that be of interest to you?
I sincerely hope that it would.
All the things in the list might happen because of a lack of 2 things.
Practice.
Strength.
A lack of these 2 things means an eventual, long term decline, that unfortunately we don’t notice until it is pretty much too late.
Strength. Work on it or it will decline. Rapidly.
Yes, I’m banging on about this, but yes, I believe it is important, I’m shouting about this as loud as I can because it is personal to me as well – my parents are at the age when this is mega-important.
The last thing I want is a call from my Mum telling me that Dad has fallen on the floor and can’t get up (or vice versa, let’s not be sexist about this). It’s a bloody long way to the Isle of Wight, and I want him to be able to be strong enough to get up, dust himself down and get on with things.
This is not a pipedream. As I wrote to him last Christmas –
Reduced Fitness is NOT an inevitable part of getting older
Staying strong and mobile, or becoming weak and dependent, however, IS a choice.
They have the tools to stay strong – and after reading this – you too have the knowledge that you have a choice. Knowledge and understanding, though, only go so far. You have to practice – without that decline is inevitable.
Lift heavy, Lift often. Attenuate entropy.
Keep moving. Keep playing.