Health When leaving the house recently to pick up a rented garden tiller and some sheep manure to spread on my vegetable garden plot, my wife asked me why I still go to all that effort when we can get vegetables at our nearby grocery store. My answer was that it was for my own good health! After retirement, many of us turn to the easy life with not enough attention paid to keeping fit through daily physical activities. We subsequently suffer from diminished muscle strength, poorer balance, increased risk for falls and, in some cases, increased weight. Most of us have the opportunity to maintain a good level of physical health through participation in household activities, property maintenance, exercise programs, sports activities for seniors and certain hobbies. For snowbirds, the opportunities to keep fit are greater since warmer climates allow for such physical activities as walking, pickle ball, golf, tennis and swimming year-round. Last week, we attended a dinner party and I asked the host – a retired army major – how he and his wife (who had moved from their large family home with a swimming pool) were enjoying his new abode, a small condominium in the heart of the downtown district. He had been an avid cyclist, had always done his own yard work, pool maintenance and household repairs and I suspected that he was now quite inactive. He said he recognized soon after moving that he was becoming weaker and far too inactive, so he recently joined a downtown gym which he attends most days of the week for physical activities. Most adults over the age of 65 have one or more existing medical conditions and should engage in activities according to their individual health status. Sudden heavy exertion should be avoided and increasing any new type of exercise should be practised gradually. The sudden heart attack from heavy snow shovelling is commonly known, but regular appropriate exercises and physical activities result in better health at any age. Benefits include improved physical fitness and less loss of muscle mass, as well as improved stability and balance, thereby reducing the risk of injury from falls and helping with weight control. According to The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (csep.ca), those who follow their Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults 65+ can, on average, see a 30% reduction in the risk of losing independence, premature death and morbidity, with greater physical activity levels resulting in a 60% reduction in risk. For those who prefer a more structured way of keeping fit, there are numerous organized programs available including tai chi, yoga, Pilates, chair tai chi, swimming and other structured class exercises. Such programs are available at a local YMCA, seniors’ centre or commercial gym and offer the benefit of professional coaching. Most gyms, seniors’ centres and Ys have trained staff on site who can initiate appropriate exercise programs – in accordance with one’s health status – that can be continued regularly on site or at home. Committing to a regular workout also provides social interaction. While all physicians are well aware of the benefits of physical activities and exercise, very few seniors with whom I have spoken have ever been asked about this during physician visits. I never remember any such discussions myself. Over the last five years, I have three friends who moved to retirement homes. In each case, they had everything done for them and, although there were exercise rooms with lots of equipment in each home, these were only sparsely used. All three friends were using walkers within three months and two were needing wheelchairs at six months. The old expression “use it or lose it” applies. Although I have exercise equipment including a treadmill, a stationary bicycle and exercise rubber bands, I rarely use them in the warmer months. I always prefer getting my exercise by walking our Husky, performing activities such as cutting the grass, tilling, seeding and weeding my own vegetable garden, as well as opening, using and closing my pool, along with regularly working on my hobby of antique auto restoration. Currently, I’m installing a new exhaust system on my 1928 Model A roadster. In the winter, if not either in the sunny south or at the curling rink, I dust off the stationary equipment, turn on the TV and do my regular daily workout. Some days, I do it even when I feel lazy and would prefer to just sit back and read or watch TV. Keeping fit by participating in a variety of activities with less time sitting helps maintain muscle strength throughout your body. Reducing your sedentary time – even by by Robert MacMillan MD Are You Keeping Fit? 32 | www.snowbirds.org
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