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Aging -- Older Adults Should Be Exercising
By Bard Lindeman, Poughkeepsie Journal
June 28, 2004
Question -- Why don't more older adults exercise? Can't they recognize that this is the only antidote to aging?
Answer -- We took your question to veteran strength trainer Steve Bryant and he said fear is a factor here: "Many seniors are afraid of hurting themselves, of having a heart attack, or stroke, if they work too hard."
Our culture teaches that being old means you rest; you retire from work and become a spectator to life. Have you been in a nursing home recently? People sit watching bad television all day, and then they go to bed.
Consider, this is how professional caregivers minister to America's oldest old.
Bryant, 34, of Duluth, Ga., says he has older clients who aren't genuinely interested in improving their physical health and becoming stronger because they're unwilling to pay the price. "They have too few role models," he said.
Well, these backsliders need to read "Biomarkers: The Ten Determinants of Aging You Can Control" (Simon and Schuster, 1991). Authors William Evans, Ph.D., and Dr. Irwin H. Rosenberg write: "No group in our population can benefit more from exercise than senior citizens, as startling a statement as that may seem. Indeed, the muscles of elderly people are just as responsive to weight lifting as those of younger people."
This is a new day, an enlightened time for medicine and health and, yes, knowledgeable older Americans.
Item: If you had a heart attack in 1954, you'd be hospitalized a minimum of 12 days. Today, you're out of the hospital in six or fewer days, because "prolonged immobility is harmful (due to) the physiological deconditioning that occurs even after a short time in bed," notes the American Heart Association.
Item: Authors Evans and Rosenberg state: "Building muscle mass in the elderly is the key to their rejuvenation (and) exercise is the key to a healthy and rewarding old age."
Item: A new study at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital shows women can reduce their risk of breast cancer through regular exercise. Indeed, women who walked three-five hours per week had a 50 percent lower risk of dying from the malignancy.
Item: Actor Dick Van Dyke, 78, tells an interviewer: "I have younger friends who are not even getting around anymore. Predominantly because they let themselves go. As you get older, exercise becomes more important."
Remember the late Dr. George Sheehan, cardiologist, philosopher and distance runner, who said: "We must accept responsibility for our health. Living is an art, and life is an achievement. It is not a gift or a possession. It is our final battle."
"I can't remember names. I can't run as fast," Dr. Sheehan wrote in his last years. "But if I cannot stay young, I can stay fresh. If I cannot get younger, I can get better.
"Age brings problems;" he continues, 'it also brings solutions. For every disadvantage, there is an advantage. For every measurable loss, there is an immeasurable gain."
Finally, it's time for a swim, or a good long walk. Later, we'll pump some iron, making it a good day!
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