How to get active in your 60s,70s and beyond

Introduction

The Daily Telegraph reports that new research concludes that sitting for hours a day speeds ageing. This shows how important it is, particularly as we become older,that we take regular periods of physical movement throughout the day, and not live a sedentary lifestyle so as,literally, to shorten our lives and reduce quality of life.

So let’s MOVE IT! 

This could be an intro for a book : SOD SITTING Get Moving! by authors Diana Moran and Muir Gray.

In order to do what is required for our good health a guide book is essential to ensure that we stick to our task.Well, we are in luck! Continue reading “How to get active in your 60s,70s and beyond”

The Best of the60life in May

via dollarphotoclub - the good life
via dollarphotoclub – the good life

Nearing the end of a busy month. The following are the Best of the60life in May  which you may have missed: Continue reading “The Best of the60life in May”

5 mythbusting articles you may have missed at the60life blog about your health in later life

why1

There are many misconceptions about getting older.One of these is that older people inevitably will suffer from significant age-related decline in health.This is what many parents and grandparents of those now in their 60s and 70s were led to believe.With a lower life expectation they also seemed to be condemned to a short retirement in ill-health before death. Society and culture did not expect any more from older people. The stereotypes were out there with ‘pipe and slippers’ often the onlyreward at the end of a working life. Nowadays so much has changed and with good reason.Apart from people wanting more out of life the realisation has surfaced that in reality something can be done to prolong an active life.

Myth 1: Trying to improve fitness in older age is pointless Continue reading “5 mythbusting articles you may have missed at the60life blog about your health in later life”

How to Lift Your Health, Balance and Strength Using Light Weights

 

TowerofWeights

As we age, most people notice a range of changes in their health. One change might not seem like such a big deal, but more than one can add up to poor health long-term. For example, we might notice we are not as strong as we once were. We might discover that our balance isn’t what it used to be. As a result we may be prone to losing our balance and injuring ourselves due to slips, trips and falls. Continue reading “How to Lift Your Health, Balance and Strength Using Light Weights”

The 17 health benefits you can hold onto in later life

why1

 

17 Health Plus Benefits

7 strength training benefits for older people

17 Health Benefits
Following an earlier article on the 60life.com, this article introduces a major series to be posted on this site about the numerous benefits of strength training at any age.

Until recently, loss of muscle was generally believed to be inevitable as we progress into later life.This discouraging belief has now been firmly dispelled by the findings of new scientific studies which show that an increase in frailty with age is not inevitable and can be controlled to a significant degree through lifestyle change, particularly through taking more exercise. Continue reading “The 17 health benefits you can hold onto in later life”

Why you can profit from being over age 65 if you are older active enough?

Derrick Evans, better known as "Mr. Motivator”  with aerobics team, Harry Nash,  Nigel Iskander, Anthony Shorter,  Hi Chu Yap, Judy Hill, Mangala Harris, Green Park, London
Derrick Evans, better known as “Mr. Motivator” with aerobics team, Harry Nash, Nigel Iskander, Anthony Shorter, Hi Chu Yap, Judy Hill, Mangala Harris, Green Park, London

 

 

 

Calling all you older actives who follow active lifestyles and love to keep fit!

If you are over 65 and think you are able and fit enough you can enter a national competition sponsored by Ateronon to find the 2015 Older Actives Champion.There will be prizes for the the winners of nine regional heats who will go on to the national final to be held later this year.Each of these winners will receive a medal together with £500 worth of Ateronon products and £100 of Marks and Spencer vouchers. In addition to the prizes won at regional level, the 2015 Champion will receive a trophy and £1,000 worth of UK holiday vouchers. Continue reading “Why you can profit from being over age 65 if you are older active enough?”

How you can take charge and simply reverse ageing

Getting Older Doesn’t Mean You’re Finished!

Are you concerned with the quality of life as you age? Do any of the following resonate with your experiences?

  • The thought of sliding into infirmity leaves you frightened and depressed
  • On more than one occasion you struggled to find the words to complete a thought
  • You fear losing your independence and ability to take care of yourself
  • The thought of just fading away in loneliness and isolation is downright depressing
  • It seems that worrying about growing old is constantly nagging at you

You aren’t alone.

There are almost 40 million people over the age of 65 in the United States. That is nearly 13% of the population. By 2030 there will be more than 72 million older persons making up 19% of the population.

The trend is similar for European countries. It is estimated that during the period from 2013 to 2080 the percentage of the working age population will shrink, while people over 65 will account for an increasing share of the total population. Continue reading “How you can take charge and simply reverse ageing”

5 ways to harness the exercise habit for a better life

The exercise habit  can lead to a healthier life.

Keeping physically fit is universally acknowledged as a ‘no brainer’ so far as leading a healthier lifestyle is concerned. So why do so many of us not bother, or almost as bad, like a New Year resolution vow to exercise more and regularly but fall away after after a short time?

Let us take five affordable and effective ways to exercise, first. These are:

 

1. Running for your life and enjoyment

2.Walking  Even a mere 15 minute walk can be so beneficial

3. Swimming Acknowledged by medical people to provide excellent but not over taxing strength training

4. Cycling  Age is no bar for this activity

5. Gardening. Even gentle pottering around the garden has been shown to aid balance and make for greater flexibility

The benefits of regular exercise doing one or more of the above activities will reward you with greater :

  • flexibility
  • muscle strength
  • balance and co-ordination
  • stamina

Now, the above activities can be done in short programmes to suit yourself and your physical abilities. You can go to the above resource links against each activity ( gardening will be dealt with in a later post ) for further information to help you.

And there’s the rub. In our heads most of us know what is good for us, but many of us do not persist long enough to receive the sustainable rewards. So we fall down. This is where we all need some help. After  working out what we can and should do, we need to change our daily pattern of behaviour to include our chosen

activities – often, in order to receive the benefit, we may only perhaps need to exercise every other day. But it must become a regular feature in our lives. Yes, it should become a habit.

A habit has been described as: ” a regular tendency or practice.It’s something you do almost without thinking.In some cases,our habits even come to to define us as people.”  S.J. Scott –77 Good Habits To Live A Better Life 

Powerful stuff ! We need the habit to keep us exercising.

To acquire a good exercise habit  it helps to have the support of others. We can join  clubs and associations, or a group of like-minded friends. In this way we can encourage and be encouraged in what we are doing.

In a series of posts to follow, we’ll go in more depth into these activities to increase our fitness and wellness . Also we’ll look into how exercise can become an indispensable part of our lifestyle. Hope to see you next time.

 

 

 

 

7 strength training benefits for older people

PHIL_1086_thumb

According to the authors of a report published in Mature Fitness for the American Senior Fitness Association adults of all ages can benefit safely and effectively from strength training activity. Here,though,I would always caution with the need to consult a medical practitioner before embarking on unaccustomed exercise.Not everyone at any particular age is of course capable of safely achieving, without detriment to health, the same levels of physical activity. The main benefits of a professionally supervised program of resistance training for senior fitness are claimed as :

 

  • an increase in muscle strength and size
  • reduction in resting blood pressure
  • enhancement in glucose utilization
  • easing of lower back pain
  • an increase in bone density
  • an easing of arthritic discomfort
  • the relief of depression

 

To read the full report on strength training 

 

Other related resources of interest  are eldergym and Huffington Post 50

 

Discover how strength training can help you easily regain your zest for life

why1

 

As we grow older, many of us begin to lose our ability to keep-up the lifestyle we once took for granted. For instance,we may not indulge as often as we did in certain sports and recreational activities that we previously enjoyed. Even normal everyday physical activities are perhaps becoming increasingly more difficult. If you fit into this category, or feel this could happen to you, then something I have been looking into for a while may be the most important thing for your wellbeing that you have read in a long while. Today, I am inviting you to join me in a journey to discover how strength training taken in easy steps could transform your life.This is the first of a Lifestyle and Your Health series of posts about easy exercise to grow stronger and live better as you get older. Here is an introduction to strengthening exercises.