The Senior Exercise Secret You Need to Know
For decades, all kinds of books and articles have been written about exercise.
However, most of these resources assumed, often tacitly, that the reader was somewhere in the earlier years of life.
It was assumed by many, including healthcare professionals, that "seniors" would, maybe even should, avoid actually participating in exercise.
while many had their doubts about the overall health benefits of exercise, there were many others who believed that exercise was "good for you" in some way or another.
Unfortunately, in most cases, they only had faith to go on as very little research had actually been done on exercise in general, and senior exercise specifically! Then, along came an unknown Air Force officer and doctor, Kenneth Cooper.
With the publication of his book, "Aerobics", in 1968, he introduced not only a new word to the world, but a new concept of taking control of one's health and doing specific things to make it better.
Since then, it seems as if new information has appeared daily either supporting or supplementing his original observations.
The world of exercise expanded and grew.
Where there had only once been pioneers such as Jack LaLanne, there were now hundreds of people, exercise experts, bodybuilders, and even movie stars who offered exercise routines and training to the masses.
With the advent of the personal computer and such technological advances as videocassette recorders (remember those) and DVD's, more and more people could get more and more information...
both good and bad...
on the subjects of exercise and the health benefits thereof.
However, many failed to provide information about exercise for seniors.
Perhaps they assumed that seniors would not be interested in exercise, or that they would be unable to participate fully in the exercise "craze", or, perhaps, that not enough of them would be willing to pay for the same sorts of products that younger people were.
Well, "they" were probably right...
at least to some extent.
Many seniors, experiencing a wide range of age-related illnesses and often painful conditions, such as my old friend, osteoarthritis, failed to believe that the clarion call to sweat...
to the oldies or otherwise...
was directed at them.
Many believed, that, "at my age", exercise was of little value to them.
Heck! Some doctors were still telling people who had experienced heart attacks to NOT exert themselves as such activity could be dangerous to their health.
In the meantime, study after study produced results that regular moderate exercise was of paramount importance in maintaining and sustaining health for people of all ages! It was learned that not only would the senior exerciser experience most of the same health benefits as in younger years, but that exercise could be incredibly important in lessening the risk of a host of age related illnesses and conditions.
Regular exercise has been linked to a reduction of risk for cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even dementia.
True, senior exercise programs must take into account the often special needs and considerations of the senior exerciser.
For example, my osteoarthritis precludes performance of certain exercises, and various other conditions can be good reasons to leave some exercises and activities to a younger group.
However, with the approval of your doctor, there is no real reason NOT to exercise.
For both the younger population and the senior, exercise is one of the most valuable tools we have to preserve health and fitness into our older years.
I don't know if that can be considered a "secret", but it is a piece of information that many do not have.
Get up.
Get moving.
In the words of Spock, exercise can definitely help you "live long and prosper" at any age.
However, most of these resources assumed, often tacitly, that the reader was somewhere in the earlier years of life.
It was assumed by many, including healthcare professionals, that "seniors" would, maybe even should, avoid actually participating in exercise.
while many had their doubts about the overall health benefits of exercise, there were many others who believed that exercise was "good for you" in some way or another.
Unfortunately, in most cases, they only had faith to go on as very little research had actually been done on exercise in general, and senior exercise specifically! Then, along came an unknown Air Force officer and doctor, Kenneth Cooper.
With the publication of his book, "Aerobics", in 1968, he introduced not only a new word to the world, but a new concept of taking control of one's health and doing specific things to make it better.
Since then, it seems as if new information has appeared daily either supporting or supplementing his original observations.
The world of exercise expanded and grew.
Where there had only once been pioneers such as Jack LaLanne, there were now hundreds of people, exercise experts, bodybuilders, and even movie stars who offered exercise routines and training to the masses.
With the advent of the personal computer and such technological advances as videocassette recorders (remember those) and DVD's, more and more people could get more and more information...
both good and bad...
on the subjects of exercise and the health benefits thereof.
However, many failed to provide information about exercise for seniors.
Perhaps they assumed that seniors would not be interested in exercise, or that they would be unable to participate fully in the exercise "craze", or, perhaps, that not enough of them would be willing to pay for the same sorts of products that younger people were.
Well, "they" were probably right...
at least to some extent.
Many seniors, experiencing a wide range of age-related illnesses and often painful conditions, such as my old friend, osteoarthritis, failed to believe that the clarion call to sweat...
to the oldies or otherwise...
was directed at them.
Many believed, that, "at my age", exercise was of little value to them.
Heck! Some doctors were still telling people who had experienced heart attacks to NOT exert themselves as such activity could be dangerous to their health.
In the meantime, study after study produced results that regular moderate exercise was of paramount importance in maintaining and sustaining health for people of all ages! It was learned that not only would the senior exerciser experience most of the same health benefits as in younger years, but that exercise could be incredibly important in lessening the risk of a host of age related illnesses and conditions.
Regular exercise has been linked to a reduction of risk for cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, and even dementia.
True, senior exercise programs must take into account the often special needs and considerations of the senior exerciser.
For example, my osteoarthritis precludes performance of certain exercises, and various other conditions can be good reasons to leave some exercises and activities to a younger group.
However, with the approval of your doctor, there is no real reason NOT to exercise.
For both the younger population and the senior, exercise is one of the most valuable tools we have to preserve health and fitness into our older years.
I don't know if that can be considered a "secret", but it is a piece of information that many do not have.
Get up.
Get moving.
In the words of Spock, exercise can definitely help you "live long and prosper" at any age.
