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Never Take Short Steps

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George Burns once said that the key to staying young is to “Never take short steps.” And there is much truth to that statement.

If you see a stranger approaching on the sidewalk, you can tell about how old that person is by the way he or she walks. As we get older, our hip joints gradually become stiff, and it’s easier if we take shorter steps. Then if we have a fall, we are afraid we might fall again and so we begin to walk very carefully--with shorter steps.

When those of us over 60 were young, we were told that when we got old, we should slow down and take it easy. The truth is that the older you get, the harder you must work to keep your body strong and fit. I often tell the participants in my strength training classes that it isn’t fair that the Creator designed our bodies so we must work harder each year at staying fit. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could remain strong by lying on the couch? But it does not work that way.

When I visited my 97-year-old mother in Iowa, a year ago when she was still living independently, she could stand up unaided from a straight chair--that is, without using her hands to help lift. She recently fell outside her home and while she was in a rehab center, a social worker checked the house she had been living in independently. The social worker announced that no longer would she be allowed to get her own mail which required her to open the back door and go down a couple of steps. She also would not be allowed to go in and out the front door without assistance --this also required two steps. I suggest that navigating these steps had been one of the things that had helped keep her strong so she could live independently.

But the decision was made that she would move to the nursing facility where she has been for several months. And her legs have weakened so that she can no longer stand without pushing or pulling herself up.

I visited the exercise class at the nursing home. It lasted about ten minutes and consisted of simple exercises done while seated with nothing that would strengthen lower body muscles. My mother says she attends the class, but “It doesn’t amount to much.”

Sometimes while I’m teaching a class, I feel angry--at our society for feeding us this story that aging is supposed to be this way--and at the men and women who have given up hope. So many senior citizens have given up and are reconciled to becoming progressively more feeble. No wonder they feel depressed. I work with people who cannot raise their arms over their heads, whose shoulders are stiff, who cannot stand up from a chair without pushing themselves, who shuffle instead of walk.

I also feel anger toward our medical system. I’m looking forward to the day when instead of telling Agnes she should use a walker, the doctor prescribes a strength building program for her. The conversation would go something like this, “Agnes, if you don’t strengthen your legs, you’ll soon have to use a walker. Let’s get you into an exercise program that will make your legs and hip joints stronger so you can remain independent.”

Sometimes when I talk with a manager or activity director of an assisted living community and describe to them the exercises in my program, they say “Our people couldn’t do that.” And I want to say “That’s why they need a strength exercise class.” Most senior exercise programs consist of seated exercises. You cannot build leg strength and improve balance while you are sitting down.

Betty, who is 72, and has been strength training for 9 months, moves like she was about 32. If you watch her walk, you would never guess her age.

We in our society believe that we should become less independent as we get older, but I see it demonstrated every day that this is not true. Inactivity causes many of the problems of old age.

Fitness also helps keep your mind sharp. In Dr. Andrew Weils’ Weekly Wellness Bulletin June 10, 2003, he reported a study which suggests that staying physically fit can help. Researchers at the VA Medical Center in San Francisco tested mental and physical functions of 349 adults age 55 or older, all of whom were in good mental and physical health. At the end of the six-year study, those who had been most physically fit at the outset showed the least mental decline and vice versa. Researchers believe that exercising may help by supplying more blood to the brain. Low blood supply to the brain has been linked to lower mental function in older adults and Alzheimer’s patients.

Right now--regardless of your age, I am asking you to make the decision this moment to take care of your body. Choose to learn more about your body and how to take care of it. Eat healthy food, learn what supplements your body needs and take them.

And--please exercise. If you have loved ones who are aging --whether they live independently or in a retirement community, encourage them to exercise--walk, join a gym, take a class--anything--just get moving.

While any exercise helps, the most important exercise you can do is strength training--using hand weights or body weight to help increase muscle strength. Strength training is as near to the fountain of youth as we have found. Also included should be a good stretching program. Studies have shown that keeping your joints limber helps keep osteoarthritis at bay.

Please get moving. Take brisk walks, stretch, lift weights. And remember to never take short steps.

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