The 3 Most Important Exercises For Maintaining Physical Function After 60
Today’s Topic Highlights:
Quality of movement and quality of life go hand in hand. Any decline in the former will lead to a decline in the latter.
There are 3 physical tasks all seniors must be able to do to maintain their quality of life: picking things up off the ground, getting up off the floor, and navigating inclines and declines in the surrounding environment.
Each of these 3 actions can be improved with a corresponding exercise: the deadlift (picking things up), knees to standing (getting off the floor), and stair walks (navigating inclines and declines).
Hold an imaginary piece of paper in the armpits anytime you pick an object off the floor, no matter how light or heavy it is. This will help you maintain a neutral spine and avoid unnecessary injuries.
Stair walks are superior to the Stairmaster machine for several reasons. One is that the Stairmaster steps are moving beneath you, which eliminates the natural propulsion element of walking.
Quality of movement and quality of life go hand in hand. Any decline in the former will lead to a decline in the latter. However, there are a few specific movements that warrant extra attention based on their impact on everyday life after the age of 60.
Let’s first look at some of the common highlights and difficulties of post-retirement life. These will provide clues as to why the three exercises addressed in the second half of this article are so important for older adults to practice.
For highlights, we’ll start with freedom. After decades of hard work you finally have a comfortable nest egg and time to yourself. Concerts, travel, special events, and bucket list box checking can all be indulged in to your heart’s content. Another major highlight is grandchildren. Nothing brightens up grandma and grandpa quite like the presence of their radiantly exuberant grandkids. For many this is the greatest joy after retirement.
As for difficulties, there is the challenge and fear of picking things up without a lower back episode. What used to be a thoughtless act of bending over now comes with a tinge of trepidation. Equally concerning to those with knee issues and muscle atrophy is the ascent and descent of staircases. Toss in the additional challenge of getting up off the ground after a fall, or after finishing playtime with the grandkids, and you have a trifecta of daily movement concerns.
If you carefully read between the lines, you will notice that there are three specific movement requirements governing all the aforementioned activities: picking things up off the ground, getting up off the floor, and navigating inclines and declines in the surrounding environment. These 3 physical tasks have a massive impact on quality of life in older folks.
For example, playing with grandkids involves both bending down and getting up off the floor. Picking them up, putting them back down, Lego building, playing with toys, and wrestling around all require these two abilities. Remember, you’re big and they’re little - you have to go down to their level in order to interact.
Theater events, airports, and two-story homes all impose staircases and inclined surface planes. Most of the delights and opportunities awarded by retirement freedom present these obstacles. Sidewalk curbs are another example of the many elevated surfaces we inevitably encounter in daily life.