by Barbara Berkeley, MD
This post is not for everyone. It is for those of you who are fully capable of exercising or of regaining your ability exercise strenuously. If you fit this description or think you might, read on.
There is as much confusing information about how much to exercise as there is about how many grams of sugar, fat and protein one should consume every day. Let me make it simple: where exercise is concerned there is just one prescription: exercise a lot.
If I were to look at the single thing that has changed my life over the past 30 years it would easily be my discovery of "aerobics" way back when. I was lucky. A completely sedentary person, I just happened to be passing an aerobics studio on a busy street in White Plains, New York when I heard shouting and music. I looked up and saw a bunch of women having what looked like a dance party through an upstairs window. The whole building seemed to be shaking. It seemed as if they were having the most fun you could possibly have, and it was only ten in the morning! The next day, I timidly climbed the long dark staircase that led to the studio. I couldn't believe I was doing it. It took guts. I met the owner and instructor---a 30 something dancer and fitness freak who intimidated me to the max. She invited me to take a trial class.
I was terrible. Short of breath. Uncoordinated. Embarrassed. But this instructor didn't care how I looked or what I could keep up with. She kept us all going no matter at what level. She just created a party and we all danced until we fell on the floor, and through all that she managed to keep up a constant patter of jokes, expletives, gossip and motivation. That woman's name was Patti Scott. I don't know where she is today, but I want to thank her. Because Patti's classes hooked me on exercise and taught me what it meant to get an absolute high from moving around with strenuous intention.
Aerobic dancing gave way over the years to step aerobics, kick boxing, interval training, competitive tennis, running, and now competitive salsa dancing (that's me in the picture above...at the World Salsa Summit in Miami last month). Patti's classes taught me that I could do much more than I ever believed. And exercising hard and a lot has enabled me to stay truly fit. Truly fit. It is honestly the greatest, most spectacular gift. And it's a gift that I got by having fun!
Studies like this one in the journal Neurology confirm that exercise is hugely beneficial. In this study, brain biopsies confirmed that higher levels of physical activity were associated with fewer changes in cognition and fewer markers of Alzheimer's disease. There are hosts of studies published seemingly every day that confirm the benefits of physical activity. But unfortunately, they are often accompanied by what I think is wimpy advice. Note the suggestions given in this summary of the Neurology study. This passage drove me crazy:
As far as which types of physical activity older Americans should try to get, (the doctor) recommended “practical interventions” such as taking the stairs instead of using the elevator or escalator. Also, try walking to your destination rather than driving, he added.
“Simply taking ‘standing breaks’ at work, instead of sitting, is also going to benefit your vascular health overall, by reducing stasis and improving blood flow,” (he) noted.
The key to enticing older people—or anyone, for that matter—to exercise is to “find things they enjoy doing,” said Scott Going, PhD, exercise physiologist and professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Tucson, AZ. “Ask what do they like to do? Maybe they enjoy social dancing, or moving around the yard doing chores,” he said. It doesn’t matter what they do, as long as it’s on a regular basis, he added. Even low-intensity exercise can be beneficial.
So yes, low intensity exercise is better than nothing and has benefits. And yes, it's better to climb the stairs than take the elevator. But these suggestions have absolutely nothing........NOTHING........to do with the life affirming, gift giving benefits of truly getting active. Why are we afraid to tell people to just exercise as hard as they can and as joyfully as they can? And why do we insist on isolating "older people"? Who are they anyway?? They are just folks who have been on the planet longer. That does not make them frail, incapable or infirm.
Don't let anyone, least of all yourself, tell you that you are too old to take up rock climbing, racquetball, marathon running, rowing, or flamenco dancing. It's just not true. And in believing that bs you will ensure that you never get to experience the gift that has made my own life so great for all these years. Find your Patti. Get on your salsa shoes. And get out there!