Your body can take a hike at pretty much any age, this article says, provided you follow some commonsense advice:
If you have exercised or participated in sports throughout your previous decades, talk with your doctor and be sure you are a candidate to continue. As we age, we do lose muscular mass and strength, aerobic capacity, bone density, balance, and blood volume. The percentage of our body fat is directly related to the percentage of active hours in our days. Our sleep, immune functions, and appetites are affected by both aging and exercise. But, we are not condemned to sedentary decades at the end of our lives. Quite the contrary! We can, presuming medical clearance, continue to exercise at a high level for all of our remaining days.
Here are the two factors we must consider:
1 ñ A “high level” is relative to our age and condition ñ not to a 20-year-old Olympian!
2 ñ We must honor our rest days. How often do we marvel at the 70-year-old cyclist, the 80-year-old Nordic skier, or the 90-year-old hiker? Yes, they do it, but they must rest and recover between physically challenging sessions.
My mom, an expert in employee wellness, says she’s seen study after study showing that regular exercise builds strength, stamina and bone density at every age. People into their 90s can lift weights and build muscle mass, within reason.
I must be getting old. I did an easy 5.5 mile loop at Henry Coe over the weekend. I took it easy as I was packing a new SLR digital camera and tripod and I was interested in trying the thing out and taking lots of pictures. I went up to the Ponderosa Loop, photographed a bit, then headed over to Hobbs Road and down to Manzanita Point Road and headed back on the Springs Trail and Corral Trail, photographing as I went. Easy right? Now both of my legs feel like I have shin splints or something. Oh man. I want to go out and do some long hikes and I’m left wondering if should. Guess I’ll let my legs rest up and see.