Four Steps to Fitness

Last Updated: July 1, 2003

Exercise can help people feel better and enjoy life more, even those who think they’re too old or too out of shape. Staying physically active on a regular, permanent basis can help prevent or delay certain diseases (like some types of cancer, heart disease or diabetes) and disabilities as people grow older. Regular exercise also can improve mood and relieve depression, too.

What you can do
Plan on making physical activity a part of your everyday life. Do things you enjoy. Go for brisk walks. Ride a bike. Dance. And don’t stop doing physical tasks around the house and in the yard. Trim your hedges without a power tool. Climb stairs. Rake leaves.

Step one
The first step is to get at least 30 minutes of activity that makes you breathe harder, on most or all days of the week. That’s called “endurance activity,” because it builds your stamina. That way you can keep doing the things you need to do and the things you like to do. If you can’t be active for 30 minutes all at once, get at least 10 minutes of endurance activity at a time. If you choose to do 10-minute sessions, make sure that they add up to a total of 30 minutes at the end of the day.

Even a moderate level of sustained activity helps. One doctor describes the right level of effort this way: If you can talk without any trouble at all, your activity is probably too easy. If you can’t talk at all, it’s too hard.

Studies show that endurance activities help prevent or delay many diseases that seem to come with age. In some cases, endurance activity can also improve chronic diseases or their symptoms.

Step two
Step two is to keep using your muscles. People lose 20% to 40% of their muscle — and, along with it, their strength — as they age. Scientists have found that a major reason people lose muscle is because they stop doing everyday activities that use muscle power, not just because they grow older. Lack of use lets muscles waste away.

When you have enough muscle, it can mean the difference between being able to get up from a chair by yourself and having to wait for someone to help you get up. That’s true for younger adults as well as for people age 90 and older. Very small changes in muscle size, changes that you can’t even see, can make a big difference in your being able to live and do things on your own.

You can combine activities — for example, walking uphill and raking leaves build both endurance and some of your muscles at the same time. Or you can start an exercise program that makes sure you do the right types of activities.

One good reason to start an exercise program is that you will probably work muscles that you may have stopped using without even realizing it. Another is that exercise programs are likely to help you build up — not just maintain — your endurance and strength.

Keeping your muscles in shape can help prevent another serious problem in older people: falls that cause broken hips or other disabilities. When the leg and hip muscles that support you are strong, you’re less likely to fall. And using your muscles may make your bones stronger, too.

Step three
Step three is to do things to help your balance. For example, stand on one foot, then the other, without holding onto anything for support. Stand up from sitting in a chair without using your hands or arms. Every now and then, walk heel-to-toe (the toes of the foot in back should almost touch the heel of the foot in front when you walk this way).

Step four
Finally, step four is to stretch. Stretching won’t build your endurance or muscles, but it may help keep you limber.

Read about the “Off Your Rocker” exercise program through Columbia St. Mary’s.

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