8 Exercises for Healthy Aging

I love the lyrics of “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. The last few lines go “I hear babies cry/ I watch them grow/ They’ll learn much more/ Than I’ll ever know.” I can’t agree more; watching children grow is wonderful, as they’re so full of dreams and promise. When we look at the old pictures of our children, we marvel at how much they’ve grown. And then, we look forward to what they want to do tomorrow, in a few years, and when they grow up. It’s exciting!

But once they asked me, how about you? What do you want to be when you grow up? Well, I told them, when I was little, I wanted to be a writer… so here I am! I’ve grown up already! For me, it’s “growing old” from here on.

Growing old doesn’t have to mean getting weak

Growing old is not a bad thing. There are perks: you get what Arthur C. Brooks calls crystallized intelligence. You get to teach the younger generation the beautiful things to hone and to keep, such as virtues and strengths, and remind them of what matters most—a perspective that can only be gained by looking back through the years.

But to do that, we should take good care of our health. Besides getting that annual checkup, seeing the doctor, and eating nutritionally dense real food, exercising really helps to keep us strong as we age. Muscles grow strong and tone up when we use them; if we stop using them just because we think we are “getting older,” then we will lose muscle tone and slowly go down that road to getting weaker.

I saw this video from Get Fit with Nav called “Top 8 Exercises for Your Parents for a Long Life” that details eight exercises to keep people strong beginning in their 50s and well into their 60s and 70s. The idea behind it is that we want our loved ones to be mobile and independent for as long as they can (and we can use these exercises for ourselves as well!), so we share the information to help others stay strong as they age.

Practical

I like that the video talks about practical ways to move the body—such as lifting groceries, picking things up from the ground, balancing, and walking while carrying things. Those are the activities we should like to keep doing well into our 70s and 80s. Anecdote here: my parents are in their mid-70s. They’re still strong enough to walk to places and do their errands, such as banking and grocery shopping. They clean the house and help my aunt take care of my grandmother (who is 101 years old). They take the bus (and my dad still drives), too.

Nav’s exercises (for how to do them, just check the video!) are not difficult—I think anyone can do them because they are made to strengthen muscles and improve balance. As they're intended for an older age group, they aren't meant to be competitive, unlike exercising for sports. If you find them too difficult to do, start with fewer reps then gradually build from there. I list them here from the video, but with my two cents:

1. Chair squats. Doing chair squats strengthens the hips, knees, and thighs. Practical application: sitting and standing with ease at home, in the garden, in the office, in public places, in the car, and in your commute.

2. Pick up and press. Strengthens the muscles that help one bend down and hold weights. The pick up and press exercise is a good way to use many muscle groups like core, legs, arms, and hands. Practical application: lifting grocery bags, shopping bags, or school bags, loading the car with things, tidying up the house.

3. Wall pushups. Strong arms mean you can carry little ones even when they are not so little anymore. (Dads of girls, I heard girls ask to be carried until 12 years old!) Other practical applications: carrying pans when cooking, rearranging your desk, organizing the bookshelf.

4. Seated knee extensions. This exercise strengthens the muscles around the knees, making the knees strong. Nav says this exercise reduces knee pain. Practical application: going up and down the stairs, walking on inclined roads and paths.

5. Front raises. This exercise makes shoulders strong, keeps them mobile, and reduces shoulder pain. Practical application: lifting children, lifting pets, gardening.

6. Standing marches. Learning to keep your balance until old age means you can move without help (that is, cane- and wheelchair-free). Practical application: walking outside in uneven terrain, walking outside in uneven terrain while carrying things.

7. Reverse curls. This exercise is for grip strength, so you can lift things and hold on to things better. Practical application: picking up things, washing dishes, carrying water bottles and similar small but hefty items.

8. Farmers walk. This exercise helps one to be confident in walking while carrying a load. Combined with a strong core, legs, and arms, having good balance can prevent falls, which can be very dangerous for the elderly. Practical application: walking outside, bringing home the groceries, rearranging things at home, carrying sleeping children to bed.

The longer we can be independent as we grow old, the more ways we can contribute to society, even if it’s just within the family (the smallest unit of society!). And then we can strive to be there and watch the babies grow, learning so much more—and doing so much more—than we can ever imagine.

Keeping up with children is another reason to stay fit as we grow old; plus, it helps to be strong when you go on a holiday trip.

"Besides getting that annual checkup, seeing the doctor, and eating nutritionally dense real food, exercising really helps to keep us strong as we age. Muscles grow strong and tone up when we use them; if we stop using them just because we think we are 'getting older,' then we will lose muscle tone and slowly go down that road to getting weaker."