Stay Active, Stay Young!

View of the lake at Vogel State Park from the top of the hiking trail. I made it up. Now I have to make it back down.

The title says it all. I may be getting older, and I may be slowing down, but I'm going into old age fighting, and kicking. And, on occasion, limping and hobbling. I've been very fortunate that I've had a healthy body, and, as far as I'm concerned, a sane mind. My mind may not always be as quick as it once was, and it was never sharp as a tack as the expression goes, but its holding it's own.

When I was in my 40's I signed up for aerobics classes. I enjoyed them and knew I was helping myself stay in shape. I remember wondering how long I would keep them up? Would I still be doing this when I was 60? By the time I'd reached the old age of 60, would I have given up staying in shape? At what age does one give up keeping in shape? Such were the thoughts running through my, still young, mind.

Well, I'm well past 60 and I've learned something. The adage, "Use it or Lose it" is never more important or true than NOW! It only takes a couple of weeks of playing the couch potato before I find that just walking up the slight incline at the end of my road has me huffing and puffing. Yes, I've reached the point where the more I slow down, the slower I get.

As an antidote to aging, I've been working hard at not slowing down. Between yoga, workouts, and walking (usually 2 miles a day) I've come to realize, as long as I can move I'll keep doing something to make sure I CAN still move!

There are definite health benefits to this. Several years ago I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis. After working out, taking yoga and walking, the diagnosis changed to Osteopenia (pre-osteoporosis). According to the radiologists analysis my efforts had made a 22% difference! My bones were strengthening. Three years later, the diagnosis remained the same and I was taken off some medication!! My mother and aunt both had osteoporosis. However, my dad had great bones. He drank milk faithfully, even though he really didn't like it. In his declining days he fell several times, but never broke a bone. I aim to be like him. To keep life interesting, I look for new ways to stay active.

A month ago I went on a 5-mile mountain hike with my yoga instructor, and her friends. Last year I did 4 miles with her, on a relatively level section of the Appalachian Trail. I did OK. So this year I figured I could handle five miles. My yoga instructor, a master hiker, neglected to inform me that the first 2 1/2 miles were uphill. And that my hiking companions traditionally hiked 8-10 miles a day.

I made a few observations from my view at the back of the pack.

1) I seemed to be the only one panting and gasping for air, while I clung to my walking stick with the tenacity of baby clinging to its mother as I peered up at the mountainside.

2) It's possible that I just couldn't see their sweat drenched faces through the water running down my face and blurring my vision,but they all looked amazingly dry and unfazed by the heat and humidity. Towards the end of the hike one person's sweat band looked slightly damp, but by then there wasn't a dry spot on me.

3) I realized this was normal to them as I watched one girl hop from rock to rock down the hillside, while I and my walking stick carefully picked our way down the path. In fact they all looked as though they were out for a Sunday stroll. I realized I was in over my head with this crew.

After I got home I told my husband that the next time I wanted to do a 5-mile mountain hike to remind me I was crazy. However, I was pleased to notice that overall, I didn't feel tired. I had survived!

As I crawled out of bed the next morning I was pleased to notice I felt really good, not stiff and sore. That is until my old lady feet hit the floor, and I stood up. Then my arches started screaming! I wear orthotics in my shoes to support my flat feet, and my flat feet wanted me to know, in no uncertain terms, they were not appreciative of my efforts to stay active and stay young.

I grabbed the aspirin and rubbed some pain relieving gel into my feet. Once my feet got going, I was fine. I had survived the hike in good shape. Just the same, I decided two miles in my neighborhood will have to suffice to keep me young...that is as young as a person who's not a spring chicken, can be.

Balance

I'm starting a new fitness program. I use the word program loosely. I'm high on planning but pretty low when it comes to execution. Currently I'm a walker. For the past year I've walked pretty regularly.
As winter approaches (I know--it is still a couple of months off) the threat of walking on icy hills leaves me cold. (Pun intended.) I've decided yoga would be good. It is a good muscle toner and bone builder. And I've noticed once in awhile lately, when I stand up I may take a side step or two. Hmm, balance? Nah. But maybe? I am getting older, much as I prefer to deny it.
10 years ago I decided to start horseback riding. I had always been a litte aftraid of being way up on that big horse. Actually, I was ok with the UP part. I was more concerned with the falling off part. Then one day I went white water rafting for the first time and I realized I had good balance. Why worry about falling off? So I started to ride. I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I gave it up when we moved here.
Now I was back to wondering if my balance was as good as I thought it was. So I'm trying yoga. I'll let you know how it goes.

10,000 Steps

I've been on a quest lately. It is to increase my activity. To that end, I have set a goal of 10,000 steps a day. This is not a random number. It is one that keeps popping up in various places. One year at work someone gave us pedometers to help us track the number of steps we walked each day. That was probably the first time I heard we should try to walk 10,000 steps a day. Being teachers, and always on our feet, I am sure most of us figured that was going to be easy. I was surprised to see I didn't walk that much. Of course, at that school the library was located right next to the office, mailboxes, bathrooms and cafeteria. I soon realized that being on my feet didn't automatically translate into walking. It just wasn't happening.

After I retired and moved, it got much worse. Not only wasn't I walking a lot, I was much more sedentary. I wasn't on my feet nearly as much. I could grab a beer and a bag of chips and settle down to watch TV in only 10 steps. I didn't need a pedometer to know I was in trouble. But those fitness experts, health experts, and others kept telling me my heart, muscles, and bones needed 10,000 steps to stay fit. Well-meaning nags!

A couple of months ago I read a book called The Wildwater Walking Club. The main character was trying to do the same thing...walk more. She got a pedometer and started walking. I loved the beginning. Day 1--11,032 steps. Day 2--OUCH 232 steps. The book was a fun read but I was most impressed when I read the author's note at the end. While she had been writing the book, she managed to get in 10,000 steps every day. I was impressed.

Recently I was given a new pedometer. I decided it was time to reach the goal. I have begun walking purposefully on a daily basis. Over the years I've let Maggie's interest in checking out who's been where influence my gait. No more. If she wants to walk with me, she has to stop sniffing at every tree or mailbox. For the most part I have been successful.

It seemed to be a lot easier in the summer. I was pretty active working in the yard and keeping busy. Now with fall approaching I'm not as busy. It's getting harder. Weekends are the worst. We go, but that doesn't mean we walk. Last Saturday I counted off 4300 steps! Hmm, not good. The challenge continues. As of this writing, I'm only at 9400 for the day. Guess I'd better get off the computer and go run around the house a few times.