Will you "move it like Jagger" when you are nearly 80?
- sachamogg
- Mar 20, 2022
- 7 min read
By the time most people reach their 80s they have stopped playing sports, taking regular exercise and can't touch their knees, let alone their toes. They put it down to old age or injury and tend to be resigned to it. They tend to have quite a closed mindset on the whole subject.
However, I have noticed there are an increasing number of exceptions out there and wanted to share them with you. I hope you will be as inspired as I am. Did you know that Dr Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Chief Medical Advisor to President Biden, is 81 years old? He was born in 1940 but I assumed he was in his 70s at the very most! He claims his secret to staying fit and healthy is having been a marathon and 10K runner for multiple decades, following a good diet, prioritising sleep, managing stress levels, not smoking, not drinking too much and making sure he enjoys life. He is one of many inspiring octogenarians leading busy and full lives and looking and acting at least 10 years younger. Some, like Dr Fauci, are even still working in a demanding, high profile job.
Not long ago I saw an article on BBC news about an 86-year-old man called Tony Bowman, who has had two heart attacks but after a full recovery, is still running the 100 metres, the short and the long hurdles, decathlon, pentathlon, heptathlon, high jump, long jump, triple jump, only drawing the line at pole vaulting! He apparently refuses to slow down and why should he? He currently holds 2 hurdling world records and numerous British athletics records. He apparently trains every day so that he can compete in sporting events. He said he loves the adrenalin rush you get just before the race starts and enjoys the wonderful exhilaration if he wins it. What an inspiration and here is a photo of him in action below!
I also read about 85-year-old Ernestine Shepherd, born June 16, 1936 and pictured below. She is an American bodybuilder and is best known for being declared by the Guinness Book of Records in 2010, the oldest competitive female bodybuilder in the world at that point. Although at the age of 85 she is no longer competing, she is apparently still active and looks amazing. A former model, Ernestine started aerobics classes with her sister aged 56, because she felt she had got out of shape. They both moved on to body building. Although not everyone wants to be that ripped at 80, she too is so inspiring!
On the website www.prevention.com, there is an inspiring article from 2017 called:
“Fit at 80? You Bet. Meet 4 Octogenarian Athletes who give you zero reason to skip the gym,”
by Ginny Graves.
It starts off busting the following myths and I quote:
“It's officially time to forget everything you think you know about aging:
Your energy will flag. Not necessarily.
You'll add pounds. Avoidable.
You'll get slower and weaker. So preventable.
That's not just wishful thinking. Hard science shows that exercise can help you stay younger longer. A 2011 study found that older competitive runners, cyclists, and swimmers have far more muscle mass than their sedentary peers do—meaning, when you use it, you don't lose it. Researchers at Brigham Young University also found that the telomeres—chromosomes' protective end caps that are a key marker of cellular aging—were the equivalent of 9 biological years younger in women and men who jogged for 30 to 40 minutes 5 days a week, compared with those of their couch-surfing peers.”
There are four inspiring women mentioned in this article; namely a yogi, Alice Rocky aged 81, a record-holding relay swimmer, Joan Campbell aged 87, a track and field star, Florence Meiler aged 83, and an Iron Woman athlete, Ruth Heidrich aged 82. They all seem to love what they do, be highly motivated to do it regularly, enjoy the competitive side of it and definitely gain more energy and health benefits from it. Through keeping fit and in shape they are all able to live life to the full, keep up with their children, grandchildren and younger friends. It seems that none of these amazing women are looking for an excuse to give up sport any time soon. They have a "can do" attitude and mindset which I find deeply inspiring and is clearly very effective.
Murdoch McGregor hit the BBC news headlines back in December 2021, when he was proclaimed "UK Sailor of the Year" aged 82. He started sailing when he was 72 and successfully and single-handedly circumnavigated Britain ten years later. He said " I get great satisfaction from being alone and vulnerable at sea". When interviewed he mentioned how he was very keen to get older people out of their "big chairs" and get them moving even if it was just for a walk around the park. Another wonderful story of someone who just refuses to slow down.
Someone who is not quite 80 yet, but hard not to include here is Sir Mick Jagger. I saw him in concert back in 2012 when he was 68 and my expectations beforehand were low to be honest. I had never been a particular fan of the group and had visions of them creeping around the stage looking a bit past it. I went more out of curiosity than anything else. How wrong could I have been! It turned out to be one the the best concerts I have been to. What struck me the most was Jagger's incredible agility and ability to move all over the stage like he was in his 30s. It was quite incredible and I will never forget it. I am now a huge Rolling Stones Fan! Better late than never! I have just seen an update on YouTube from this year, which shows his exercise routine at the age of 78. Apparently he has always taken exercise and training very seriously, since the very start of his career. Even as a young 20 something, he would go for training runs on his days off to enable him to keep super fit for his live concerts. He said "It can get dull but it's as dull or as interesting as you make it". He now apparently trains twice a day, every day. He runs 8 miles a day, he swims, does yoga and Pilates, kick boxing, weight training, ballet, cycling, walking, high kicks and jumps. This certainly does not sound dull! When he does a show he apparently runs the equivalent of 12 miles. A typical footballer apparently runs only 7 in the course of a match. I can't see him slowing down much into his 80s and I hope he inspires you as much as he does me. I am not surprised Maroon 5 wrote song about him!
The more I read about ageing and exercise, the more I think that a lot of people use it as a convenient excuse to stop doing any. How many times have you heard someone in their 40s or 50s say “oh I’m getting too old for that!” or “I’m injured, so I won’t be able to exercise for a long time now”? I hear it alarmingly often. Perhaps many adults don’t find forms of exercise they really enjoy and that makes them feel great and more vibrant. They may not appreciate how vital it is to keep moving and never enjoyed sport at school. As a result, they only need a very small excuse to stop doing it altogether and this turns into a slippery slope of under-exercising, over-eating, perhaps even drinking too much and generally letting themselves go.
For many it may well stem right back to our school days where we were all forced to stand out in the freezing cold, wind and rain, in inadequate sports kit, (thermals were unheard of in my day!), playing team sports, we had very little affinity with. Being more musical and lacking the competitive ball-games-playing-chip, I did anything to avoid sport at school.
Fortunately for me though, I had an energetic and adventurous father and grandparents, who encouraged my sister and me to swim in the sea, lochs and rivers, do water sports, ski, hill walk, go on bike rides and just enjoy keeping fit. I also loved ballet and the combination of music and movement really appealed. I realised early on that there were so many different sports to pursue and was lucky enough to experience the excitement and joy of being out in nature. Exercise and movement is such an essential part of my life and I would struggle without it. I feel lucky to have been introduced to it all so young. Otherwise, I am not sure that I would be as active as I am now nor understand the benefits and importance of sticking at it, even if some days you don’t feel super-motivated. My father who is now 81, is still very active and can be spotted out on his bike in various parts of his home city, most afternoons. When I visit, we invariably catch up over a wonderful, long bike ride. It is inspiring to see someone making exercise such an important part of each day but also getting so much benefit and pleasure from it. It is the perfect balance.
Here are some tips to help you start or keep moving:
Learn about or even better, get to know someone much older than you who keeps super fit and be inspired into action!
Identify forms of exercise you love, that make you feel good and happy
Where possible exercise outside in the fresh air and sunshine
Start gradually and work up, so you don't get put off and injured
Research and seek advice on how to train if you are unsure on how to start
Give up any form of exercise that fills you with dread and you feel you "should" do
Try new forms of exercise often and don't get stuck in a rut
Have an open mindset to exercise and believe in yourself to overcome challenges by remembering past success stories
Push yourself out of your comfort zone and enjoy the benefits
Exercise with friends as it is much easier to commit to it regularly and much more fun
Tell your friends about your new exercise routines and ask them to hold you accountable if that helps
If you are competitive, then find someone willing opponents as this will motivate you to train and improve. It will also be more fun.
Reward yourself with things you might treat your dearest friends to - you deserve it.
I fully intend to follow in the footsteps of these inspiring octogenarians I have introduced you to today in the 2050s, so that I will be able to continue doing all the sports I love, take up new ones, keep up with my children and perhaps grandchildren, much younger friends and even dogs. The well-known expression "use it or lose it" rings so true here and goes for both our bodies and our brains. By the time I reach 80, it might well be the new 50!
Sources:
https://youtu.be/jChIaRZEF70
Kommentarer