Even though spring temperatures haven’t quite reached our little corner of the country, the days are noticeably longer and the cherry blossoms are showing their color. After a long winter, spring is the perfect time to get active and improve your fitness level to make the most of the summer season.
Over the winter, I had the opportunity to spend two weeks completing nutrition assessments in a long-term care center. A key insight I learned after spending two weeks with a diverse group of elderly residents: use it or lose it. Loss of strength and mobility was a significant barrier to independence for many of the residents.
I was reminded of a question posed by Dr. Michael Ross, trainer extraordinaire here in Seattle – Are you fit, functional, or fragile? I’ve shared his definitions below.
1. Fit – At this level you capable of doing anything you want to do. Train to go on safari in Africa? Join a kickball league with friends? Train to run a half-marathon? Help your best friend re-roof their shed, move furniture, push their car out of a snow embankment? Are you able to go snow-skiing, water skiing, or play catch with your child or grandchild? Or, also at this extreme of fit, train to climb Mt. Rainier? These are the things that make life more than regular.
2. Functional – At this level, your days consist of: Get up, get ready, go to work, maybe go shopping or have a drink with friends or go watch someone else play sports on your way home, come home, watch TV, go to bed. Basic fundamental tasks needed to sustain your life. On the weekend, you do some yard work, shop, go to a movie. Perhaps if you push it, you may sign up for a 10K or half-marathon walk. But, that would be a significant accomplishment. You may go to the gym but you are not able to really push the extremes of you health and fitness and do those once in a lifetime events, more than once in your lifetime. You read about people who climb mountains or trek through distant lands. You watch your fit neighbor build her shed, and re-roof her house, and then go play kickball with their friends, and then go out and have a great time. At the functional level you are proud if you do one of those things, and can¹t imagine doing two or all three.
3. Fragile – At this level, you need to watch what you do for fear of injuring yourself. Don¹t want to hurt your back. Or you have weak ankles so a soccer match for charity is not a good idea. This level is plagued with old injuries that keep you from enjoying your bucket list items to their fullest. Sure, you might go on a cruise to the Mediterranean, but you see the sights from the window of the bus, or walk the level ground to the viewpoint overlooking the awesome sight where a 75 year-old couple is hiking IN the awesome sight. You might be able to help a neighbor move, but you would be the one packing boxes, or directing traffic, or setting up the kitchen. Other healthier people would be lifting the boxes or moving the furniture. These are the people who don¹t mind when someone says, “be careful, don¹t hurt yourself.” At the fragile level, you consider a full day going to work and then able to shop for dinner afterwards. Or, mowing the lawn on a Saturday would be a real accomplishment.
Which describes you the best? Even more important, which do you want to be when you reach your retirement years and beyond? Fit, functional, or fragile?
It is estimated that we begin losing a pound of muscle mass each year after the age of 40. Why? A big component is that this is when we start becoming more sedentary. That brings me back to “use it or lose it.”
Even if you don’t have a goal to run a marathon when you are 75, including physical activity in your lifestyle is important for health as you age. Think of physical activity as any movement you can get in your day. It doesn’t have to include 20 minutes on the elliptical machine or a special circuit in the gym. Build in movement as part of your everyday life. Find what you love and enjoy it as frequently as you can.
Here are some ideas that don’t require a gym membership:
· Walk with a dog/kids/spouse/friends
· Enjoy the outdoors while working in your yard or garden
· Play frisbee
· Fly a kite
· Try something new – yoga, rock climbing, kayaking, snow shoeing
· Take the stairs whenever you can
· Sign up for a walking tour
· Visit the zoo or an arboretum
· Clean out your garage
· Wash your car by hand
· Reorganize your closets or attic
· Repaint a room
· Rearrange your furniture
· Play tennis on a free court in the park
You get the idea – any activity that keeps you moving will benefit your fitness level for the long term. The best part is that the more you do, the easier it will become. When you find yourself facing a list of excuses, ask yourself which direction you are heading – fit, functional, or fragile?
