100 Pushups a day
Keeps old-age away
Professionals are taught to plan for retirement. They make wise decisions about their finances according to their lifestyle and the projected number of years they will spend in retirement. They imagine the perfect home in the ideal location, travel, and luxury purchases. They save for this good life.
In a culture that highly values materialism, preparing for financial security as an aging priority makes the most sense. However, a limited focus on economics may prevent many aging adults from having the successful retirement they desire.
Healthy, Wealthy & Wise
Unhealthy adults will spend significant time in the doctor’s office, filling prescriptions and waiting for someone to take them shopping. This is the case when planning for retirement does not include preserving the physical body.
Not everyone can save a million dollars for retirement. But, everyone’s behaviors contribute positively or negatively toward their physical health. Physical health is as vital to retirement as financial health.
Physical wealth
Unlike financial wealth, physical wealth is active. To save money for retirement, you have to be disciplined not to touch it. You make good decisions about your money, and then you just let it grow for two decades or more. The key is to put it aside.
Physical wealth is just the opposite. To retire with physical wealth, you have to remain actively engaged with your body. You have to believe in your body’s ability to perform long term. You have to demonstrate that belief by engaging the body in physical activity.
Age is just a number
Research shows that chronological age is not a predictor of sexual functioning. Yet, many menopausal women stop having sex. In general, “males are rather vulnerable in terms of health, and conscious and active efforts are required to promote their health in an aging society” (Park & Lee).
The promotion of successful aging is increasingly becoming important in aging societies. Having positive attitudes to aging may contribute to healthier mental and physical outcomes in older adults. Overcoming negative stereotypes of aging through change at the societal and individual level may help to promote more successful aging. (Bryant, et. al)
Ageless Body
Chronological age is not the single determining factor for any physical performance. Just as much diversity of physical ability exists among the elderly as it does among the youth. The body performs according to its training at any age.
The longer the body has been preparing for retirement, the friendlier the aging process will be. In the same way that we advise people to start saving early for retirement, we should think similarly about the body. Starting a fitness routine at any age is beneficial, but the sooner you start, the healthier the aging process is likely to be.
Finding synchronicity
Fitness routines do not have to be formal exercise. My 89-year-old mother has always laughed at the idea of me going to the gym. She insists that if I spent the appropriate amount of time cleaning my house, I wouldn’t need a gym.
My mother is probably right since that has worked well for her. She hardly ever sits down. She still uses public transportation, which requires a two-block walk to the bus stop, and she shops at malls for hours. She is in excellent shape, her body, and her mind.
Body mechanics
I believe in enjoying life, and I don’t enjoy cleaning. Unlike mom, I’d rather run 10 miles than clean a bathroom for ten minutes. I prefer lifting weights in a gym over lifting a broom in the house. My house looks like it too.
I’ve always seen myself as an athlete, even during times that I was inactive. I always knew I would not be inactive forever since lack of opportunity was always the cause.
Time and opportunity are the advantages of aging. With no children to care for and more choices about how I spend my time, you bet, fitness is high on the priority list.
Strong for Life
Due to sexism and objectification, women, in general, do not prioritize strength. Consequently, aging women’s bodies become frail much sooner than necessary.
A frail body is more prone to fracture and physical weakness. Aging with frailty encourages a sedentary lifestyle, which is contrary to quality health.
Basic training
At age 40, I started training in taekwondo (TKD) to spend time with my son. I liked it much more than he did, though. He quit after he earned his first-degree black belt. I still train as a fourth-degree black belt at age 57.
Pushups and sit-ups were a staple for TKD training. Those two exercises give new meaning to the phrase “carry your weight.” The goal was to be able to push, pull, lift, and lower your weight. When I started, I could maybe do three pushups and ten sit-ups.
Palms and toes touched the floor only. The expectation of “girl pushups” was an insult to all the upper-rank women in the class who started just like me. By the time I earned my black belt, I could do an easy 50 of each without stopping. For my black belt test, I had to do 100 each. I thought I would die by the end, but I completed the task at 43 years old.
Over the years, I have varied in my fitness level, depending on the tasks I’m taking on in my life. I moved to Colorado three years ago and never found a lifting partner. I’d had one for the past ten years and became pretty reliant on him.
100 Pushups a Day
Without a partner, I lost a lot of strength even though I continue to run and train in TKD, as well as do hot yoga. But, the COVID-19 quarantine led me back to my fitness base. I resumed my pushups and sit-ups as a quarantine fitness regime.
In the first week of quarantine, I committed to doing 100 pushups and sit-ups. I did ten sets of 10 throughout the day. I used poker chips to help me keep track of my daily progress. I was saddened that I took hours to complete ten sets, remembering that I once did 100 at a time.
After two weeks, my strength returned enough to double my effort and half my time. I was thankful that muscle memory kicked in, and my body adjusted quickly. Soon, I started doing five sets of 20. A couple more weeks went by, and I started doing sets of 25.
Eventually, I did sets of 30, 40, and now I’m up to two sets of 50 for the first time in years. The sets are not yet as easy as they were when I was in my 40s. But, my body performs with confidence. I haven’t missed a day of completing the routine since I started two months ago. I also walk or run at least 5 miles a day as long as it’s not raining.
I know I have a choice of how I age. I choose to age with beauty, brawn, and brains, which equals “grace” in my book. Retirement for me is running a marathon, as well as walking with my mom around the mall. When I vacation with my adult children, they can still drag me on excursions that require a high level of fitness without concern. This winter, along with two younger women, I helped push a stuck car out of the snow.
Retiring Young
I don’t know how much money I will have for retirement. But, I feel confident in my ability to work and earn a living without mental or physical exhaustion. I’m not waiting to retire to enjoy life because maintaining my fitness level is the way I enjoy life.
“Moderate and high levels of physical activity are associated with a number of successful aging outcomes, such as living to an advanced age, having little to no disability prior to death, as well as having a low probability of disease/disease-related disability, high cognitive/ physical functioning, and being actively engaged with life” (Meisner, et. al.).
Taking care of our bodies is just as important as being financially secure and mentally stable. The body does not age according to a clock. It ages according to the mind. A timeless mind fosters an ageless body.
References
Bakari, (2020. The age-old question. Illumination on Medium. https://readmedium.com/the-age-old-question-920a6b3eaf51
Bryant, C., Bei, B., Gilson, K., Komiti, A., Jackson, H. & Judd, F. (2012). The relationship between attitudes to aging and physical and mental health in older adults. International Psychogeriatrics24:10,1674–1683. doi:10.1017/S1041610212000774.
Meisner, B., Weir, P. & Baker, J. (2013). The relationship between aging expectations and various modes of physical activity among aging adults. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 14. 569e576
Mernone L, Fiacco S and Ehlert U (2019) Psychobiological Factors of Sexual Functioning in Aging Women — Findings From the Women 40+ Healthy Aging Study. Front. Psychol. 10:546. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00546. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00546/full
Park, B., & Lee, Y. J. (2020). Upcoming aging society and men’s health: Focus on clinical implications of exercise and lifestyle modification. The World Journal of Men’s Health, 38(1), 24–31. doi:10.5534/wjmh.180103
