Exercise is important at every age. Babies need to crawl and walk and reach the rest of their motor milestones. Children need to climb and run and jump and play. Teenagers need to play sports or compete. Adults need to exercise for health and longevity. Older adults need it to sustain a longer and quality life.
A big problem in this world is the “coddling” of the older generation. Traditionally, as adults approach retirement in their 60’s and 70’s, we’ve encouraged them to step back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Relax more, stop doing yard work, be careful trying to get on the floor with the grandkids. This ideology has set the older generation back a decade of function. One of the most important principles of connective tissue function (muscle, bone, tendons etc) and our central nervous system function (controls everything) is that if you stop using it, you will lose it. Atrophy to our muscles, bones and nervous system are so important as we age.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO DO HARD THINGS.
Older people should primarily focus on strength training and power. A critical and often overlooked element of decline is not just the lack of ability to produce force (strength), but rather how quickly one can produce force. The biggest risks in the older generations are falls. One of the biggest reasons that they have falls is lack of sufficient ability to react quickly to a stimulus (like loss of balance). They need to prepare for the most vulnerable situations by practicing quick movements.
Just to highlight some key data related to falls:
The mortality rate (death rate) is 17-25% for a hip fracture associated with a fall. Those who are 50 or older have a 3x greater likelihood for mortality than those under 50.
Fall prevention is far more than balance training. If we have capable muscles that are strong and can move fast, the likelihood of falls reduces by incredible margins. And, worst case scenario, if you do have a fall, the stronger bones won’t break.
We need to keep encouraging the older generation to do hard stuff for their health!!!