The most powerful motivation

Chasing my grandson around the beach on my 90th birthday.

The most powerful motivation for exercising for me at age 92 is to maintain my high quality of life. Several decades earlier I exercised to keep myself fit and healthy but that changed when I reached 60 plus. At that point there was a gradual transition to maintenance.

Over the years we’ve all been motivated to exercise for a variety of reasons. Our age and general health have a lot to do with it. When we were younger, we wanted to keep up with our peers or exceed them, climb mountains, do 100 pushups, ride our bikes 200 miles, and more. Maybe we wanted to look good at the beach.

Later on, there’s a weight issue and the pants don’t fit. We have trouble getting off the sofa. As we approach old age there’s some worry about health and how we manage our life, we don’t want to be in a wheelchair. There are strong reasons in all these instances for keeping fit. Some keep fit by going to the gym or doing your own thing at home. We learn to be careful about what we eat.

When we were younger, we wanted to keep up with our peers or exceed them, climb mountains, do 100 pushups, ride our bikes 200 miles, and more. As we approach old age, our worries change.

It may not be a coincident that more health issues seem to crop up close to retirement age or soon after causing worry and disappointment. Earlier in life we had our jobs, our family, and a frantic lifestyle that didn’t allow much time for exercise in the years leading up to retirement. We finally get to retirement and some of those issues catch up with us.

They may require early attention. Some may have become serious. I was no exception and even though a couple of my medical issues were serious they were treated as an outpatient and I was home that day. It took several years for me to get mended and able to exercise regularly. Some of my problems were self-inflicted. I had denied I was older and went on doing ridiculously large numbers of repetitions until my leg, knee, shoulder, arm or whatever finally gave up. Even through this period, I continued to exercise whenever I could.

I’ve since learned not to not take risks and not do just a ‘few more’, it’s not worth it. Old age is not the time to get hurt. I tend to be venturesome and don’t mind taking on tough or risky jobs but about my health I’ve learned to be careful, not do too much at any one time, get fit slowly, and be patient.

My favorite pastime when I'm not exercising or busy on my part time job -sitting in my rocking chair next to the elliptical with a good book!

After retirement I hear people say they’re going to play golf or pickle ball or go to the beach. They should do all those things. They’re retired and want to enjoy life. But maybe they’ve forgotten about getting old. They need to prepare for their later years that are coming up fast. My friend Herman told me that life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end of the roll, the faster it goes. They need to spend a little time several days a week doing exercises and get themselves fit for a high quality of life in old age.

Experts say that aerobic exercise is necessary to develop a high level of cardio and respiratory health and should be a key component of a balanced exercise routine. High cardio levels are directly related to longevity. Strength training is also very important. A short routine that includes these and other exercises can be started at almost any age. Preexisting medical conditions can often be accommodated.

"Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end of the roll, the faster it goes."

In old age we want to enjoy a high quality of life. That’s the powerful motivation that keeps me exercising regularly! I feel good when I’ve finished my routine and I feel I’ve accomplished something very important!