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I say that because my great-grandmother lived to be 92 and she never exercised a day in her adult life. Her husband and her were both complete couch potatoes. She also ate whatever she wanted, but she was thin, so she must have naturally had a high metabolism.
Although quite a bit younger, my mother is in her late 60s and has had no health related problems besides hypertension, which is being treated well with medication. She has never exercised either.
I have met people who act like you'll drop dead of a heart attack if you don't work out regulary, but I haven't seen it.
I exercised and danced a LOT in my lifetime and now at 79 dealing with very advanced arthritis. Wear and tear of the joints. My parents lived into 90's and never did the exercise I did or what goes on today....mom had arthritis and I don't think dad did.
So it's good to walk but I don't see a real need to go nuts, I went semi nuts. And loved my dancing days...talk about those joints being overworked.
Walk and do some isometrics. Seems right to me. Deep breathing too is good for lungs...no smoking.
Most of our current health crisis is caused by lack of exercise, combined with artificial processed food, pollution, etc.
Our bodies were designed to move, because we are animals, not plants.
Yes, maybe overly intense athletics and dancing can damage joints. But careful moderate exercise will not damage anything. Just the opposite -- everything in the body gets STRONGER from use (as opposed to man-made machines that wear out with use).
You can always find an example of someone who did everything wrong yet lived to 100 in perfect health. And you can always find an example of someone who did everything right yet died from cancer in their 50s.
But overall, in general, the terrible health status of most middle-aged and older Americans is related to lack of exercise.
It almost goes without saying these days that someone my age (65) will be on several prescription drugs, all of them trying to deal with the effects of no exercise for decades.
Mental health is also effected, because the brain is part of the body. So, of course, millions of Americans need drugs for depression and anxiety.
...everything in moderation, I say. There is a broad range between sitting 16 hours a day versus a marathon every weekend. I don't think you can go wrong walking 30 minutes a day at a good pace...and that's something you can work into your schedule most days and do it your entire life. If basketball or triathalons is your big thing, is that something you can really keep doing in your 70's? Not likely though a few people would like you to feel badly if you can't. But it's really not necessary to get that extreme.
I say that because my great-grandmother lived to be 92 and she never exercised a day in her adult life. Her husband and her were both complete couch potatoes. She also ate whatever she wanted, but she was thin, so she must have naturally had a high metabolism.
Although quite a bit younger, my mother is in her late 60s and has had no health related problems besides hypertension, which is being treated well with medication. She has never exercised either.
I have met people who act like you'll drop dead of a heart attack if you don't work out regulary, but I haven't seen it.
Your grandmother probably (like my mom and grandmother) worked their asses off from dusk till dawn taking care of the house, cooking, cleaning, fixing, painting, gardening, etc. Verrrry active lifestyle that most people today do not have.
Btw, I see people die of heart attacks all the time. Most are out of shape folks who don't exercise, I promise you.
Your grandmother probably (like my mom and grandmother) worked their asses off from dusk till dawn taking care of the house, cooking, cleaning, fixing, painting, gardening, etc. Verrrry active lifestyle that most people today do not have.
Yes, we as a society have pretty much forgotten how much exercise was built in to people's everyday lives, things that technology now does for us. A very old person, sure, they might be able to spend much of the time sitting around, but it wasn't really possible for people to be "couch potatoes" for most of their lives. A woman like the OP's great-grandma had to stand at the sink and wash dishes by hand, three times a day. Hang the clothes outside on the line and bring them back in again, then iron them--women ironed everything in those days, even sheets and underwear. Then, she had to walk to the store or take a bus or streetcar, and carry home groceries, so she could cook the meals from scratch. And on and on.
So what do people do today? Drive everywhere they go. Sit in front of the TV and change the channels by remote. Order their groceries and everything else online and have it all delivered to the door. Stick a frozen meal in the microwave and throw the dish away afterwards. There's just no comparison between "not exercising" today and so-called "not exercising" in the old days.
"Is exercise really that important?" The answer is: it depends. Did you win that particular portion of the genetic lottery? That is, are you one of those people who never exercise but live to the age of 92?
Even if studies show exercise will help, say, 95% of the population live longer, healthier lives, how can you know if you're in that other 5%?
Exercise is "really that important" if you enjoy doing it, or if you don't enjoy doing it but really believe it has long-term health benefits for you.
In my case, I hate exercise, but I do it sporadically because everything I read tells me I should do it. However, my mother is about to turn 95, and she never exercised. I'm really hoping I've inherited that gene from her.
My mother and grandmother both lived until 90 and neither exercised. However the last 20 - 30 years of their lives where not optimal. They seemed old than their age. They were very sedentary and got tired very easily if they did anything more than the usual. They could have done a lot more in their later years and felt a lot better.
My father who divorced my mother a long time ago and remarried is still alive at 93 and has no major health issues. He has slowed down now, but just a few years ago he was s till traveling and was active. But he and his wife used walk a lot and have done swim aerobic classes for many years.
I say that because my great-grandmother lived to be 92 and she never exercised a day in her adult life. Her husband and her were both complete couch potatoes. She also ate whatever she wanted, but she was thin, so she must have naturally had a high metabolism.
Although quite a bit younger, my mother is in her late 60s and has had no health related problems besides hypertension, which is being treated well with medication. She has never exercised either.
I have met people who act like you'll drop dead of a heart attack if you don't work out regulary, but I haven't seen it.
nothing is going to prevent us from dying sooner or later and most of us know family members who have lived to be old, old, old without doing a lick of exercise. What we do need to remember is our life was different 20, 30 or 50 plus years ago. We got exercise from hanging cloths on the line pushing a heavy vacuum, doing dishes, walking because many families still with one car. We didn't have remote controls, dads changed his own oil in many families, we did not have rider mowers and in some cases not even gas powered. Either our parents or sometimes us kids pushed the old mower back and forth. Being over weight or thin doesn't have as much to do with overall health as many think, but it is important to try to get exercise daily since the old ways do not apply.
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