The role of fitness exercises for the elderly

The core value of elderly fitness has never been the pursuit of illusory longevity, but to help the elderly maintain the ability to live independently during their lifetime, reduce the risk of progression of more than 80% of common chronic diseases in the elderly, and at the same time reduce the probability of emotional exhaustion in old age by at least 40%. This is the most practical conclusion I have drawn from having worked as an elderly exercise guide at a community sports and health station for 6 years. I have examined thousands of elderly people's physical measurement data and followed dozens of elderly people for 3 years.

Don’t tell me, when I wasn’t involved in this industry, I also thought that old people could just walk around and keep fit, until I met Uncle Zhang who lived in Building 12. When he came to the station to set up a profile at the age of 68, he had level 2 hypertension and degenerative knee pain. He had to find a step to sit on when walking 100 meters. Even when he went downstairs to buy groceries, he had to be accompanied by his wife for fear of falling. Later, we practiced simplified 24-style Tai Chi three times a week, plus 15 minutes of seated leg presses to practice the quadriceps. After three months, most of the knee pain was relieved. In the spring of this year, I went to climb Mount Tai with a group of elderly travel friends. When I came back, I brought us peach wood bracelets bought at the top of the mountain. I was so happy.

Of course, there have never been fewer voices of doubt. Many family members and even some physicians with long clinical experience feel that "elderly people need to rest. If they move too much, they will easily fall and get tired." This statement is not unreasonable. I have also encountered many negative cases. Two years ago, there was a 69-year-old Aunt Li. I heard from the square dancing sisters that walking backwards 10,000 steps a day can cure lumbar prolapse. She had a balance disorder and did not wear protective gear. She fell and fractured her femoral neck. She lay down for three months and her muscles atrophied even more. It took half a year of rehabilitation before she could walk again. There is also a 70-year-old man who posted a short video saying that hanging horizontal bars can cure cervical spondylosis. He has grade three hypertension and did not warm up. After hanging for half a minute, he became dizzy and broke his head. His family even came to our station to make trouble, saying that we encouraged the elderly to exercise blindly.

In fact, there is no absolute "good" or "bad". It just depends on whether you have chosen the right method that suits you. Take the 32 patients with type 2 diabetes who have been followed by our website for 2 years. They all insist on low-intensity resistance training twice a week for 30 minutes each time. 17 of them have reduced the dosage of metformin by half, and 3 have very stable blood sugar control. The doctor has asked them to temporarily stop taking the drug and can control it through diet and exercise. Also, everyone always thinks that "it's normal for legs to become weak as we get older." In fact, 80% of leg weakness is caused by sarcopenia. If an elderly person does not do strength training specifically when they reach the age of 70, their muscle mass will be reduced by more than 30% compared to when they were young. This is the root cause of falling easily and being unable to walk. There used to be a 72-year-old Uncle Wang who had to rest twice when carrying 10 kilograms of vegetables upstairs. He practiced seated leg press twice a week and gradually increased the weight from 5 kilograms to 15 kilograms. After practicing for three months, he could carry 20 kilograms of rice up to the third floor when going to the vegetable market without losing breath. Everyone would say that he was "rejuvenated" when he met everyone.

To tell something that many people have not noticed, fitness is actually the most cost-effective way for the elderly to socialize. There is a 74-year-old Aunt Chen in our station. After her husband left, she cried at home every day. Her children signed up for a tour group and refused to go. She rarely even left the house. She took more and more medicine for high blood pressure. Later, she was invited by the neighbor downstairs to play soft ball. Now she is urging her to go out before seven o'clock every morning. Last month, the community held a soft ball competition. She also took the initiative to be the referee. She was wearing a sky blue sportswear and a silk scarf, and she was very energetic. Her daughter came to set up a file for her last time and said that Aunt Chen has even reduced her antihypertensive pills by half. Every day when she comes home, she talks to her about who in the team is late today, who can’t learn a new move after three days, and who talks more than twice as much.

Don’t believe the absolute statements on the Internet about the “Ten Guidelines for Exercise for the Elderly” and “You must walk 10,000 steps a day.” There is a huge difference between people’s physiques. I have seen a 78-year-old man run 5 kilometers once a week with no physical problems. I have also seen a 60-year-old aunt get out of breath after walking 500 meters. She has severe COPD and can only practice abdominal breathing and raising her hands while sitting for 10 minutes a day. The 82-year-old aunt with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been practicing this 10-minute breathing exercise every day for two years. Before, she had to stay in the hospital for half a month every winter. She only caught a cold once last winter and was not hospitalized. She gave us a large basket of home-pickled dried radish, saying it was a "life-saving exercise."

In fact, to put it bluntly, fitness for the elderly does not have so many high-level functions. It is nothing more than allowing the elderly to eat by themselves, bathe by themselves, and take a walk downstairs when they want. They don’t have to guard the medicine jar every day, and they don’t have to bother their children with everything. If you are lucky, you can also find a group of old friends who get along well, and have something to look forward to every day. Any attempt to prolong life is vain. Being able to live every day happily and neatly is better than anything else.