Good time for senior fitness

The essence of fitness for the elderly has never been to pursue sports performance or to benchmark against the fitness standards of young people. Finding an exercise rhythm that suits one's own condition and gaining a stable health confidence while stretching the body is a "good fitness time" exclusively for the elderly group.

Last Wednesday I went to the community health service center to get medicine. The fitness center at the door was crowded. Aunt Zhang Guilan, who had just finished Tai Chi practice, greeted me with a sword holster and said that after half a year of practice, her knees that were shaking when going up and down stairs were much more stable. Last week, I walked a three-kilometer mountain trail with the senior hiking team and dug half a bag of wild shepherd's purse to go home to make steamed buns. You see, this is the most tangible benefit.

It's interesting to say that the elderly fitness circle is actually quite controversial now. One group is what everyone often calls the "hard-core fitness party." Uncle Wang, who lives in the same community as me, is 72 years old. He has been in the gym for five years after retirement. He can bench press 60 kilograms and has a lower body fat rate than many young men. His previous fatty liver and high blood pressure have now returned to the normal range. He always says that "muscle is the life-saving talisman of the elderly" and calls on the old guys to follow him in strength training. However, Dr. Li from the community orthopedics department has a different view. He said that he just received three elderly people last month who had lumbar protrusions and meniscus wear caused by blindly practicing deadlifts and weight-bearing squats. They all learned the movements from young people on the Internet, without evaluating their own bone density and joint status. They added weight when they started practicing, which caused problems.

My grandma used to be a loyal supporter of the "Fixless Party". She always said that "when people get old, their bones are brittle and they are easily injured if they move too much." Apart from eating and sleeping every day, she would sit on the sofa and watch TV. Last year, the community held free seated Baduanjin training for the elderly. The girl from the neighborhood committee came to persuade me three times before she agreed to go. As a result, after three months of practice, I can now reach for the soup bowl in the wall cabinet without complaining about arm pain. She even showed off to me last week, saying that she could reach the socks on the outermost side of the clothes drying rack on the balcony by tiptoeing without stepping on a stool. To be honest, I complained before that her movements were soft and had no strength at all, but after practicing for ten minutes, my waist was so sore from sitting in the office every day that I couldn't straighten up. Only then did I realize that her slow motions were all tricks.

This is not an isolated case. Elderly health monitoring data released by the National Health Commission in 2023 show that elderly people who maintain low-intensity exercise more than three times a week for 30 minutes each time can reduce the risk of disability by 47%, and the rate of cognitive decline is 32% slower than that of elderly people who do not exercise at all. Even the incidence of common senile constipation and sleep disorders can be reduced by more than 30%.

In fact, you really don’t have to worry about choosing the “right” exercise. If you like the excitement, go square dancing and chat with the old sisters. After an hour, you will feel relaxed and your body will be relaxed.； If you're afraid of noise, find a corner in the park to play Tai Chi or swing diabolo. The slow pace is also soothing. ； If you have bad knees, go to the community swimming pool for a swim, or sit on a chair at home and stretch, hold on to an elastic band to strengthen your arms. Even if you walk around the stairs twice more when you go downstairs to throw out the garbage every day, and bask in the sun for ten minutes, it will be considered an effective fitness. Oh, by the way, you have to avoid the "miraculous exercises" promoted by those who sell health care products. They say that clapping your hands until your hands turn red can cure diabetes, or that walking 20,000 steps a day can open blood vessels. They are all pitfalls. If you are really not sure what is suitable for you, go to the community health service center and ask the doctor in the geriatric health department. They will give you a free evaluation. It is more reliable than any folk prescription.

Yesterday morning I went downstairs to buy soy milk and saw the old people at the fitness center doing their own thing. The aunts in floral skirts over there were dancing and dancing till they were sweating. The two uncles here were cracking their whips. There was also a grandma in a wheelchair holding a soft-grip ball and squeezing it. Her wife next to her handed her a water glass, and the two of them were smiling. The sun fell on their white hair, shining brightly. I suddenly felt that this is the most attractive part of senior fitness.

There is no standard "elderly fitness template". You don't need to compete with others in terms of speed or strength. As long as you feel comfortable all over after the exercise, no pain here or there, you can eat half a bowl of rice more, go to the vegetable market for an extra half hour, and after you practice with the old guys, you can buy a popsicle to chew on. This is the best time for fitness.