How to make your golden years solid gold

Are you among the millions of Americans who have high aspirations for how you’ll spend your post-retirement years? Whether you plan to travel the world, sign up for a golf league, or provide childcare for the grandkids, your physical fitness level will be a factor.

A 2010 study suggests that the fitness declines we typically attribute to advancing age are largely caused by living sedentary lifestyles—which are on the rise due to the prominence of desk jobs in the workplace and activity-limiting technology. This runs contrary to the widely held belief that declines in our physical abilities are caused solely by biological aging. Do we really have control over how active we’ll be in our “golden years”?

In a word, absolutely. A study which examined 900,000 marathon and half-marathon participants aged 20 to 79 found no significant age-related performance declines in runners less than 55 years old, and only moderate declines among older age groups. In fact, more than 25% of runners aged 65 to 69 were faster than half of the runners aged 20 to 54.

For those thinking that these runners must have been lifelong enthusiasts of the sport, the study revealed that 25% of runners aged 50 to 69 were relative newcomers and had started marathon training within the last 5 years. The researchers concluded that even at an advanced age, people in the “non-athlete” category who engage in regular training can reach high performance levels.

What does this mean? It means your age does not define how you should move or what you can achieve. If this revelation is intriguing, then perhaps it’s time for you to start moving. Do you have to become a marathon runner to reach these goals? Not at all. And that is the best part!

If you aren’t currently active, then you likely have questions and concerns about where to start. If you already regularly engage in exercise, then you may have goals you would like to achieve. Either way, there’s no shortage of tools and resources to help you live a more active lifestyle and reliable place to start is with a physical therapist.

The benefits of beginning with a PT consultation are many. They are trained to assess your abilities and limitations, consider your health concerns, demonstrate safe exercises and build a plan to increase strength, function and mobility. Whatever your passion is, physical therapy will help you get and stay fit and injury-free so you may enjoy life’s many pursuits.