Senior fitness compliments

The most praiseworthy fitness for the elderly has never been the cool points that point to age anxiety such as "reaching the vest line at the age of 60 or 70" or "running a full marathon without losing to young people", but that this group of people finally broke away from the stereotype of "you should rest at home when you are old" and turned exercise into a comfortable lifestyle habit that is exclusive to you - no need to collect data or compare results, and it is worthy of applause if you do it.

To be honest, I used to be a little prejudiced against elderly fitness. I either thought that the movements were not standard, or I was fooled by people who sell health products. It was not until my mother practiced Health Qigong for half a year with the aunties in the community last year that she no longer had pain when raising her arms after suffering from frozen shoulder for more than ten years, and even the insomnia problem that she suffered from staying up until 2 or 3 o'clock all year round was reduced. I really realized that this thing is reliable. If you go to a park or community fitness center near your home, you will understand that no one will talk to you about body fat percentage or pace. The uncle who does Tai Chi will not laugh at the aunt who does square dancing for being too noisy, and the uncle who can spin three times on the horizontal bar will not complain about the grandma who walks around the neighborhood three times a day for not getting enough exercise.

Nowadays, there is actually quite a fierce debate on the Internet about fitness for the elderly. One group is the "conservatives" who say that the elderly have brittle bones and lose muscle mass quickly, so they should choose low-intensity exercises. Don't do strength training and don't run and jump blindly. Injuries may outweigh the gains.； The other group is the "radicals" who believe that age is just a number. As long as they train scientifically, it will be no problem to hit the weights by lifting weights at the age of 70 or riding a road bike for 100 kilometers at the age of 80. There is no need to set limits for the elderly. To be honest, there is nothing wrong with both of these statements. The core is just the four words "suitable for you". The 72-year-old Uncle Li I know was an athlete when he was young. Even after he retired, he still rides a road bike three times a week, 50 kilometers at a time. The indicators in his last physical examination were better than those of me, a 30-year-old social worker who works in the office every day. ； The 78-year-old Grandma Wang downstairs has an old knee injury and can’t even squat. She walks slowly around the community three times a day and shakes her arms for ten minutes. Her blood pressure has been so stable in the past six months that she has even reduced her antihypertensive medication by half. Which one of the two has the better fitness method? There is no distinction between high and low. If you are comfortable in your body and can persist, that is the best.

I have previously checked public data from the World Health Organization. As long as people over 60 years old engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity every week, whether it is brisk walking, doing Tai Chi or square dancing, the risk of cardiovascular disease can be reduced by 30%, and the probability of cognitive decline can be reduced by 20%. This is not some metaphysics, it is a real research conclusion. And what many people don’t say is that fitness for the elderly is not just about physical training. My mother retired and had nothing to do at home. She quarreled with my father every day over who washed the dishes. Since then, she has joined the aerobics team. She has appointments with the old sisters every day to practice exercises and go to the vegetable market. She even spends less time arguing with my father. This is equivalent to finding a social circle for herself. When her mood is smooth, the atmosphere at home will also improve.

Of course, this does not mean that fitness for the elderly is all beneficial. Not long ago, an aunt followed the trend and saw a video about "climbing 20 floors every day to cure the three highs". She climbed hard for half a month, and her knees hurt so much that she could not even go downstairs. Later, she changed to squatting against the wall and walking on a flat road, and then she slowly recovered. To put it bluntly, there is no standard answer to exercise. It may be a burden for others to practice useful methods on you. There is no need to follow the trend, and there is no need to force yourself to compare with others.

A while ago, I went to buy steamed buns in the morning, and I saw an old man at the entrance of the park practicing curls with an empty mineral water bottle. The young man next to him asked him, "Uncle, are you doing arm muscle exercises?" ”, the uncle waved his hands and smiled with wrinkles on his face: "You have no muscles, I just can't carry rice when you are old. Practice your strength, and next time I go to the supermarket with my granddaughter, I can help her carry two more bags of snacks." ”You see, there is no need for any gorgeous words of praise. These old men and women exercise, never for the false reputation of "old and strong" and "unyielding with old age". They just want to have less pain, not to cause trouble to their children, and have more energy to spend time with their families and live their own small lives. I can't praise them enough for this down-to-earth atmosphere.