The INDEPENDENT, November 21, 2002
Page 15
Healthy Aging—You’re never too old (or too young) to get physical
By Diane Lindsey
You are never too old -- or
too young -- to reap the bene
fits of physical fitness!
Regular physical activity has
a multitude of benefits, both
physical and psychological.
The human body repairs itself
and performs more efficiently
with regular exercise and good
nutrition. Many of the changes
that are typically associated
with aging can be prevented or
lessened if by participating in
regular exercise. This empow
ers people to live their lives vig
orously and alertly, and with
plenty of energy to pursue our
interests.
To develop and maintain fit
ness, The Healthy Aging Pro
ject of the Washington County
Department of Aging and Veter
ans’ Services emphasizes the
critical mix - endurance,
strength, flexibility, and bal
ance. These building blocks of
fitness are key to staying
healthy and independent.
Endurance comes from aer
obic activities, which increase
breathing and heart rates for an
extended period of time. Such
activities improve the health of
heart, lungs, and circulatory
systems. The goal is to work
your way up to a moderate-to-
vigorous level of exercise that
increases your breathing and
heart rate. You can divide your
exercise into sessions of no
less than 10 minutes at a time,
as long as they add up to a
minimum of 30 minutes at the
end of the day. (If you do less
than 10 minutes at a time, you
won’t get the desired cardio
vascular and respiratory bene
fits.) Strive to build up to a min
imum of 30 minutes of en
durance exercise on most or all
days of the week.
Endurance activities include
walking, swimming, dancing,
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and cycling. Even gardening
and housework, if done contin
uously for about an hour, will in
crease your heart rate and burn
160 to 300 calories, depending
on how vigorously the tasks are
performed.
Strength training builds
stronger muscles, strengthens
bones, increases lean muscle
mass, and supports joints. The
stronger your body is, the less
chance you have of injury
through accidents. In addition,
you will build a greater resist
ance to illnesses.
Even very small changes in
muscle size can make a big dif
ference in strength, especially
in people who’ve already lost a
lot of muscle. Strength exercis
es also increase metabolism
and that makes us more ener
getic. And it’s critical in helping
to prevent osteoporosis.
Most strength exercises in
volve lifting or pushing weights,
and gradually increasing the
amount of weight you use. You
can also use a resistance band,
which is like a giant rubber
band; stretching it helps build
muscles. It’s important to begin
strength training using weights
that you can lift for 8 - 12 repe
titions, followed by a rest of
about 60 seconds, then a sec
ond set of repetitions. Gradual
ly you will want to increase the
weight to continue challenging
your muscles. Always allow at
least one day between strength
training sessions to allow ade
quate time for your muscles to
recover.
Flexibility
comes
from
stretching exercises that help
us to move more freely and
maintain the ideal range in
which muscles can bend and
stretch around a joint. The
greater range of motion that
you have, the easier it will be to
perform simple every day tasks
such as climbing the stairs.
Some suggestions for increas
ing flexibility are yoga, tai chi,
and basic stretching moves.
Balance helps prevent falls,
a major cause of injuries that
can lead to loss of independ
ence. Exercises that strengthen
leg muscles and the lower body
help improve b.alance. Doing
your regular strength exercises
will improve your balance at the
same time. Try tai chi, yoga,
dancing, and walking.
Getting fit can be as simple
as being active 30 minutes or
more on most days. It doesn’t
even have to be 30 minutes in
a row, just a total of 30 minutes
for the day. Make fitness an im
portant part of your day. Exer
cise with a friend, spouse, or
neighbor. You don’t have to ex
ercise hard to get the benefits,
but you do need regular exer
cise and activity to keep your
body and mind sharp.
So get up, get moving, and
stick with it. Being physically fit
is one of the choices each of us
can make to enhance our
"Healthy Aging"!
Diane Lindsey is the coordi
nator of the Healthy Aging Pro
gram of the Washington Coun
ty Department of Aging and
Veterans’ Services.
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