NOT in the slow lane YET
The blog is about living life after 70 with joy, resilience, and purpose. NOT in the slow lane YET is a source of positive, helpful advice encouraging people to set and achieve goals and find joy in life. The blog will cover personal experiences and thoughts and concerns. Topics of blogs will be health, retirement, fashion, travel, and living in continuing care retirement communities. The blogs will be short and appear at least once a month on my website www.nadineblock.com or by email if you choose.
Come walk with me.
Golden Years in Motion: Even in Winter
Winter’s icy weather interrupts my fitness program: What do old people do in winter to keep fit?
It is a frosty winter in Ohio. We have had four days below freezing weather this week. I wake up at 5:00 AM and turn on the TV weather forecaster. He grins with his big teeth at the map of snowfall levels and cold temperatures. I stop a nasty thought that he has nothing to grin about. Next is the daily morning report about how many gun homicides have taken place in Columbus since yesterday. Not anything that makes me eager to start the day,
I turn off the TV and pull the blankets over my head. It is a good day to stay home and read. It will help me avoid Covid and upper respiratory diseases. TV is not exciting. With the election over, politicians must get down to governing. Rumors, conspiracy stories, and grand promises are muted. Not the level of political drama to which we are accustomed. I yawned for the third time.
Early rising is a habit deeply ingrained despite all my grumblings. I get up, take a shower, get dressed, deliver the newspapers to my floor from the front lobby and I am ready to go.
I followed a fitness ritual in the last three years when I moved to this senior retirement community. I walked 8,000 steps daily and did strengthening exercises and floor exercises for 25-30 minutes each twice a week. I walked outdoors, even in winter. A fall led to a back injury, and I reduced that step count to 7500. I do not count steps on Sundays. If God took off Sundays creating the world, so will I.
I still do strengthening work on machines in our gym and floor exercises twice a week. With more health fragility, a fear of the hidden ice, slippery steps, and uneven sidewalks, I may not be walking outside in winter in the future.
As I age, it is harder for me to change rituals. At eighty-eight years of age, rituals give me comfort and a sense of control.
An MRI showed I had an L5, S1 spine condition which seemed to lead to excruciating nerve pain down the back of my legs. At times, I could not sit for more than ten minutes. When I sat, it was on an electric heating pad. A few sessions with a physical therapist, taking care of my health and spirit, and continuing my fitness routines as much as possible helped me heal. It took six months. I now rarely have pain although my spine images look the same…multilevel degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, and arthritis. Add osteoporosis.
I am shocked at how much I depended on these fitness rituals, the conjured daily vision of smiling faces of my beautiful, deceased sons in the morning sky as I walked in our old, well-cared for community. I have given in to realistic dangers of outside walking in Midwest winters.
I changed my routine to walking indoors. Fortunately, our community with two independent living facilities, a memory care facility, an assisted living facility and a healthcare center are all accessible without going outdoors. I keep from boredom by using controlled breathing (breathing in to a count of four and out to a count six) batting away the interruptions like Art Committee duties, my credit card bill, my neighbor’s health and on and on. Since I pass by many apartments, I try to guess the name of the person living inside the door I will soon pass. It challenges my fuzzy memory. I try to think of something I like about that person.
I still visualize my deceased sons and their angels on my indoor walks. It is not as beautiful as walking outdoors and seeing them in a bright yellow, orange, and purple dawn sky. I look forward to doing that when spring arrives.
I stop, look out the window into the clouds and send love to my dear sons. I smile and am grateful for having had them in my life.
How can older people keep fit in winter?
Watching TV most of the day, sleeping late, and not leaving home will not keep us healthy.
If you do not have a fitness program, this is a great time to start one.
Ask your doctor what kinds of programs will be good for you. Balance exercises, flexibility exercises, and strength training are usually suggested for older people. Swimming is a gentle and effective form of exercise. Chair exercises are available for people who have joint pain or mobility difficulties. Most people can walk for fitness, even with walkers.
You can use gyms, community centers or your community or home to walk, or take classes like yoga, tai chi, strength training, or dancing. People residing in planned communities like mine usually have multiple fitness classes and, even, individuals trained to give personal training.
Classes are fun and an opportunity for socialization, something we need. When I first moved into this community, I saw many people with black eyes and facial bruises from falls. Because so many people began taking balance classes, I seldom see these injuries. I practice standing on one leg after my floor exercises twice a week. It is training for balance.
In old age, people often fall because of medical conditions such as arthritis, vertigo, postural hypotension, or age-related hip or core-strength deficits. In our community we are given instructions about how to get up if we are alone. We are not allowed to help a fallen person off the floor in our care community but are asked to call 911 because we could cause more damage than good.
We are given a medical alert necklace which many people ignore, including me, at times. I have mine next to my shower on the floor and wear one when I am alone in the gym. I have decided not to use the treadmill, especially when I am alone in the gym. I saw a man fall off a treadmill and think that using it is risky for me.
More people use walkers to help them stay mobile than when I moved in. We are older and their use reflects the decision that safety is more important than pride. If we are not using a walker, we know some day we will and have kindness and goodwill in our hearts for the brave people who are taking care of their health.
I am grateful for the rhythm of fitness in my life.
My mother who lived to be 101 preached and practiced her advice:
“Keep moving or they will plant you.” I have not forgotten.
Exercise keeps me healthy. I remember that even old bodies heal but we must be patient. My fitness program energizes me and gives me comfort and a feeling of control. I am grateful for this harmony in my twilight years.
Do you want to know more?
“The Life-Changing Benefits of Exercise After 60” by The National Council on Aging.
Note: Gemini editing tools used, 1-24-25