ARE YOU IMPROVING YOUR FUCTIONAL FITNESS AS YOU GET OLDER?
What is Functional Fitness?
What can you do today that you want to be able to do when you are 80?
What level of fitness will you need to be able to do those things?
That’s Functional Fitness.
Functional Fitness determines your ability to be mobile, climb stairs, lift things, reach for things, bend over and kneel. These functions determine whether you can travel, shop, garden, participate in sports, and do housework.
My List Of Things I Can Do Today And Want To Do When I’m 80:
Jump into the deep end of a pool (and get out alive).
Climb a ladder to change the smoke detector batteries.
Put a 30-pound carry-on into the overhead compartment
Carry laundry up 2 flights of stairs.
Pick up and walk around with a 1-year-old great-grandchild in my arms.
(Confidential, none of your business).
Exercise Is The Best Anti-Aging Medicine
In order to maintain your functional fitness and enjoy a healthy retirement, you need to have a consistent exercise program. You can start a decent exercise program at any age.
Regular cardio like walking or biking is great but including strength training is very important. Strength training has been shown to fight mobility issues and help reduce chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease in older adults. The CDC published this extensive plan “Growing Stronger - Strength Training For Older Adults”. It’s a great place to start.
Link: Growing Stronger - Strength Training For Older Adults
My Fitness Routine
This is a screenshot of my workout log for June. I include my walking step count where my goal is to average 8,500 steps a day at the end of each month. Sue Sue and I do a 3.2-mile power walk just about every day. I also do strength training, stretching, and balance work. I started this plan almost 6 years ago with only a few minor breaks for repairs.
Make Fitness Your Mission.
Pledge to your future self that you will commit to regular exercise for the rest of your life. Create a routine. Schedule it. Start slow and easy, but show up.
You may have your retirement savings in line and your retirement activities all planned out, but if you are not physically able to do what you want, you lose. Most of the physical decline older people experience is due to poor lifestyle choices and being sedentary.
Age Decay is optional but so is Functional Fitness.
Paraphrasing an earlier post, I’m not a doctor and I don’t play one on TV. Please see a doctor before starting any exercise program.
A BIT OF HUMOR
NEWS AND SCOOPS
Endless Empty Shelves?
Whether it’s Sriracha sauce or tampons, shortages may be here to stay. There is currently a shortage of microprocessors needed to make the machines that make microprocessors. This is an article that lays out what we might have to deal with going forward.
Link: The Broken Supply Chain May Never Be Fixed
YOUR MONEY MATERS
Pass On Your Passwords
Do you need a digital estate plan? If you die, who will have access to your passwords, billions of photos, or social media accounts?
This article from Morning Brew includes a few gems like the siblings who fought, and won, an 11 year fight with Yahoo to get access to the their brother’s email account for help in settling his estate. The article also claims that there are over 30 million dead people on Facebook!
Link: Your Digital Life Will Out Live You
WHAT I’M READING, WATCHING, OR PERUSING
103 Bits Of Advice I Wish I Had Known - Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly is a co-founder and “senior maverick” at Wired Magazine. He’s one of the true Gurus and change predictors in the tech world. On his 70th birthday he published this list of advice he wished he had know when he was younger. Such as:
“Don’t believe everything you think you believe”
“You are as big as the things that make you angry”
“If you loan someone $20 and you never see them again because they are avoiding paying you back, that makes it worth $20”
Read Kevin's List
A BIT OF FUN AND FRIVOLITY
An Indian Couple Suing Son For Not Giving Them A Grandchild
You’d think that getting him out of the house would be good enough!
True Story - Read More Here
A Quote To Chew Over
“I don’t care how or when I’ll die. I just want to know where I’ll die so I’ll never go there” Charlie Munger
I’d love to hear what you think about Your Extra Innings. Please leave me a comment. Thanks