Photography by Renée Comet
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Fitness Tips For Americans 70+
By Betsy Stephens, March-April 2003
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It's hard to get moving if you haven't been active in a while, but changing your approach to the very idea of exercise can make all the difference. Research shows that just incorporating a little more activity into your daily life—such as parking your car farther away from the store or playing with your grandchildren—can help you shed pounds. A two-year study at the Cooper Institute for Research in Dallas, Texas, found that 121 people who increased their daily activity by, say, raking leaves lost the same amount of fat as 114 men and women who started gym-based exercise programs. More important, the leaf rakers maintained their healthy habits after the study ended.
These tips can help you become fitter without risking injury or overdoing it:
- Make a motivational list, and display it in a conspicuous spot. Post on your bathroom mirror a list of all the benefits (gaining energy, looking better, sleeping better, etc.) getting more exercise can give you, says Daniel C. Stettner, Ph.D., health psychologist at the Northpointe Health Center in Berkley, Michigan. It'll motivate you every day. "Giving yourself reasons to make changes further encourages new behavior," says Stettner.
- Keep a diary to weed out unnecessary loafing. Write down everything you do in a week, then look it over and find easy ways to squeeze in activity, suggests Connie Tyne, M.S.W., behavior modification expert at the Cooper Wellness Program. This morning, did you hunt for the closest parking spot at work or the supermarket when you could have walked from a farther one? When you golfed on Saturday, did you take a cart? If so, plan to walk next time.
- Add 2,000 more steps to your daily tally. (For the average person, that equals about one mile.) Researchers at the University of Colorado have found that this is the magic number to prevent weight gain. It may sound like a lot, but if you track your steps with a pedometer (about $20 in sporting goods stores, or through www.coloradoonthemove.com), you'll be amazed at how quickly they add up.
- Mix socializing with a little sweat. Instead of meeting friends over a meal, suggest a walk. Or take your grandchild to the park instead of going for ice cream.
- Hide the remote control. Declaring one day a week to be remote-free for television viewing can add thousands of calorie-burning steps to your month. "Technology makes it easier for us not to be active," says Tyne.
- Get a dog that can't sit still. Dogs need to be walked, and they cajole you to play—activities that burn calories. "A lot of people feel silly just going out to walk by themselves, but a dog can give purpose to your mission," says Tyne. Researchers in Australia recently found that dog walkers log 18 more minutes of walking per week. What's more, numerous studies indicate that pet owners have lower stress levels and lower blood pressure.
- Pump some activity into your common routines. Linking exercise to a daily event will help make it a habit, says Tyne. If you watch Oprah every day, walk to a friend's house to catch it. Or, if you listen to NPR's Fresh Air program every afternoon, take a personal radio with headphones and walk around the block as you listen. If you're an art buff, walk through a museum.
- Take beep breaks. Set an alarm on your wristwatch or digital organizer to beep every hour. That's your cue to get up and take a three-minute walk, says Bess H. Marcus, Ph.D., director of Physical Activity Research at the Brown University Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine.
- Start small—and enjoy success. If becoming more active inspires you to start an exercise program, that's wonderful. Just don't set your goals so high that you become discouraged and quit, warns Tyne. If you tell yourself you're going to walk for 20 minutes every day and then you fail, you'll be depressed. But if you plan to circle the block twice this week, you'll feel motivated when you easily reach this goal.
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