DON’T BE AN OLD TORTOISE!
Want to go into old age with your head held high? Just follow our expert’s brilliant tips — and you too can be fit and f lexible past 40
IN THIS important new series, Oxford professor Dr Muir Gray reveals that if you look after yourself in middle age, it will help you stay fit and well when you’re old. Today, he tackles good posture and exercise . . .
ask anyone to draw an image of old age and they’ll probably sketch the curved back, with a head poked out like a tortoise, that you still see on old road signs. ‘Oh, that could never be me,’ you say. But the chances are that it will — if you’re one of the millions who spend most of their working lives sitting at a computer.
The truth is that posture — not spinal disease — is almost always to blame. And by the age of 40, many of us are already well on the road to becoming ‘old tortoises’.
I’m perfectly serious about this. If you’re between 40 and 60 and want to avoid that fate, you should try to do one of the following exercises at least once a day. Or three times a day if your job involves lots of sitting or driving . . .
LIE flat on your back on the floor, with arms stretched out and the backs of your hands on the ground. Now slide your arms upwards as far as you can, keeping elbows and hands on the carpet. Do this ten times.
STAND facing a corner, one foot in front of the other. Place one hand on each wall at shoulder height, arms straight. keeping your spine straight, bend your elbows and touch (or nearly touch) the corner with your forehead.
Now hold your arms at shoulder height with elbows bent, and then try to touch your elbows behind your back. Don’t worry, no one can, but try to stretch your chest muscles ten times.
Finally, wrap each arm across your chest so that your right-hand fingertips reach round your left arm, and try to touch your spine. Again, no one can, but stretch ten times.
either of these exercises — provided you start them in mid-life — will help to keep you straight well into old age.
But that’s not quite all you need to do. In addition:
Never stand with your arms folded — that pulls the spine forwards.
STAND as often and as long as you can instead of peering at the computer screen.
IMAGINE the crown of your head is attached to a string pulling it upwards, making sure the crown and not the forehead is the highest point of your body.
BEWARE of peering at your phone as you walk. every inch that your head is ahead of the true vertical line of your body increases the weight your neck muscles have to hold by 10 lb (about 4.5kg). so if you persist in peering at your phone, your head will eventually be permanently poking forward.
good posture, however, is just the start. You also have to get a lot more fit.
A 2015 survey carried out by the British Heart Foundation and the University of Oxford revealed some worrying trends. First, that people in mid-life are less active than people in their 30s. And second, that mid- lifers spend increased amounts of time every day in that most dangerous of activities: sitting down.
why does this matter? Because the drop in physical activity between the ages of 30 and 60 leads to a dramatic drop in health.
so this is what you should be aiming for: 1. Be active daily. Over a week, this should add up to at least 150 minutes (2½ hours) of moderate-intensity activity in bouts of ten minutes or more. One way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least five days of the week. 2. Alternatively, comparable benefits can be achieved through 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity spread across the week — or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. 3. You also need to take part in physical activity to improve muscle strength on at least two days a week. 4. You must minimise the amount of time you spend sitting for extended periods.
Of course, at 40, you may look as good as ever, even though you never take any exercise. so, to judge just how fit you really are, you need to set yourself a simple test.
walk up to a fourth floor without stopping. Or do 50 press-ups.
The very fit won’t turn a hair; the quite fit will be a little out of breath; and the least fit will be the most distressed and take the longest to recover. As for the very unfit, they may not even complete the test.
why does this matter? Because your ability to do things decreases as you get older — but it won’t decrease by much if you manage to keep fit.
Ageing, moreover, will affect your resilience. This means that the older you are, the quicker you lose fitness and the slower you regain it.
If a 20-year- old has to be immobile for a month, for instance, he will lose fitness. But a 50-year-old immobilised for the same time will lose more and take longer to get it back. How inactive are you? sitting or lying down for long periods is so bad for your health that it’s been described as a silent killer.
Do it for six hours or more a day and you increase the risk of suffering from vascular diseases such as stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
New research suggests that even if you walk or run for 150 minutes a week, you’re still at increased risk of poor health if you sit for long periods.
Chairs also make you fat. An hour a day of sitting rather than standing is 420 calories less used every week — and 7 lb (3kg) more fat by the end of a year.
sitting uses one calorie per minute, while standing uses two calories per minute. so if you stood for even two of your daily working hours for a year, that would be equivalent to the energy used to run about 15 marathons.
One of the easiest ways to get a bit fitter is to stand while you work. And you don’t need a £1,000 ‘standing desk’, you just need to find a surface of the right height.
This could be a four-drawer filing cabinet for taller people, or a three-drawer one for the shorter. Or buy a plastic storage box of the right depth to turn upside down on your desk.
There are numerous other things you can do at work to raise your fitness levels:
LeAve your desk at lunchtime and walk for at least ten minutes.
Use the stairs rather than the lift. If you need encouragement, you could have a look at stepjockey.com.
sTAND and stretch every hour (if you use a keyboard).
geT a Pilates or tai chi teacher to come in once a month to teach stretching and good posture.
BUY some low-cost weights: 3kg dumb-bells, 5kg kettlebells, and a 10kg bar.
If you’re physically active, you have a better chance of having a long, healthy and happy life. Not only are you less likely to develop many diseases but you’re likely to sleep better and have more energy and self-esteem.
with application, you’ll regain the physical ability you had when you were 30. And if you don’t slack off, you’re unlikely to spend any length of time dependent on others in old age.
exercise, in short, is the miracle cure we’ve always had. It’s just that for too long, we’ve neglected to take our recommended dose. Here are a few of the health benefits from regular physical activity . . .
UP TO a 35 per cent lower risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.
up to a 50 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
up to a 50 per cent lower risk of colon cancer.
up to a 20 per cent lower risk of breast cancer.
up to a 30 per cent lower risk of early death.
up to an 83 per cent lower risk of osteoarthritis.
up to a 68 per cent lower risk of hip fracture.
up to a 30 per cent lower risk of depression.
up to a 30 per cent lower risk of dementia.
We all need to focus on what I call the four Ss: suppleness, strength, stamina and skill.
SUPPLENESS AND STRENGTH
In our 40s and 50s, loss of suppleness doesn’t have the major disabling consequences that it can have in our 70s. that’s when it can become difficult to put on tights or tie shoelaces. our necks, backs, shoulders and hips start to ache — and it’s all because we never bothered staying supple.
So it’s important to do regular stretching exercises by your 50s at the latest.
Have a look online at the NHS Choices Strength And Flex five-week plan, which consists of equipment-free exercises designed to improve your strength and flexibility. But, remember, it’s not for just five weeks but for up to five decades.
What if you already have painful joints? the charity Arthritis research has a clear answer: ‘Many people are afraid to exercise because they believe that it damages their joints. But keeping active will help to keep your joints supple and reduce pain.’
next, consider whether you need to build muscle- strengthening exercises into your routine. At work, do you: use your muscles all the time? use your muscles several hours a day — for example, lifting boxes or cases?
use your muscles for a short time on some days? Sit at a desk or console all day? If you’re in Group 1 or 2, you’re probably getting enough strength training,training but you may need to concentrate on suppleness to prevent back or shoulder problems.
If you’re in Group 3 or Group 4, you need to do strengthening exercises every day, and ideally with weights.
the three main muscle groups helped by weights are the chest, the upper limbs and lower limbs. one additional benefit is that the same exercises strengthen your bones — and greater bone strength will reduce the risk of fractures.
Here are three exercises you can do as part of your daily ten minutes of strength and suppleness training . . .
FOR THE UPPER LIMBS
CLASSIC PRESS-UP: A man aged 50 should be able to manage 50 press-ups.
FOR THE CORE MUSCLES
THERE are three exercises that will produce a flat stomach and the foundation of a six-pack.
LIE flat on your back, legs straight, then lift the heels 6in off the ground, open them to shoulder width, then criss-cross them 60 times.
THEN roll over on to your front, hands behind the back of your head, and lift your forehead off the floor, arching your back. repeat five times, counting slowly to ten at the top of each lift.
SIDE PLANK: rest on one elbow and forearm, facing to the side, and keep your body in a straight line. Hold for 30 seconds then turn to face the other way and repeat. Complete the entire cycle twice.
FOR THE LOWER LIMBS
JUST do squats. Stand with your feet slightly apart and bend your knees till you’re sitting on an invisible chair. do ten squats, then some stretching, until you’ve done eight sets of ten.
even better, use weights in each hand while doing this exercise. A 50-year-old woman should be able to handle the 3kg pair, a man 5kg ( although many women are stronger than some men).
Want to learn more? Join a gym and try a few classes. If you’re using equipment in the gym, make sure a trainer shows you how. Alternatively, hire a personal trainer.
STAMINA
STAMINA is your ability to sustain prolonged physical activity — and the clearest indicator of your fitness level. Yet most people start to lose stamina in their early 20s when they get a car, get a job that involves sitting and give up sport.
If you want a quick check of your stamina, take the stairs to a fourth floor and then tick the truthful answer to this question: How breathless were you on the fourth floor? Not breathless at all A bit breathless but did not have to stop
Had to stop and get my breath back
If you weren’t breathless at all, well done: but don’t get complacent. If you were even a bit breathless, then you need to take action. You’ll feel better within a month and you’ll get a big pay-off in your 60s and 70s.
to increase your stamina, brisk walking is the simplest and best form of exercise. Aim to do an extra 150 minutes of brisk walking each week.
You could get to your workplace ten minutes early or park ten minutes away. then take the stairs, not the lift. Follow that with a tenminute walk at lunchtime and another in the evening.
Ideally you need to get your pulse up for 150 minutes a week, and get breathless for 75 minutes a week.
Another good way to do this, which improves your strength at the same time, is to opt for highintensity training (HIt), where you repeat a certain number of exercises as fast as you can, flat out.
this spikes your metabolism and builds muscle quickly. unlike running, or other exercises, HIt burns calories during the workout as well as afterwards.
If you repeat the same sets of exercises, but pause to regain your breath in between, this is called high- intensity interval training (HIIt). It’s always a good idea to see a trainer before you start doing this.
Alternatively, you could introduce HIIt into your daily run: 30 seconds: sprint 15 seconds: recover repeat 1–2 times Continue regular run 30 seconds: sprint 15 seconds: recover repeat 1–2 times
SKILL
TAKING up a sport in your 40s or 50s will greatly benefit your balance and hand-eye coordination.
think you’re too old? Sport england is recognising the importance and relevance of sport to people over 40, and many sports are eager for mid-lifers to participate.
the league of Veteran racing Cyclists, for instance, organises races for people in their 40s, as well as people in their 60s. And there are veteran leagues popping up all over the place for sports, including rugby, football and hockey.
It’s essential, however, to work on your suppleness before returning to competitive sport. try doing yoga or pilates or tai chi for a few months before returning to the front row of the scrum.
don’t fancy sport? then try latin-American dancing, swimming, cycling or step aerobics.
dancing covers all aspects of fitness . . .
Skill: It’s very good for balance and coordination.
Suppleness: It’s good for all the joints.
Strength: every dance requires control and that’s provided by core strength. the more you dance, the more this strength will increase. Your legs and thighs will also become much stronger.
Stamina: When you’re dancing, you need lung and muscle strength. the more you dance, the more this is going to improve.
Swimming is an even better way to get fit. It builds stamina, strength and fitness while providing an all-body workout, with little risk of injury.
Cycling is another low-impact activity that’s good for stamina and building strength in your legs, providing you don’t do too much free-wheeling. It also gives your heart, blood vessels and lungs a good workout. Convinced yet?
Adapted by Corinna Honan from Midlife: Live Longer, Look Younger, Feel Better by Muir Gray (Century £10.99. © Muir Gray 2016. to order your copy for just £8.64 (offer valid to January 10, 2017), visit mailbookshops.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640. p&p is free on orders over £15.