Hey all you athletes - are you still going to be running/cycling/swimming/climbing/skiing after you retire? (enter excuses here... my knees will never make it that far...I plan to be traveling... I can't retire until I'm 70...) Give it a second thought, or give it some thought during your next work out.
Age related changes are sometimes predictable. We know that bone mineral density goes down, GI motility slows, skin loses elasticity. Big deal. There are way too many examples of impressive success in the over 60 athletic performance arena to mandate an age for athletic retirement.
Evidence continues to support the theory that people who are physically active have less chronic disease and live longer - especially runners. Exercise combats some of the neurological and psychological changes previously attributed to aging. It boosts mood and improves sleep to beat anxiety and depression. Endurance exercise improves age-related memory loss and improves reflex time. In fact, scientists are now saying these aren't age-related changes but changes caused by disuse.
Regular, long term exercise has been shown to attenuate many of these effects. Weight bearing exercise reduces bone mineral density loss. Regular exercise improves GI peristalsis (how fast the food moves through the system) and immune function. And, endurance exercise has proven anti-aging effects on the muscles, heart, skin, hair, ovaries, testes, kidneys, spleen and liver! Whew... pretty impressive.
Back in 1966, a few college age men volunteered to spend 3 weeks on bed rest. The physical and cardiac capacity they lost was incredible. The researchers returned them to baseline through an exercise program. But - they were in their 20's. 30 years later, they reconvened. As expected, they were not the strong, spry college type. But, researchers returned them to a gradual endurance exercise program and guess what? After 6 months of training, their cardiac performance (resting heart rate, blood pressure and pumping capacity) was back to their 20 year old baseline level. Even more impressive!
Evidence continues to mount. You continue to age. Me? I continue to run. And you're all invited to join me!
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