i come from a long line of artists and artisans (not exactly strenuous
work), going back to the 1600s.  i wish a doctor would tell me just how so
many of those exercise-deprived ancestors managed to live waaay past their
80s without joining a gym or jogging down the road?  lordy, and all the
while eating real butter and lard and bacon grease and desserts and breads
and drinking whole milk with whole cream still on top!  centenarians run in
my family, going waaaay, waaaay back.

i don't ever remember seeing my mother or father exercise and they're both
83.  my grandmother was badly crippled at age 5 (tricycle accident) and she
was as sedentary as a stone because of it--she died at age 97, but man, was
she artistic and creative and a wonderful grandmother!  my great-grandfather
told me his idea of exercise was fishing off a pier and brewing his own beer
(pretty strenuous exercise, y'think?)--he died at 104--he was a typist, on a
typewriter, for the railroad his whole adult life, until he retired; and was
still typing, for the local newspaper during his retirement .  i guess his
fingers were physically fit, though--actually, at 97 he could still do a
handstand and pick up a handkerchief with his own natural teeth (i couldn't
do that as a teenager!).

i'm beginning to think that "age-defying fitness" is all in our minds.  i'm
thinking doctors have always been "practicing" on us, when what was really
needed to live so long was good genes and good luck (like, not being hit by
a fatal disease epidemic, or being run over by a horse and buggy, or being
in a war.).  there was a french woman who lived to be 115 years old and she
smoked all her life.  maybe she should have quit smoking so she could have
lived longer?  how absurd is that?!

sometimes, i think people are delusional, like they expect to live forever
"if . . .".   nobody is ever going to live to be as old as methuselah--but
it's like we think we are the little engine who could and we keep saying, "i
think i can, i think i can".  the sad thing is we only have so much time on
this planet and we waste sooo much of that time trying to extend our lives
by spending years of our lives following the latest and greatest fitness
trend--and then, along comes a truck . . . splat!  when we should have been
spending that wasted time with loved ones, or using our creativity, or just
enjoying being alive for whatever time we have.

kate
(yeah, i know.  that's not a medically popular nor boomerish point of view.
and i'm kind of a dumbbell about it, i guess.)

           JANE E. BRODY
           Boomers, beware of trouble coming
           January 2, 2007

           An apology to all baby boomers and beyond: I'm afraid that
in our
           efforts to get everyone to become physically active, we've
sold you
           a bill of goods. A 30-minute walk on most days is just not
enough.
           There is much more to becoming - and staying -
physically fit as you
           age than engaging in regular aerobic activity. (Of course,
the same
           applies to those younger than 60.)

           In addition to activities like walking, jogging, cycling
and
           swimming that promote endurance, cardiovascular health and
weight
           control, there is a dire need for exercises that improve
posture and
           increase strength, flexibility and balance. These exercises
can
           greatly reduce the risk of injuries from sports and
endurance
           activities, the demands of daily life, falls and other
accidents.

           Musculoskeletal injuries are now the No. 1 reason for
seeking
           medical care in the United States. And falls, the Centers
for
           Disease Control and Prevention reports, have become the
leading
           cause of injury deaths for men and women 65 and older.
           Unless you do something to slow the deterioration in
muscle, bone
           strength and agility that naturally accompanies aging, you
will
           become a prime candidate for what Dr. Nicholas A. DiNubile,
an
           orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital of the University of
           Pennsylvania, calls "boomeritis."

           "By their 40th birthday, people often have
vulnerabilities - weak
           links - and as the first generation that is trying to
stay active in
           droves, baby boomers are pushing their frames to the
breakpoint,"
           DiNubile said.

           "Baby boomers are falling apart - developing
tendinitis, bursitis,
           arthritis and 'fix-me-itis,' the idea that modern medicine
can fix
           anything. It's much better to prevent things than to have
to try to
           fix them."

           DiNubile pointed out that evolution had not kept up with
the
           doubling of the human life span in the last 100 years. To
counter
           the inevitable declines with age, we have to provide our
bodies with
           an extended warranty.

           In their recently published book, "Age-Defying Fitness"
(Peachtree
           Publishers), two prominent physical therapists, Marilyn
Moffat of
           New York University and Carole B. Lewis of Washington,
D.C., provide
           the ingredients to help you make the most of your body for
the rest
           of your life: a quick quiz and a five-part test to assess
the status
           of your posture, strength, balance, flexibility and
endurance,
           followed by five chapters with step-by-step instructions on
how to
           safely improve the areas in which you are lacking.

           The therapists describe what happens to these "five
domains of
           fitness" as you age. Posture begins changing as early as
the teenage
           years, the result of activities like prolonged sitting,
carrying a
           heavy purse or briefcase, or working at a computer.

           Strength declines as muscle fibers decrease in size and
number and
           as the supply of nerve stimulation and energy to the
muscles
           diminishes. Balance deteriorates as muscles tighten and
weaken and
           joints lose their full range of motion.

           Flexibility declines because connective tissue throughout
the body
           becomes less elastic. And endurance falls off because of
reduced
           flexibility, weakened muscles and stiffer lungs and blood
vessels.

           Still not convinced you need to work on your fitness? See
how you do
           on the therapists' quiz:

           Are you not standing as straight and tall as you once did?
           Is walking up a flight of stairs a strain at times?
           Are you getting up from a chair more slowly than you used
to?
           Is it getting harder to look to the left and right while
backing up?
           Do you get stiff sitting through a long movie?
           Is standing on one leg to put on your shoe difficult or
impossible?
           Do you trip or lose your balance more easily?
           Does walking or jogging a distance take longer than it used
to?

           "The antidote to aging is activity," the therapists wrote.
           "Inactivity magnifies age-related changes, but action
maintains and
           increases your abilities in all five domains."

           Dr. Vonda J. Wright, a sports medicine specialist at the
University
           of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said that "boomers are 59,
and we must
           intervene now to head off what happens to those who age in
a
           sedentary way."

           Injury and arthritis are the main reasons people stop
exercising,
           she said. She urged those in need of a joint replacement
not to
           postpone the surgery, which she likened to repairing a
pothole.