Exercising as We Age – The Need to be Careful

As we grow older, our body, like a worn out machine, may not function as efficiently as it can like 20 years ago.

When we were in our 20s and at our peak, our bodies could take all sorts of punishment and we could still bounce back the next day with little side effects. The high metabolic rate means that we could exercise extensively, eat and drink anything we want without any fear.

Coming into our 30s, we have less time to exercise as family matters take priority as our young kids require more of our time. We tend to overeat a little and simply cannot find the time to go to the gym.

Upon crossing 40, the body will start to give you a reality check. Simple aches than used to disappear overnight now takes months to recover. Just the action of turning around in the driver’s seat to grab something from the back of the car could result in a neck cramp that takes a long time to heal.

As I just crossed into my 50s this year, I am more careful of the punishments my body can take. I always tell myself to “LISTEN” to my body. Don’t try to be gung-ho about things as we are not supermen anymore. If it does not feel right, I try to force myself to rest the body. Any little discomfort is to be investigated thoroughly before it swells to a big problem.

Just this weekend, the simple act of getting out of the swimming pool gave me a stabbing pain on the sides of my chest. 2 days later, I coughed quite hard in the morning and the stinging pain shot right through my chest again. Have to be more careful observing this in the next few days to see if I need to visit the doctor.

Seeing my dad in his 80s now, he tends to take catnaps throughout the day to conserve energy to rest his body. He is very careful with his movements in order to avoid unnecessary injuries.

Hopefully, in the near future, science can develop technologies that can help re-invigorate the parts of the body that need repair work done or even replace them. I foresee that people will easily live to 100 as advances in the medical world prolongs our body’s shelf life.