Elderwalking

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you. If you’re a senior trying to stay fit, you can’t beat walking. It’s free and available to everyone. But if it’s going to do anything for your endurance, it has to be brisk enough to warm you up and make you breathe faster. And you have to do it often: at least 20 minutes a day. The payoffs are great: you can reduce the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis and obesity; lower your blood pressure and blood sugar levels; and improve your mental well-being.

I used to love walking. I’d walk for miles along city streets and park trails. It felt like I was swimming through the air. But now, at 73, I can’t walk briskly outdoors anymore. Neither can most of my friends. We all have different reasons: osteoarthritis of the hip or knee; back and leg pain from degenerating discs or sciatica; plantar fasciitis; hammertoes; neurological disorders; side effects of medications; vision problems from cataracts; dizziness in hot weather; and just plain fear of falling. I can still walk around outside, but I’ve got my eyes glued to the ground in front of me, watching out for every uneven bit of sidewalk just waiting to trip me up, and if I do try to walk quickly it just hurts hurts hurts.

So I don’t care anymore what the experts say my fitness goals should be. What sort of walking do I need to do? Well, I have to be able to walk for 20 to 30 minutes without sitting down. If I can do that, I can get to the subway station, grocery store, drugstore and bank. So I still aim for 20 minutes of aerobics a day, but instead of walking outside, I do low-impact fitness routines for seniors from YouTube: you’re moving in a small familiar space. Aquafitness too, it holds you up so you can’t fall. Treadmills and ellipticals would work as well, at home or in a gym, but they don’t appeal to me. As for Fitbits and counting your steps, you can’t tell me that shuffling off to the bathroom counts as fitness. Counting steps makes you get out of your chair, so I guess it’s better than nothing but that’s about all. Gotta do more than that to get to the grocery store.