the triad exercise programwell-being. Most of them haven’t been told they can improve their
physical condition. We need to expect our elderly to be strong, fit,
and functional until the day they die. Aging isn’t about being “put
out to pasture.” It is about staying active, vibrant, strong, and con-
tributing to their communities.
We tend to focus most on aerobic exercise, which is appropri-
ate. But the value of strength training as we grow older to help
maintain body metabolism, our independence, strength, and over-
all bodily functions is critical. It may be the most important exer-
cise component of all. When muscle mass is lost with aging due
to lack of exercise (hormones and nutrition), bad things happen.
In addition, as we get older, flexibility becomes more and more
important. Flexibility is essential to help prevent us from falling,
straining things, creating injuries, and other problems that can
make us more sedentary. Let’s talk about keeping your muscles as
we age.
One of my favorite examples of this that speaks a thousand
words is a CNN report entitled, “Secret of Long Life In Okinawa.”
Play this three-minute You Tube video clip.^5 You will see a ninety-
year-old female Okinawan elder climbing a big citrus tree and fill-
ing up a large basket of fruit. She has been working on this farm for
seventy years, and she works eight hours per day picking fruit. It
also shows Okinawan elders exercising and dancing together, run-
ning races, and of course eating whole unprocessed food, a lot of
which are plant foods.
Like all healthy aging cultures with remarkable longevity, phys-
ical activity resembling a type of natural cross-training is part of
their normal day. Many of us in the West have to put these activity
habits by intention into our busy lives. This ninety-year-old tree-
climbing wonder is one of my favorite examples of healthy aging
and the “use it or lose it” axiom!
Now take another three minutes and watch a sequel to this
clip entitled “Western Diet: A Killer in Okinawa.”^6 This CNN report
shows that the long-living elders in Okinawa who live the tradi-
tional healthy lifestyle may be “dying out” because the next two
generations of Okinawans are eating the fast food, highly pro-
cessed Western diet filled with little physical activity. They have