by Like many fitness influencers, Rosemary Mallace runs strength-based classes on YouTube. Unlike so many fitness influencers, she is 73 years old. She is just starting to add running and tap dancing to her exercise regime. “I’m trying to think of something I can’t do that I used to be able to do and I can’t think of anything.”
Miss Marple’s approach to aging that involves frequent cups of tea and the odd slice of Victoria sponge seems to be replaced by a new breed of 70 or 80-somethings who run, lift and move with power and agility. Mallace, who supports the Center for Better Aging, is part of this new generation redefining what it means to be older.
Most of us know that as our bodies age, we lose lean body mass (muscle and bone density), a process also known as sarcopenia. Men tend to gain weight up to the age of 55 and start losing it in later years, while women usually stop gaining weight after they reach 65.
Mallace gained her personal training qualifications after retiring aged 60 and now divides her week between runs and strength sessions – she’s living proof that healthy eating and exercise can prevent and stop our bodies from contribute to aging. She is also a great example of why it is never too late to start.
A meta-study by researchers at the University of Lodz found that “regular physical activity increases the chance of aging well in older people, but only until they reach a sufficient threshold”. In other words, you have to do a lot to reap the benefits. This is the foundation for a healthy approach to nutrition and exercise that you can start in your 40s and 50s and continue into your 70s, 80s and beyond.
Resistance training three times a week
Samuel Quinn, head of personal training at Nuffield Health gyms, says, “There are no limits to what people can do. One of my clients is 78, he ran the London Marathon at 75, he can lift 120 kg, he can do push-ups, dips and pull-ups.” Quinn says you can still make progress in your 70s and 80s.
Start with some screening, he says to identify underlying injuries and conditions, then establish a goal. He recommends resistance training three times a week, you can lose 5 percent of muscle mass per decade if you don’t lift and pull. He says bodyweight exercises like push-ups and squats are enough, you don’t need to lift weights. For older people who have not exercised much before, Mallace suggests standing up from a chair and sitting back but controlling the movement.
“It’s really important to have strong legs. Get a kitchen chair and do sit to stand, 12 repetitions without going down. Two or three times a day. Practice every time you get up from a chair by not using your hands.”
For the upper body, she recommends sitting in the chair and using the weight of your arms as resistance, performing shoulder presses and bicep curl movements. She recommends 12 hand exercises for each hand two or three times in a session, if possible. “If you haven’t done anything for a long time the movement will bring your muscles to life.” Obviously this can lead to weight gain once your strength has improved.
Build up the length of your walks slowly
Walking is the starting point for someone who wants to strengthen their heart and lungs. Quinn advises against high intensity. “If anyone is going to have a cardiovascular event, arrhythmia or recurrent fibrillation, it’s going to be someone in that age group – the heart is also getting older. I prefer duration and frequency over intensity.”
Walking is underrated, Malllace adds. “It helps with strength in your legs and your balance. Walk fairly briskly. Get a stopwatch, go out for a walk and time how long you walk before you want to stop. Note the time. If that’s 10 minutes for your baseline, slowly increase and do 11 minutes next time and build until you can walk for half an hour at a reasonable pace.” She recommends walking every other day until you can keep going for 25 minutes and then you can do it every day.”
A study conducted by a team based in Oklahoma stated that “walking briskly for 30 minutes a day for five days will reduce the risk of several age-related diseases. In addition, low-intensity physical exercise, including walking, exerts anti-aging effects and helps prevent age-related diseases”.
Have milk in your coffee or cheese with your wine
The answer is not the range of trendy superfoods that catch our eye again and again, according to Professor Mary Hickson from Plymouth University’s Department of Dietetics. She says appetite can decline in our 70s and 80s in part because our sense of taste and smell is less sensitive. This means that each meal must be nutritionally packed as it may be less than the ones we’ve had in the past. “An ideal plate would be half vegetables, a quarter protein and a quarter carbohydrate.”
It is currently not entirely clear how much protein older people need. “There is some debate about protein and the elderly and there seems to be a slowly emerging consensus that older people need more.” A study at the University of Sheffield found that many older adults do not eat enough protein. “More than half of adults do not consume enough protein to meet national recommendations.”
Professor Hickson says: “The recommendation for younger adults is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, while for older people it could be as high as 1.2 grams per day kg of body weight, as we age.” A 90 gram chicken breast has 24 grams of protein but Professor Hickson reminds us that many foods have small amounts of protein which add to your overall score – a slice of toast will have 2.5 grams, for example.
The carbohydrate element is especially important if you are active. “Complex carbohydrates are the best because they are broken down more slowly than sugar, which gives you a glucose spike,” says Professor Hickson. “Wholegrain bread, cereals and pasta are good choices, and you should have some at every meal.”
If life with brown rice and chicken breasts feels a little spartan, Professor Hickson says that coffee within the limit of two or three cups a day is fine, some sweet treats are allowed if they are appropriately rare. She is also comfortable with alcohol within the 14 units a week but warns about dehydration. “The water content in the body is less for older people so it’s easy to get dehydrated, so alcohol will have a greater effect.” Have milk in your coffee or cheese with your wine. Calcium is important for bone health, and guidelines from the British Dietetic Association recommend three portions of milk-based products a day.
