The Olympic Approach to Aging Well

For many older adults, aging with chronic disease, disability and frailty requires a daily Olympian effort just to survive.  Exercise training inspired by Olympic regimens can allow older adults to turn back the clock on frailty, according to UBC Okanagan researchers Gareth Jones and Jennifer Jakobi, assistant professors of Human Kinetics.

“In many ways, frailty is a natural part of aging – it’s where we end up – but we all get there at different rates, and we move through different stages of it,” says Jones.

Older people who are active can have a better quality of life, Jones says. “Exercise is the best medicine to delay or reduce the impact of chronic disease.  If we don’t take the exercise medicine, we are likely to become dependent longer, and become a greater burden to society.”

Dan Buettner, researcher and author of the Blue Zones says, “If you don’t take the time to be well, you will have to make the time to be sick.”

The Olympic movement’s motto Citius, Altius, Fortius can provide guidance for fitness and older adults:

Citius (faster) – walk briskly, pick up the pace, and increase the intensity.

Currently, the majority of Canadians over age 65 live with chronic disease, almost half live with disability and the majority are inactive.  More activity is important – but Jones and Jakobi advise, at any age, for exercise to be produce fitness benefits it needs to be done for a minimum of 30-minutes most days of the week, at moderate to vigorous intensity such as a brisk walk.  Start with 30-minutes and progress to 60-minutes and perhaps longer.

Altius (higher) – set higher goals.

“It is remarkable what can be achieved,” says Jones. “People think what Olympians do is out of reach, but really what that are doing is what we need to be doing in our society and in our lifestyles to maintain our health and improve our fitness.”

The only way to make a change is to make structured time into our daily exercise. We have to think about it like daily hygiene. As important as brushing your teeth, morning and night, or flossing. Exercise has to be structured into your day,” he says.

The researchers cite the example of Sister Madonna Budah, a 79-year old Roman Catholic nun and triathlete from Spokane, Washington, who has completed 39 Ironman races and is expected to participate in the Penticton Ironman Canada again next summer at the age of 80.  She is just one of many athletes joining a dramatically increasing number of older adults on the podiums.

Contributed