Aging Well – Your Steps to an Active Life

Aging well – the name of the game

There are different ways of looking as we age.  We think about chronological years when talking about age, or how long ago we were born. While a youthful appearance and good looks are important to many, aging well is not just about how old you look; it’s how old you feel today, and what you can expect for tomorrow.

People think old and stiff rather than old and weak, for good reason. The common bent-over posture of old age occurs as a result of the body adapting to long-term poor posture, which causes biomechanical stress: muscles tighten and the spine and other joints stiffen and breakdown. Not the path for aging well.

Contrary to popular wisdom, aging alone generally does not cause pain.
Increasingly people are exercising to stay strong and active, a good thing. There are four aspects of fitness that all work together for good health:

  • strength
  • cardiovascular
  • flexibility
  • proprioception (or balance)

However, workouts focused on breaking a sweat and breathing hard, possibly with a bit of stretching thrown in, work only the first three. Despite being widely recognized as essential for fitness, most people neglect posture and balance training in their exercise programs. This is unfortunate because especially as we age, balance deteriorates and injuries result as people fall down.

Every year a third of Americans over 65 suffer a fall, resulting in 1.8 million Emergency Room visits for fall related injuries in 2003 alone, with 460,000 hospitalization and a sobering 13,700 fatalities.

Balance and posture training is not just for old people. Elite athletes and weekend warriors alike can significantly improve both performance and the benefits of exercise. Since posture is HOW you balance your body, when your sense of balance is off your body must compensate to stay upright.

As posture becomes progressively more bent forward, muscles are forced to work harder to keep the body balanced. Some muscles tighten while others weaken with worsening muscle imbalance, which explains why low back pain sufferers show loss of the deep posture control muscles.

Posture is not just about how you look. It affects how long and how well you live. Research shows that people who move well and have strong posture age better. Even small changes in the ability to move has been documented to improve quality of life in older people, and significant changes have been documented from posture exercise focused on improving an individual’s core strength and control.

StrongPosture® exercise (a program created by posture expert, Dr. Steven Weiniger) creates an awareness of posture and, when performed daily, can stretch muscles, ligaments, and other structures that shorten with poor posture; strengthen muscles that weaken; and help people stay active, thereby combating a litany of health issues from degenerative joint disease to cardiovascular and respiratory problems.

Creating your plan for aging well can be as easy as learning your daily strong posture exercise program to increase flexibility, core strength and improve posture and balance. The added benefit will be more energy to stay active!

Read more about StrongPosture® exercise and why your posture matters.

See: Sedentary Death Syndrome – Why we must Stand Taller to Live Longer. by Dr. Steven Weiniger, DC, 2015, PosturePractice.  Burning Question – Why Sit Straight? by Heidi Mitchell, WSJ.

Subscribe to the newsletter

Easy changes to enjoy lasting health!