In one of the recommended reading lists I follow, I recently stumbled upon a podcast by Peter Attia, M.D. The episode was #307 Exercise for aging people and focused on how an “older” person (defined by him as 50+) could start an exercise routine for the first time to improve quality of life and longevity. This piqued my interest, as I just had a birthday and am quickly approaching this “older” demographic. While I wouldn’t say I am totally out of shape, I have always struggled to have a regular exercise routine. 

The podcast is long and had a fair bit of information geared towards practitioners, but I found the reasons he laid out for starting an exercise routine compelling. He also broke the steps down where it feels very manageable to get started.

This quote below summed up his message very well:

“The name of the game is play the game and stay in the game forever. And so we are really looking to minimize injury here and we’re looking to minimize burnout.” —Peter Attia

Start where you are

He starts the podcast with an analogy about retirement savings, which was something I can understand. His point with the analogy was that, while it is harder the later you start saving (or exercising), it doesn’t mean you can’t start even if you’re late to the game. Start where you are and do what you can until it becomes a habit. 

The reasons for exercise as we age are obvious, but a lot of his focus is on longevity with a high quality of life. As we age, there is a decline of muscle which accelerates quickly after age 75. This is compounded by stability and balance issues, causing falls which can be catastrophic as we age. The goal is to improve stability, strength and aerobic efficiency to minimize these declines and live longer, healthier lives. 

He spends a good bit of time discussing the “how” of starting an exercise routine. He stresses the importance of being realistic based on fitness level and to make it a positive experience. The first phase is to just start doing something active to build an aerobic base before jumping into more complex exercises/interval training. He gives the example of starting as low as 30 minutes 2 days a week if you are really starting from scratch. Ideally, he recommends people do something every day and as much as they can. 

After a few months, training can evolve to start building up strength and stability. These are both crucial in fall prevention, which can literally be a lifesaver for older adults. A single fall can be devastating to health as we age. One interesting point (and that I was not aware of) is that toe strength is a big predictor of falling. 

Of course, a professional trainer is a big help in assessing fitness level and designing an appropriate program. In Arkansas, we are fortunate to have the UAMS Centers on Aging, which provide many resources including fitness classes for older adults. For now, I am going to focus on being active everyday and work on improving my overall fitness. 

As always, we are here for you. Please email or call if you want to set up a Zoom video conference meeting or talk by phone.

Mary McCraw, CFP®

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