Move Your Body, Bolster Your Brain

difficult..challenging....rewarding. i gave up cardiology to do geriatrics. no regrets. A patient's once asked me "do u look after old people....do u like it?" no i said I love it. its medical chess when all my colleagues play checkers.

It all comes down to a very simply philosophy doesn't it? One Nature appears to adhere to, too. Use it or lose it. John~ American Net'Zen

Fortunately at nearly 75 years in age I like to exercise; ice skating and hockey for none months of the year, dog walks everyday, an occasional treadmill.

One day my four year old Grandson looked at me very seriously saying, "Bobby, you are VERY, VERY, VERY old." Quite taken aback, I asked, "Gerry, why do you say that?" To which he promptly replied, "Because you have grey hair and a grey moustache and then you will be dead." Well, I wasn't about to dye my hair, but how to change his opinion of me? Pull-ups? I hadn't done them in years but managed one or two and he was impressed. I've been doing them ever since; have greatly improved my reps and on occasion passers-by make impressive comments. I have it all on a continuous video I'll give him in a year or so as my testament that you can't stop Father Time but you don't have to lie down and just give up.

We can do all this that the article recommends, spend hundreds of dollars on fancy equipment that will hurt us, and memberships to the most precious clubs, where we can stare at screens while stealing looks at other guests... or you can go for a walk and do fifteen minutes of yoga every day. It's your choice.

Been laying around for three years after retirement. Recovering lawyer/CPA. Now 74. On no medications but am 226 lbs at 5'10". Joined the Y again. How about lose 30 lbs? And get that BMI down from 34.2 to 25.

I eat healthy foods and move purposefully every day for the simple reason that it makes me feel so much better than occasionally indulging in rich desserts and/or skipping a few workouts. People who view healthy food and moderate exercise as a necessary evil are setting themselves up for failure because they have framed the issue along the lines of a struggle: their self-esteem is in a constant battle with their willpower, which is lose-lose. It is definitely possible to retrain your perceptions so that a big green salad for dinner is satisfying and walking every day feels invigorating. This is one of the upsides of all the "neuroplasticity" research we've been bombarded with lately. Humans are amazingly adaptable.

What is striking to me is that older people who pro-actively push themselves physically are also the ones who tend to be "plugged"into their communities and often are avid readers and/or involved in other intellectual pursuits. In a sense, these are people who push themselves to stay outside their comfort zone. Is it a personality trait or something else? I do know that my mother, who has always been very "on the ball" intellectually but with few outside interests and an abhorrence of anything sweat-inducing, now finds herself at 80 obsessing about health issues that are by an large lifestyle induced, has few interests and is often bored and depressed. Temperament and perhaps social expectations of what an older person should do are not easily measured and this is a complex question. I try and have her build up excitement for working out etc, but I am afraid that ship has sailed.

More exercise evangelism from the health nannies. Now that they've been caught out about the uselessness of their dietary advice, they've focused on relentlessly nagging everyone about exercise. The way my PC goes on about it, you'd think peace in the Middle East would break out if only more people took up weight lifting. Or jogging. Or whatever the newest "fitness" craze is. And if I see one more breathlessly adoring article about some 85 year old cross fit granny, I think I'll puke. Yes, exercise has benefits, but it won't make you live forever, cure every disease, help you lose weight or keep you from getting older. This article is littered with "may" and "could" and "suggests" and refers primarily to studies on mice and rats. I realize that's how you have to start, but get back to me when there are reliable, peer reviewed studies involving real people. Opining about the longevity enhancing and dementia prevention benefits of exercise in animals that seldom live more than 3 years is useless for human beings.

Mind body and soul, all truly connected !

My observations with my parents and other octagenarians is that lower body exercise, particularly resistance training, are the most important. Falls by older persons are one of the frequent, and deadly, consequences of loss of balance and lower body strength. I have found it is hard to push squats, leg extensions on elderly who already are frail and just want to be left alone. Not being able to get out of a chair is a bad sign, for the aged. For many, the "pain" of muscle exertion is overwhelming and something to be avoided. Familiarity with this temporary exertion, and the following lactic acid soreness, are something that has to be achieved long before senenscence kicks in.

Patent medicine and thermal apocalypse are two essentials of the daily usamerican raison d'être.

What a revelation? Exercise may be good for body and mind!!! Who would’ve guessed.

I‘m octogenarian who spent countless hours in a gym and jogging. Light joggiong strengthened my heart and even today I can go upstairs without losing breath. However, these articles should also mention how should older people approach this. The best advice I‘ve heard is from an expert and fintess gury Dr. Cooper, who is older than me, and who used to run marathons almost biweekly. This is his take today (age 88!): ”At the end of a 10-12 hour workday, at least five days a week I work out at the Cooper Fitness Center. Usually that consists of a 2-3 minute warm-up on the treadmill at 3.5 mph. For the remainder of my 30-minute program, I increase the speed to 4.0 to 4.2 mph. That enables me to walk 2 miles in approximately 30 minutes. After a brief cool-down, I go through a circuit weight-training program, which consists of 5-6 exercises that concentrate on building muscles and strength primarily in the upper extremities. This takes only 10-15 minutes.”

I couldn't help laughing when I read a few comments on how we need a new "president's council on fitness." Yes OK but you do know our current president only eats junk food and rides a golf cart instead of walking (you know to reduce the wear and tear on on his body). Maybe we need another name--really any other name--than the president's council. In fact, maybe the idea that any US president needs to give US citizens advice about how best to live is passe. I liked Obama but really that is about it. I can't imagine that Reagan, George Bush, Clinton, GW Bush or Trump could give me any lifestyle advice I could stand hearing without getting nauseous. I think the days of "big daddy" (or some government council) telling us how to live are dead forever. We need to all figure that out for ourselves

As someone who's been a gym rat for 40 years, I have something in common with the rodents in this study. Lifting weights has so many proven, obvious benefits it seems foolish not to make it a priority. For those who have "gym fear," we all realize it takes guts to show up and get started. And by just showing up you're already way ahead of most Americans. Pardon the cliche, but just do it.

Agree regular exercise is important, but let us not forget diet and good nutrition.

Perhaps Medicaid could mandate daily exercise for patients with dementia in nursing care instead of leaving them to sit in wheelchairs all day or stay supine in their beds. Helping people to use walkers for as little 15 minutes a day might help slow dementia.

Been there. Done that. Redundant. All true. How about some new advice?

"When rats lift weights..." Haha.

This article refers to weight-lifting rats. I think I saw one of them when I was waiting for the 1 train at 14th Street last week. Anyone else see one?

Just got back from a 30 mile bike ride. Feeling a bit tired but much smarter - if I can only remember which house I live at ........

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, exercise moderately, maintain a health weight, drink in moderation, be nice to your mother and read Jane Brody's column. The above has been known in modern history if you want to be healthy and lead a long life (albeit somewhat boring).

I'd love to see more accurate language used. If it's concluded that exercise helps memory (a very specific mental function), how is it that exercise is then claimed to be "good for your mind" in general? An avid exerciser myself, I am well aware of some of the drawbacks of exercise from the point of view of mental health. For instance, I can be unintentionally aggressive due to a reduced awareness of emotional nuance. I'd say exercise is good for the mind if what you value most of all is computation, which is a very businesslike way of understanding mental functions (business leaders must love these studies). Meditation, on the other hand, is an excellent way of developing the non-businesslike functions of mind. Exercise unleashes certain energies, which can prove problematic if not related to in a healthy way.

My dear cousin -also a close friend- worked out and walked 2 miles a day religiously for 45 years. She is now 80 and in a Memory Care facility. Please don't sell exercise (any exercise) as a way to lower the possibility of developing dementia. It may make people feel good because they move their bodies, but genetics often trumps exercise regimens. Why make people feel responsible for something that is not within their purview to achieve?

"Half of Studies Offering 'Fitness Advice' Are Based on Rats and Mice" would be a more accurate headline. Every study cited has some of the hedging words "may," "promising," "could help," and "suggest." This is another example of extrapolating rodent studies to apply to human health, which appear so often in this column. I question the value of reporting so many animal studies, although it does make me feel good on behalf of the weight-lifting rats.

Thanks for a year of excellent coverage of research on the benefits of exercise.

When I was in junior high, President Kennedy created a national fitness program for all students. We had to pass exercise tests--chin ups, push ups, weight training---to achieve a score. Now, in my teaching classes, I see students in their late teems and 20s who are overweight, out of shape, lethargic, sedentary, and flabby, even obese. I am in far better shape in my late 60s--no bragging intended- them nearly all of them. That discipline I learned back in junior high stayed with me throughout my years. It is time to create again a national program of fitness and exercise for all students each year from 15--25 years of age. Why Not? It should be required to pass high school, as so many high schools have dropped PE requirements. We could save billions in future health costs.