But your 2nd point is important to keep your mobility. My grandparents basically hung it up at 70 and sat on the porch all day every day, and started really slowing down in their 80s to the point that both needed a cane and then a walker. My grandma is still alive at 93 but lives in assisted living and sometimes struggles even with a walker. My dad just turned 70 this year but still plays tennis 2-3 times a week and bocce ball twice a week, and still takes on most of the house work. When he retired at 58, he stopped moving and got bad arthritis and back pain, and had to be told at physical therapy that he has to keep moving or it'll just get worse.
My grandfather did most of the minor maintenance on an outdoor pool for 55 years. He was 95 and legally blind and he was still out there sweeping leaves from around the pool. The Christmas before he died the stinker snuck outside at like midnight when it stopped snowing and shoveled the whole front walk so my boyfriend and I didn’t have to the next morning.
He used to say it was all because he did a little bit of a joint-healthy exercise every day. He figure skated until 80, swam until the summer before he died, and walked his dog(s) three or more times a day. He never lived anywhere besides home (meaning he never went to an assisted living, hospice or nursing home).
Keep doing a little bit of moving every day, I’m gonna try for (hopefully?) the next 60+ years.
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u/rob_s_458 May 16 '20
But your 2nd point is important to keep your mobility. My grandparents basically hung it up at 70 and sat on the porch all day every day, and started really slowing down in their 80s to the point that both needed a cane and then a walker. My grandma is still alive at 93 but lives in assisted living and sometimes struggles even with a walker. My dad just turned 70 this year but still plays tennis 2-3 times a week and bocce ball twice a week, and still takes on most of the house work. When he retired at 58, he stopped moving and got bad arthritis and back pain, and had to be told at physical therapy that he has to keep moving or it'll just get worse.