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SecondFifty December Newsletter
Your Guide to Basic Mobility
This is NOT what mobility should look like!
It doesn't have to be like this!
I saw the display pictured above in a supermarket the other day, and it scared the hell out of me! Is this really what's expected of us as we age?!?
Not if you take a little initiative. I've put together a simple and effective daily stretching routine to help you maintain flexibility and range of motion with a bare minimum of time and effort. Functional mobility is a prerequisite for healthy and active aging. My new blog post,
will show you how to maintain or regain basic movement patterns.
I turned 59 last month, and while I’m not as limber as I was in my twenties, I’m a lot more flexible than I was in my forties. Why? I attribute my improved range of motion to a daily regimen of stretches and postural alignment exercises. They are outlined in detail in the blog post, along with the only external resource for mobility and movement endorsed by SecondFifty.
The Deep Functional Squat - a basic human movement pattern. If I can do it, so can you. And, I couldn't do it a few years ago!
I don’t accept that age alone determines our capacity for physical activity. That's an outdated narrative. Physical ability - comprised of strength, body composition, aerobic capacity, balance, mobility, and flexibility is what determines our fitness and vitality. Yes, of course, age will slow us down, but we have the power to delay the inevitable. Nothing is preordained, and the complex playbook that forecasts our destiny can be rewritten through health and wellness.
But we need to move.
And to move correctly, we need mobility and flexibility. Restoring functional movement is about more than staving off aches and pains, though it will undoubtedly help with that. You will find it incredibly satisfying to regain your range of motion. It will erase years from your functional age.
Our joints and the connective tissue surrounding them (muscles, fascia, ligaments, tendons) rely on movement for lubrication, oxygen, and waste removal. There is limited blood supply to them otherwise. Movement nourishes the joints. Stop moving at your peril – and most of us do.
Once we stop moving, we signal to the evolutionary clock deep in our DNA that we are no longer vital, and our systems begin to slow as Mother Nature ushers us to the exits. Her plan doesn’t support a long and sedentary retirement. But if we stay physically active, if we inject healthy stress into our system and engage our muscles and mind, we keep the energy of life flowing many years longer than ever before imagined. Just look at professional sports, where the top players are a decade older than their peers of a previous generation.
For those of you who are already physically active, I urge you to take time to stretch and mobilize your joints, muscles, and tissues. You can no longer ignore functional imbalances. If you want to keep playing hard, you need to take care of your chassis.
How much movement is required to make a difference?
A new study suggests it doesn’t take a whole lot of activity to improve your odds of remaining healthy. Here’s a link to Gretchen Reynold’s recent article in the New York Times,
Feel like you're too old to start moving and exercising? Here's a little inspiration from RBG...
"It’s hard to think of another older American woman who has simultaneously been renowned for her formidable intellect, her professional power and her gym habit."
From Lindsay Crouse's NYT article,
.
Thinking about a knee replacement? Consider this alternative...
I know a lot of people getting knee replacements. Take a look at
this short video, The Best Knee Replacement Alternative for Osteoarthritis Treatment,
from Dr. Greger and
. It seems diet and obesity have a lot to do with osteoarthritis, which often presents in the knee, resulting in surgery. However, improved diet and exercise appear to be viable alternatives to knee replacement, and certainly seem worth exploring before going under the knife.
Okay, that's all for now...
Wishing you a wonderful holiday and a Healthy and Happy New Year!
George Harrop
Thank you for reading!Please forward this email to anyone who might find it of interest.
Stay Strong. Age Well.
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Who sent this letter:
I'm George Harrop, founder of
—an online resource for people who want to prioritize their health and wellbeing by taking a common-sense approach to nutrition and fitness. Many modern middle-aged people have spent the previous decades building careers and raising families.
Now we're committed to getting and staying fit during the second half of our lives. We're on a mission to age with more agility and ease! Join us →
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