Some of you know I jokingly say I have a whole new purpose. As a long time fitness instructor who just so happens to be an attorney in the long term care space (aka the nursing home) area of law, one of my biggest focus on my personal workouts and in my fitness classes is to keep us ALL out of the nursing home. If you ever come to one of my classes or if you HAVE come in the past 8 years or so, you have heard this mantra at least once - but likely too often to count - as I talk while we do our strength, balance and mobility moves.

You can count on hearing that at least one of the exercises will help us stay out of the nursing home and at least ONE song from Dolly. (:

Seriously, though, there are some things we can all do now - at any stage - to help support our health, strength, wellbeing and independence. Here are a few simple things we talk about to add to your path of staying independent as long as you can. . .

GRIP STRENGTH
There is a lot of talk in the longevity space on this element and I can definitely understand the importance. I remember my mom really struggling with being able to open things, close things and hold onto objects. She also had very severe rheumatoid arthritis in her hands which also worked against her. This can be a really big hurdle, especially for someone who lives alone. Being able to manage the opening jars, cans, doors, bottles, medicines - all the things that can make life easy or extremely frustrating. I’ll bet you are like me and absolutely do not want to have to always ask for help. I’m sure i’ll need it one day, but let’s hold off as long as possible. So, to keep doing these things, try these things: hold things and keep using your hands, use dumbells in the gym or at home. Farmer walks are great. Also, a pull up bar is an inexpensive tool to have at home. Start with hanging. It is great for grip, core and shoulder health. Start where you are and just keep it up.
WALK, WALK and WALK
I don’t really think I need to say more. We all know the more we mover, the more we keep moving.
GET ON THE FLOOR
If you think this sounds ridiculous, here’s the thing. When you get down on the floor - you have to get up off of the floor. We don’t want to find ourselves on the floor and unable to get up. That makes sense, right?
JUMP
As much as you can, add some impact. This may not work for everyone, but if you can find a way to modify with even bouncing, adding a trampoline or adding a lift without leaving the ground, the actual act of adding that extra pressure builds the resilience, helps strengthens the bones - and an added bonus - it gets your heart rate elevated and gives a boost of endorphins, which makes it more fun. It also helps reaction time. Think about how you move on the pickleball court, tennis, avoiding your dog or anything you have to randomly jump out of the way to avoid. You are building the muscle memory and ability to move and rebound when you need. Huge plus.
Little known fact, I have had the same jump rope since I was in 8th grade. I add a couple of jump rope sessions every week. It’s the best little bang for your buck when you are short on time, too. I count my reps to get to 100. Sometimes that’s all I have time for. Sometimes its x3. It’s not always pretty - but hopefully it’s doing its magic.
CREATE, HOBBY, KEEP LEARNING, TRY NEW THINGS
This one may sound obvious, but I do see some people just “grow old”. Not only in their movement, but in their overall interest. They become stale and become less curious, less adventurous, and more afraid to try new things and stop learning and growing. I think this can be so harmful and is such a waste of this time we have here. I have painted on and off since I was a little girl. I went straight for any “arts and crafts” I could get my hands on. These days, I am “challenging” myself to paint more, try new ways and learn new techniques. I love having “projects” going on and using that part of my brain. For me, even planning a workout for class is fun and a creative outlet. I have a running list of other things I want to try. Some I flat out know I’ll be terrible at, but that’ll be a good story I’m sure. Like pottery, and tap dancing, and more travel. I love the resurgence of Mahjong - it’s a perfect way to learn something new, get together with other folks and use our brains. Making time for hobbies and creating time to try new ones will be huge for our health and wellbeing and to keep us independent, social and out of the nursing home.