50+ and Still Inactive? Tips from your Elders
Abbott partnered with influencers such as me for its Ensure Program. As part of this Program, I received compensation for my time—although thoughts and opinions are my own.
Inactive? Motivation from the Active!
This is my dad. There is no way you would know it but he is 81. I took this picture just two days ago!
Why is my dad incredible? He doesn’t wear glasses, only takes one pill, can lift his own weight, and is McGyver II (ie. he can fix anything). Oh, and one more thing? He’s active…very active. In fact this is what he did last Wednesday and Thursday.
Out of here (a hillside by his barn):
He took out this:
That gasoline tank above was in the hill. It weighs 6 tons, is 10 ft X 20 ft and has a 10,000 gallons capacity. His neighbor, an excavator, helped my dad to get the tank loosened with a piece of his excavating equipment, but they couldn’t get it all the way out with that small piece of equipment.
My dad then came up with the brilliant idea to “float” the tank out. So he went and rented 350 ft. of hose and a pump. He placed the pump by a neighboring feed to a local swamp, ran the hose up to his barn, and started to fill the hole with water. As the water ran in, he backfilled the hole with his loader above, and slowly…the tank rose. After about 4 hours of preparation and 1 hour of pumping and backfilling, he was able to attach a chain to the round manhole you see sticking out of the tank and with his loader pull the tank out and around to the back of the barn. After which, he had to roll up the 350 of hose (manually) and cover the hole enough such that no one could hurt themselves. Whew!
Needless to say he was tired, for several days in fact, but the physical activity to accomplish this task by oneself, for anyone, of any age, is impressive! Climbing in and out his machine, rolling and unrolling heavy hose, lifting and hooking up a pump, and the getting and returning of all the rented equipment, can you imagine?
4 Tips for the Inactive
As you may know, my dad and I hang out quite a bit. Since my mom passed, I talk to him several times a week and see him at least once a week. Through my life I have learned so much from my parents, but in the last year, I really have learned about being active from my dad. Here’s some tips for to get and stay active and healthy this summer! I picked up this wisdom from observing my uber-healthy father:
- Do physical activity everyday or on a very regular basis. For my dad, that means working at his barn on his projects. For me (as you know I am a blogger who sits a ton), that means scheduling in the RIGHT kind of activity everyday (aerobic and muscle building) so that I have the strength and energy for all I want to do this summer.
- Remember WORK can be working out. People of our parents’ and grandparents’ generation rarely “worked out”. Why? Because they did physical labor, quite often. Do you hate to exercise? I admit it, I do. But I don’t mind walking or working. So when I really want to get active, I just do much more physical work along with regular exercise.
- Muscle building can be attained through lifting. You can build muscles by doing aerobic exercises but muscle building, doesn’t have to be attained through aerobic workout – you can also build by lifting regularly. My dad lifts things, manually, everyday, all the time. So now I try to lift and carry things more often as well, even if I am just walking around with my hands over my head. Regular weight lifting either with free or machine weights, can build your energy and keeps you from losing muscle mass.
- Eat well always and talk to your doctor about how nutrition contributes to muscle health. My dad really watches what he eats. A recent study by AARP and Abbott of 1,480 Americans 50+ revealed, the need for everyone – whether you are over age 50 or caring for a loved one – to have regular muscle health and nutrition conversations with a doctor to create a plan that includes regular exercise and good nutrition to live a healthier life. When you need extra nutritional support or if you are looking to rebuild your muscle mass or strength, you can use Ensure Enlive.
Are you Inactive? Want to regain muscle and stop putting things off?
Is there an activity you’ve wanted to do this summer but may have put off due to lack of strength or energy? I want to go to Iceland and do an all day hike in the wilderness area known as Thorsmork, or Thor’s Forest where I will see waterfalls, effects of volcanic eruption, the Eyjafjallajokull Volcano, and otherworldly landscape. I am very afraid I won’t have the energy for all the activity so I am preparing myself by incorporating my Tips for the Inactive above.
I also will be incorporating Ensure Enlive into my healthier lifestyle. Why? Ensure Enlive helps adults 50+ rebuild muscles so they can participate in the summer activities they love. Whether it’s playing tennis, swimming, gardening, hiking to volcanos or spending more time with the grandkids, Ensure Enlive helps rebuild muscle to provide strength and energy to keep doing the activities you love.
Ensure Enlive contains a high amount of protein (20 grams) and the unique ingredient HMB, which work together to help rebuild muscles, so I can enjoy my favorite summer activities. Ensure Enlive comes in a convenient bottle, and when combined with a healthy diet, allows me to stay strong, building muscle mass and nourished even when traveling this summer. Check out the article I wrote about the loss of muscle mass (and my encounter with Aerial Yoga) in my blog post “What Can I Do About Loss of Muscle Mass? Strong is the New 50! You will get the facts on why protein is so important for building and maintianing muscle mass.
NEED MORE INFORMATION? VISIT THE ENSURE ENLIVE SITE
Abbott partnered with influencers such as me for its Ensure Program. As part of this Program, I received compensation for my time. The opinions and thoughts in this piece are my own. Abbott/Ensure believes that consumers and influencers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Abbott/Ensure policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.