Use it or lose it - part 2

Today's  "Use it or lose it" is about your body and the importance of keeping fit as you get older.  My mother was my inspiration, as she was still going for long walks and playing badminton in her eighties.

When we were living in London John and I belonged to Serpentine Running Club, so we were both running on a regular basis even in our sixties.  Living in Spain we find it too hot to go running in the summer months, but we go out walking several times a day with our dog, as well as walking into the town centre for shopping or to meet friends.  What I have noticed though amongst friends of a similar age is that, because they have a car and live in the countryside, their walking is limited to a gentle stroll from their car to the shops or restaurant.  This means that  they don't have the stamina that John and I have.

Don't forget that your heart is a muscle and still needs regular exercise to keep it in good shape: you don't have to run marathons, but regular walking will help to keep you fit and help to keep your heart healthy.

Weight-bearing exercise is especially important for women after the menopause to help them avoid osteoporosis.  Walking is one of the best forms of exercise in this respect and has the advantages of being easy to do and cheap, but dancing and low-impact aerobics are also good.

Strength training is another important element in building bone density, but don't panic as I'm not talking about using heavy weights and building up huge muscles.  You don't even have to use weights for this as you can use resistance bands or just your own body weight as in push-ups.  If you do want to use free weights, I would recommend going to a gym in the first instance to learn good technique, but then you can continue using them at home.

This discussion is about keeping your body in good condition, which includes suppleness as well as stamina and strength.  When I was living in London I regularly went to Pilates and yoga classes in my local gym.  I now use fitness videos at home, though once my Spanish has improved I will look for a Pilates class locally as I enjoy exercising in a group. Again, I would recommend doing some Pilates classes in a gym if you are a novice before trying to do it at home, to ensure that you are doing the exercises correctly.  Even doing simple stretches on a daily basis will help to keep your body flexible - I like to boast that I can still touch my toes!

Remember that exercise doesn't have to be boring: I have some Zumba videos and have great fun trying to dance along to them, though our dog Lisa gives me some funny looks!  The important things to remember are to include Stamina, Strength and Suppleness in your exercise programme for overall fitness, to build up your fitness slowly, to consult with your doctor if you have any medical problems and/or if you are over 40 and to learn the correct techniques if you are a beginner before exercising at home.

Are you over 60?  What exercises do you enjoy doing to keep your body in good condition?

Inspirational women

Which women have inspired you - and particularly which women over 60?  In my case there are two, who sadly are no longer with me, but I still have many great memories of them both.

The first was my mother, Joy.  She certainly lived up to her name, and even when she was in her eighties she managed to enjoy life to the full. We took her to New England for her 80th birthday treat, as I knew it had long been a dream of hers to go there.  My family emigrated to Canada when I was a child, and my mother had caught her first glimpse of New England from the ship.  She had always wanted to go there and achieved her wish over fifty years later!

Mum enjoying herself on the Cape Cod ferry

Mum had a good sense of humour and was the life and soul of any party that she went to.  As a child, I cannot remember ever hearing her complain, though as an adult I found out that she hadn't always had an easy life. She enjoyed sport and was very proud of being the oldest member of her badminton club, and the fact that she was still playing in her eighties.  I remember foolishly suggesting that she should get herself a shopping trolley. "Don't be ridiculous! They're for old people!" retorted my mother, who was over eighty at the time.  My children used to say that they had two very different grandmothers: one normal one and Gran.

My friend Beryl wasn't a lot younger than my mother and she was another feisty woman.  We met when I first started running in Hyde Park: we discovered that we had a similar sense of humour and soon became great friends.  Beryl was the first to admit that she wasn't the fastest of runners, but she was determined to run the London Marathon to raise money for charity.  I didn't doubt that Beryl would succeed (I had done a lot of long runs with her and was amazed by her stamina) and when I saw her at the finish she looked as fresh as a daisy.  Not only that, but when I went round to her house later on with her other friends for a celebration party, Beryl was dashing around looking after everybody as if she had only run 10k.  Did I mention that Beryl was in her sixties when she achieved this?

Beryl sharing a joke with me and my daughter

Two amazing, inspiring women: do you know of any inspirational women? Please leave your comments below.