As an older adult, exercise may seem scary, painful or intimidating. I mean, running? Lifting weights? No way…right? You may feel like you won’t be able to do all the moves correctly or make it through the entire workout. Is it even worth the hassle?
While that’s a totally understandable and normal reaction, and while health looks different for every person, one woman is here to show that the impossible can become possible. Not only can she exercise regularly—and in ways she never thought she could, at her age—but she also finds it fun.
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“After moving into Mercia Grange, I got back in the pool and I went swimming,” says Ghislaine Evans, a 71-year-old resident at Care UK’s Mercia Grange in Sutton Coldfield. “I was a swimming coach for years and I thought I would never be able to swim again, and even though I forgot how to swim, but I had a really great time!”
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Besides swimming, Evans stays active in several other ways.
Ghislaine Evans’s Love for Social and Physical Activity
Exercise and social interactions are closely intertwined for Evans. She does what she needs to do to make them both work, often simultaneously.
For example, her post-lunch ritual is to go on a walk in the garden, always with a friend. If the weather is bad, they’ll walk up and down the hallway instead, she says. Either way, Evans and a friend get this 20-minute workout in.
Related: Making New Friends as an Adult Isn’t Easy, but Luckily, We Have 102 Expert-Backed Ways To Do Just That
“It’s so important to build connections and start a new exercise habit with a friend,” she said. “We help to motivate each other.”
Research shows the benefits, too. Working out with a friend can help you feel more connected, boost physical and mental health, and more.
Listening to upbeat workout music also keeps Evans motivated and energized. (Perhaps throw “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston or “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi on YouTube?)
Ghislaine Evans’s Workout Routine
Evans keeps her workout routine simple and effective by not creating it herself. Instead, she goes to her care home’s fitness classes—all of them. That includes virtual exercise sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, plus in-person exercise sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. (You read that right: two workouts a day on Thursday!)
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Each workout is 30 minutes long and includes 10 to 12 repetitions of each movement or exercise, performing one set per movement.
To keep her balance, Evans completes one set on each side. When she performs 12 repetitions, she takes the first six slowly, increasing her pace for the final six.
Since warming up and cooling down is so important, she does that with every fitness session, too. Evans’s warm-up entails lifting her arm up and down 10 times, then swinging her legs back and forward 10 times. Her cool-down entails static stretches (like extending her legs), holding each position for 10 seconds.
Sounds pretty doable, right?
That’s not all. Evans loves to add physical activity when and where she can; she aims to incorporate movement into her life by simply living it. One way: housework.
“At Mercia Grange, there are housekeepers, but I like to do some extra cleaning around my room,” she says. “Every little movement is a form of exercise.”
That could be vacuuming, picking up crumbs, dusting or putting fresh sheets on the bed, just to name a few examples.
On that note, did you know exercising, spending time with loved ones and doing household chores are the three things a neurologist begs people to do to lower their Alzheimer’s risk?
Regarding what Evans wants other people her age to know, she says this: “Stay active. Never give up on exercising. You can always incorporate exercise into your daily routine.”
She would know—she’s done it herself.
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Sources
- Ghislaine Evans, a 71-year-old resident at Care UK’s Mercia Grange in Sutton Coldfield
- The surprising benefits of exercising with friends, University of Oxford
