Exercising for lifetime should be goal

Recently a colleague of mine told me that he discovered his 82-year-old mother had joined a gym and hired a personal trainer. He was appalled.

"What's so terrible about that?" I queried.

"The thought of my 82-year-old mother in Spandex tights, a jogging bra and fingerless gloves, pumping iron ... it's hard to think about."

"Are steroids next?" I asked, but what I was really thinking was, "Maybe you should go back into therapy and deal with those unresolved oedipal issues."

I've met this man's mother, and she actually presents a credible testimonial for the importance of exercising for longevity. At 82, she walks with an upright, proud posture, she has a twinkle in her eye and she keeps up with her son who -- by the looks of his expanding girth -- obviously doesn't share her penchant for exercise.

She is also on the cutting edge of the longevity set.

Over and over studies tout the benefits of exercising into old age. And they aren't just talking about square dancing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims that strength training can make our later years easier with less back pain, obesity, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes and depression. Other reliable sources point to "sunset exercising" playing a big role in heart health and preventing metabolic disease, that "spare tire" condition that can lead to deadly consequences. Add to the list better sleep and greater cognitive performance -- memory, attention and verbal fluency -- and you've got all the motivation you need to get off that couch and start moving.

According to the National Institute of Health, any good exercise program for extending our health span should increase endurance, strength, flexibility and balance.

Yoga, tai chi, pilates are all good for developing balance and flexibility. Pilates is especially good for developing those important core muscles (back and stomach) that are important for almost everything we do to live our lives.

Developing endurance means increasing our aerobic activity. That can be as easy as taking a walk. A study done by the Honolulu Heart Program found that men between the ages of 71 and 93 who walked a mile and a half per day reduced their heart attack risk by half over men who walked far less. Walking is an easy exercise launcher and wearing a pedometer and challenging yourself to increase your daily number of steps is a great motivator.

As for strength training, it is often a good idea to begin any such program with oversight of a physical therapist or trainer. The American College of Sports Medicine offers some general guidelines to get you moving in the right direction:

Start out slow. Use light weights to begin (one to eight pound dumbbells), limit your strength training sessions to 30 minutes max. Do one set of 10 for each major muscle group.

Increase weight and reps slowly. Use the 10 percent/12 Rep Rule: When you can easily do 12 repetitions of each exercise, increase the weight by 10 percent (but never more than 2.5 pounds at a time). The goal is to get up to 20 reps at each level of weight and to be able to do this strength workout at least every other day.

I fully intend to spend my future years carrying in my own groceries and getting out of my favorite chair without a crane.

So it's back to the gym I go. Hey, maybe my friend's mom will agree to be my workout partner.

Dr. Michael O.L. Seabaugh, a Cape Girardeau native, is a clinical psychologist who lives and works in Santa Barbara, Calif. Contact him at mseabaugh@semissourian.com.