It’s Never Too Late to Get Moving

ZANESVILLE, OH – With the weather getting warmer, experts suggest making the most of it by getting out and getting active, especially for adults.

Misty Harmon, an Educator in Family and Consumer Sciences with the Perry County OSU Extension office, says as we age we tend to start to cut back on some of the things that can help our bodies age easier.

She says the common misconception she hears frequently is that someone is too old to start something, like a new exercise routine or diet plan, but that’s far from the truth.

“We’re never too out of shape to start, we might start slower, we might not progress as fast, but we can always start.” Harmon said. “I actually, in my blog, I looked up statistics, and only about 23% of older adults get the recommended amount of exercise in a given day or week, so, really, I encourage people just to start moving more. Right? Our bodies were meant to be in motion, when we sit around things get harder, we get stiff, we get seized up if you will.”

Harmon says the ideal amount of time to spend working out each day is between 30 and 45 minutes.

She says you can walk, ride a bike, or swim because those types of exercises work your heart muscles which helps with your overall health.

“Then we would add some kind of strengthening exercises to keep our muscles strong so that we can stay independent.” Harmon said. “The more independent we are, the stronger we are, the less we have to rely on others, so we can stay in our home longer, we can do all of those things that we’ve been used to doing. Then some balancing exercises are really good, especially as we get older, like taichi or balance exercises and then flexibility exercises so some stretching, yoga, those kinds of things are really good for keeping our joints and that mobile.”

Harmon also recommends upping your water intake this summer and says it’s suggested that women should drink around 11 and half cups and men should drink around 15 and half cups.