How easy is it for you to get up off the floor without using your hands? For me, a woman in her late 30s, it’s currently pretty easy.
But what will that experience be like when I’m 70 or 80?
Lately I’ve been thinking about longevity and health span. Not just how long I’ll live but what the quality of those years will be like. I like to imagine myself carrying my own luggage through the airport, hiking in the mountains, and yes, getting up off the floor with ease.
When it comes to the last quarter of my life, there are a million factors outside of my control. However, I also know that the habits I build today affect my future trajectory.
I am highly motivated by the idea of living a vibrant, full life well into old age. That means doing my best to build a body that can quite literally carry me through all stages of life. For me, that’s meant I’ve spent the last few years focused on strength training.
Many women shy away from strength training, and if you only take away one thing from this article, please let it be that many of the fears associated with weight training (namely that weights make you bulky) are unfounded. Popular culture suggests that the point of fitness for women is to make ourselves as small as possible.
Frankly, I find that way of being exhausting. Strength training is all about building yourself up in a very literal sense. I’ve found it quite liberating to focus on building myself up instead of constantly diminishing and tearing myself down.
All bodies can benefit from the practice. Building muscle now helps combat the muscle loss that happens naturally as we age. Weight bearing exercise also helps strengthen bones, which is an important factor in reducing the risk of developing osteoporosis.
Getting up off the floor may not feel hard today, but somewhere along the way, it becomes difficult for a lot of people.
Those aren’t losses that happen overnight, nor are the behaviors that keep muscle wasting at bay, ones that you can do once and forget. Both of those paths are chosen over and over again, through small actions and decisions that add up over time.
The good news is the path before you is still unwritten. Each day is an opportunity to choose which way you want to go.
Strength training is just one of many things I do with an eye on health span. Here are some things to think about if you’re interested in expanding not just the length of your life but the quality of your years:
If you were healthy and well for the next 30-50 years, what would you do with your life?
If you continue the current path you’re on, where does that likely leave your physical health in 30-50 years?
What habits, if started or maintained now, give you the best chance of living a vibrant, full life now and 30-50 years from now?
