Success Stories: Louis Decides to "Drop a Decade"

I recently gave a presentation, "Drop a Decade, Get Fit, Stay Strong," to an audience of seniors at Judson Retirement Community  in Cleveland, Ohio.  We talked about how functional fitness gives you the ability to maintain an energetic lifestyle, and exactly what kinds of exercise you need to be able to perform various activities. We defined an energetic lifestyle as one that allows you to continue doing all the necessary and pleasurable things that create a quality of life.  For you, it might be traveling, cooking, gardening, playing sports or conducting business activities.  Perhaps it's just being able to go out and about in town – driving, shopping, going to movies, museums and restaurants.

Functional exercise reinforces the physical abilities you need to be able to do these things, such as: Walking distances Stair-climbing Carrying and lifting Getting up and down to the floor Reaching for things safely Getting in and out of a car

In the audience was a man named Louis who had just turned 84 and appeared to be quite fit.  He told me he'd always been an avid gardener, but found that this year he could no longer get up from the ground when he was tending his plants.  He struggled to find a support that he could grab on to and had to crawl over to it.  Empowered by the message of my presentation, he asked his doctor if he could strengthen his legs with exercise and was given the go-ahead.  Exercise is the first step in re-capturing youthful function to "Drop a Decade."