Old does not have to mean decrepit

I was training a new client the other day, and when I asked them to do a specific exercise the instant response was: "I can't do that, I'm too old."

Within our culture it has become the norm that as we age, we move less. And with this inactivity our joints stiffen, our muscles weaken and our bones lose density, until one day we find ourselves trying to sit up but we can't because our backs have gone into spasm, or we fall and break a hip.

It's a downward spiral. The less mobile we become over the years, the less confident we become about our ability to move freely and safely, and we compensate by becoming even less active, and in turn, less confident and so on.

The truth is that we get like this not because we're older but because we haven't been active enough regularly enough. And as Jerzy Kolodziej demostrated when he ran — and finished — the 2010 London Marathon aged 86, the best way to make sure we don't lose it is to use it.

OK, let's be realistic, there's always going to be a certain amount of wear and tear on the body over the passing years. But the great thing about the body is that it can be retrained at almost any age. In fact, the older we get it's often actually easier to learn something new — we have much more life experience, and can use something similar that we've done in the past to help us.

For this week I want to set you all a challenge.
Either in the Tube or at work, use the stairs instead of the lift or escalator for the next two weeks. Take a mental note of how you feel after the first climb you do — how tired you are, how out of breath or even your heart-rate — and compare it with how you feel 14 days later.

I guarantee that you'll be surprised with the improvement. And as an added bonus, according to a website I was looking at recently, you'll have burned an average of 50 extra calories for every flight of stairs you've gone up and down. Age is no excuse.

David Higgins is co-founder of tenpilates.com