Staying fit and active in retirement

Amost of the problems we see as physical therapists, such as back pain and knee pain, are NOT the result of being too active; most of the time they arise from doing nothing. Staying fit and active in retirement is very important for your health.

In this post, we’ll talk about the potential risks of when you have an inactive lifestyle in your 50s and beyond and our tips for how you can stay active in retirement.

Probably, when you’re approaching retirement age you think about all the things you’ll be doing at that time with all the free time you’ll have. Moreover, you may have even dreamed about it and not how to stay fit and active in retirement. But here’s the problem: most people only consider the financial aspect of retirement and don’t consider the other important aspect: what it’s like to fill the hours with activity.

Have you ever noticed after vacation how long it takes you to get your brain back to work and be able to do things as easily and effortlessly as before the vacation?

The same goes for your exercise habits; they are also affected in the same way. Think about how long it takes to get back on track with a simple exercise routine, or to resume walks after work. Getting back into these good habits after a vacation often takes much longer than you might think. It is not uncommon for the three or four months of healthy exercise habits prior to a family vacation to be completely lost.

Does this have anything to do with retirement?

Think about it: if 14 days is too long to do nothing, what will 20 or more years of inactivity await you in retirement look like?

First, the health benefits of staying active are endless. For most, getting up and going to work is probably their only source of activity. It’s also good to have some reason to get up one morning and go do something worthwhile.

By this we are not saying that at 69 you should be carrying weights. What we are suggesting is to find something to do, something that motivates you and keeps you active for as long as possible.

Eventually your muscles weaken and your joints seize up, even though you have done nothing, you are suffering and in pain.

Retirement offers an opportunity where you can do many things that you have spent your working life wishing you could do. But there are times when, upon retirement, many people end up feeling empty and not knowing what to do.

We often hear from people who have retired that the hardest thing about being retired is that they don’t know what to do with their free time. It seems that, if you are not careful, inactivity reigns when you are retired.

What can you do when you retire?

From a physical point of view, the real problem with getting older is that every day you wake up you get stiffer and stiffer. You lose the flexibility of vital muscles and joints. A process that began at age 40, and as this happens, you are more likely to suffer from back, knee and shoulder problems.

Staying active, even going out to do some kind of work, can help slow down this aging process.

So, if you’re in your 50s and 60s and starting to think about retirement. Also, it’s important to not only consider the financial implications, but to stay as active as possible. All of this will help you keep your muscles and joints flexible and, more importantly, keep your mind active and alert.

The harsh reality is that most people put off these kinds of things thinking that there will be time to start them when retirement day comes and not how to stay fit and active in retirement. But that’s not the best way to go about it. Habits are rarely formed quickly enough to start working out the day retirement arrives.

Our advice is simply this:

“Try to get into good healthy habits as soon as possible, starting today. That way, you’ll have the best chance of staying active, healthy and happy, not just in your 50s and 60s, but well into retirement.”

If you have more questions, I encourage you to come to our Nordicfysio clinic in Punta Prima or contact us and we will see what the cause is and how we can solve it.