Longevity in Action: 'Keep Moving' as the Key to a Long, Healthy Life, from Those Who Know
Apr 09, 2024Season 2Episode 20
Jay Croft
Longevity is a trendy topic these days. Everybody wants to read and talk about the newest, best ways to live a vital life for as long as possible.
So, I take a look back at a powerful conversation I had with a frequent exerciser as she was turning 100. Toni Stahl passed away recently at 105, and she and other super-agers left us key lessons about how to be like them.
One of them put it super-simply: "Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving."
So, let's explore why longevity is having such a moment in the culture, and how fitness plays a key role.
Longevity is a trendy topic these days. Everybody wants to read and talk about the newest, best ways to live a vital life for as long as possible.
So, I take a look back at a powerful conversation I had with a frequent exerciser as she was turning 100. Toni Stahl passed away recently at 105, and she and other super-agers left us key lessons about how to be like them.
One of them put it super-simply: "Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving."
So, let's explore why longevity is having such a moment in the culture, and how fitness plays a key role.
Do you want to live to be 100? Do you know a lot of people who do? Well, more and more Americans are reaching that mark nowadays than ever before, and the trend will skyrocket in the coming decades. The topic of longevity is having a moment Darn near approaching a cultural obsession. What can we do to live not just longer, but also better for longer? What role does exercise play in all of this? Well, those are just a few of the questions we'll dive into on this week's episode of Optimal Aging, the show for fitness professionals and enthusiasts who want to learn more about the over 50 fitness segment.
Speaker 1:
I'm your host, jay Croft of Prime Fit Content. Now, as usual, I'd like to illustrate a broader topic with a specific example, using a real life story to illustrate that we're not just talking about scientific studies and demographic trends. We all know that people are living longer than ever, and the so-called longevity economy is expected to be worth $183 billion in the year 2028. That's $183 billion with a B, and it's not all being spent on red light facial masks. It's also being spent on gym and studio memberships, personal trainers, supplements and healthy diets by a cohort with millions of members who will be around for decades.
Speaker 1:
Now five years ago I wrote about Toni Stahl, a woman in Kentucky with a hell of a life story who was still exercising at a gym three times a week with her daughter, who was herself in her 80s. As a young Navy wife, mrs Stahl had been present at Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941, so she knew a thing or two about survival Even before she raised her family, beat cancer and worked part-time at a hospital into her 90s. I was fortunate to interview Mrs Stahl back then, on the occasion of her 100th birthday, about working out at the gym. She was very proud, telling me quote that's part of my life. I like that work. I've always been one to do as much as I could to keep active. It loosens up all my stiffness. It keeps me going. At 99, I can move around real well. End of quote. She liked balance and strength conditioning and the friendships she had at Live Active 50 Plus Fitness. Earlier in in life she had worked on a farm and enjoyed water skiing, so she didn't see any reason to suddenly stop moving just because she was older. She told me quote I do as I feel and I like to stay active and be around people. I still want to keep moving. If I sat down, I think I'd just give up. End quote Now.
Speaker 1:
Admittedly, mrs Stahl was an outlier then, at 100, which she remained right up until the end, which came Easter week, just a few days after she turned 105. Is more common but remains rare. Just 0.03% of the population of the United States and the United Kingdom is 100 or older today, according to statistics, but that's double the number of 100-year-old Americans 20 years ago and a lot less than the 589,000 expected by the year 2060, and, more generally, according to the Harvard Medical School, with rare exceptions, life expectancy has been on the rise in the United States, it was 47 in 1900, 68 in 1950, and by 2019, it had risen to nearly 79 years. We're living longer because of a range of reasons like better medicine and less smoking, and, of course, an individual's life expectancy is particular and complicated, depending on lots of factors like genetics, location, gender and lifestyle, and by lifestyle we mean eating right, not smoking, not drinking too much and, yes, of course, exercising regularly. You see, mrs Stahl was onto something with those three times a week workouts, and millions of us want what she had a healthy, long, independent life concluding with a short death and we see this everywhere, in media and in fitness. For instance, the Blue Zones has become a popular book and a Netflix series that highlights locations around the world that have the highest number of centenarians and why. Dr Peter Atiyah's book Outlive the Science and Art of Longevity was a bestseller last year, and Americans cheered for actress Betty White as she approached the 100 mark, dying in December 2021, just a month short of it.
Speaker 1:
Some projections say that babies born today will commonly surpass 100, and that 120 will mark a new standard in longevity. And looking back through history, humans have always been obsessed with living for as long as possible, going back even farther than the fountain of youth. Nowadays, to fight off aging and extend their vitality, people are spending fortunes on ice water plunges, longevity spas, special eating plans and red light therapy, not to mention Botox, plastic surgery and hair coloring coloring. If you can't be younger, then at least look at right. I don't know I. I find a troubling hypocrisy among some of the quote-unquote anti-aging movement. Even some in the fitness industry who say they want to help older people remain vital, but then shy away from directly reaching out and calling out people like Tony Stahl. If exercise is good for you at 50 and 70, then it's still good for you at 90 and beyond. And if we're going to applaud optimal aging, then let's really embrace it and stop promoting expensive so-called solutions to the perfectly natural process of aging, always promoting these beauty standards that are unrealistic for most people at any age, let alone after 40 or so. As far as exercise goes, this isn't just me talking.
Speaker 1:
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the spectacular benefits of exercise have no age limit. Quote whether you're in your 40s or your 80s, you will benefit in the same way. End quote. Whether you're in your 40s or your 80s, you will benefit in the same way. End quote, said the study's senior author, dr Will Yeber, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Sedentary people are almost four times as likely to die early as those who exercise regularly, says the study. It looked at 122,000 people who were tested on treadmills over 13 years. The doctor said, quote there actually is no ceiling for the benefit of exercise. There's no age limit. That doesn't benefit from being physically fit. End quote. And there are lots of other studies that show that exercise is good for our health, mentally and physically and socially, and that exercising regularly extends your longevity and your quality of life and your autonomy. So if you're already exercising regularly, then bravo and keep it up. But sadly, most Americans of all ages don't get enough exercise, although here is one bit of good news People over age 70 are the fastest growing segment of the population to use personal trainers, and that's according to the Personal Training Development Center.
Speaker 1:
One of them, known as Mr Bruno, was a true believer, working out three times a week at an anytime fitness in Florida when he himself hit 100. He offered simple advice for anyone hoping to follow in his footsteps, which he shared on a video posted on Facebook. Quote get off your ass and go to the gym. You got to keep moving If you're not exercising. Roy Englert shared a similar message after he swam in last year's National Senior Games in the over 100 category. Quote you just got to get out there and you go as fast as you can for as long as you can. Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. That's the key to it. You got to get out there and you go as fast as you can for as long as you can. Keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. That's the key to it. You got to just keep moving. Tony Stahl shared a similar message with me five years ago and you know, as we keep chasing new ways to enhance longevity, it's worth remembering that we might already have the magic pill, the elusive fountain of youth, if only we'll have the determination of these super agers to what To keep moving. If fitness professionals can help more older people do that, then they'll be building abundant revenue and improving lives for years and years.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for listening to Optimal Aging. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you'll subscribe, tell a friend and write a review. All of that helps me grow my audience. You can learn more about me and my content business at primefitcontentcom. You can send me an email at jay at primefitcontentcom. That's jay j-a-y at primefitcontentcom. I'm also on Facebook, linkedin and Instagram, so you can find me anywhere you like and be in touch. And again, thanks for listening. Join me next time.