Doing some exercise will obviously help us to keep physically
fit. It is important, as we get older, that we do have our
physical health or it will be more difficult to do all those
things that we have always wanted to do, such as travel, run
around with the grandchildren and so on.
We do not need to become superstars; rather, we need to maintain
the level of physical fitness that we already have. The mere
fact of leaping out of bed in the morning, getting to work,
dealing with people and things whilst we’re there keeps us, to a
certain extent, fit. We need to keep that up, at least.
There may be other benefits, too. If you walk more (stop having
the paper delivered, for example, and go and collect it), you’ll
save some money on petrol, fares and general travelling costs.
If you walk with a group, you will maintain or increase your
social contacts. Look up the Ramblers’ Association at
www.ramblers.org.uk. Or you could look at Natural England's Walking for Health (formerly Walking the Way to Health Initiative) - www.whi.org.uk. They provide free walks throughout the country for people of all abilities.
You will be able to think of parallel benefits for the
activities that you choose.
Swimming and cycling are good activities for our
age group because they can be fairly gentle, if you are not used
to exercise, and they are non-impact. This means that they do
not put strain on our joints. However, we need some impact
exercise to help stave off osteoporosis, which is where walking
(or jogging/running if that takes your fancy) comes in.
 If you want to do a sport and join a club, bowls clubs
are very sociable. Bowls provides some gentle exercise and the
action of bowling helps maintain our sense of balance. For flat
green bowls, have a look at the English Bowling Association’s
website at www.the-eba.co.uk
. In particular, go to their ‘for Beginners’ section to see how
it’s played and if there’s a club near you. For crown green
bowls, go to www.splut.com for a range of websites concerning this sport.
 Other, slightly more energetic, sports that might suit are
badminton and tennis. You can play badminton, in
particular, at any leisure centre, and there will be a tennis
club near you. If you haven’t played before, start with doubles,
which is obviously gentler, before trying singles. Golf
is another sport that provides some fairly gentle exercise with
a good social scene and plenty of fresh air.
Part of fitness is keeping supple and flexible. If you want to
join classes for this, then yoga, or t’ai chi
might be for you. How about some form of dancing? Dancing is
excellent for general fitness, including flexibility, suppleness
and balance. You can find information on all these activities at
www.bbc.co.uk/health
. Go into ‘healthy living’ and then ‘fitness’.
Dancing is becoming immensely popular again, partly
thanks to the television programmes that are devoted to it on a
regular basis. Ballroom dancing, line dancing, tap, jive, salsa
and many other forms of dancing are being enjoyed by people of
all ages and are a great way of keeping fit - and of meeting new
people.
Hashing Don’t worry; we’re not encouraging you
to do anything illegal! But do you like walking, jogging or
running? Do you want to meet people and join a very sociable
group of people? If so, hashing could be for you.
What is hashing? It’s a form of activity that allows walkers,
joggers and runners to go out together. It’s non-competitive and
great fun. It started in Malaysia in the late 1930s by a group
of ex-pats who liked to go running and then have some beer and
food in their favourite haunt, which was called The Hash House.
Hence the name ‘hashing’ and the name of hashing clubs – Hash
House Harriers.
It’s now a world-wide activity, being particularly strong in the
UK, North America, Australia, the Far East and parts of Europe.
In the UK there are about 120 clubs.
How does it Work? The idea is that there are hares (usually two)
who go out before the hash and lay a trail with blobs of flour –
like an old-fashioned paper chase. When the path diverges, they
lay a circle of flour, which indicates that the trail could go
in any direction. So the fast runners, who are at the front,
have to check to see which way the trail goes. This gives the
slower people time to catch up so by the time they reach the
circle of flour (called a check) the correct route has been
found.
A well-laid trail will allow everyone, whatever his or her speed
of progress, to finish the hash at about the same time. The
route is almost always circular and, in the UK, starts and ends
at a pub, so there is then the chance of some serious
socialising. Amongst that is normally some organised fun during
which people who have ‘sinned’ during the hash are invited to
atone by paying a suitable forfeit!
So if you want some exercise, some fun and the chance to meet
some new friends in a very friendly environment, think about
hashing. Go to the
UK Hash
House Harriers website where you can find the nearest
club to you and find out a bit more about hashing.
Of course, you don’t have to go anywhere to keep fit.
Housework,
gardening and DIY will also provide you with exercise. If you
want to do extra at home, walk up and down the stairs a number
of times and do some stretching in the morning and evening.
Also, when you’re out shopping, walk up the stairs instead of
talking the lift. If you do these things at home and in your
everyday life plus doing something else as well, you’ll soon
become fitter than ever.
In addition to the activities mentioned here, think about the
following in your quest to keep fit:
- Aerobics
- Joining a gym
- Walking up stairs instead of taking the lift
If you have a particular Hobby or Interest and would like to
research and write about it on the web, take a look at our
Associate scheme.
Now, take a look through the other pages and see if anything
takes your fancy – or something might trigger another
inspiration. If you don’t find what you want, however, take a
look at the
Sports and Activities
section, or go to
Amazon where you will be
certain to find a book on the hobby or interest of your choice
Visit our
Pre-retirement Courses
section here on laterlife or our
dedicated Retirement Courses site
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