I am not the Indian Rubber Man but I have a significantly increased range of motion compared to when I was 60. More like 50 with most stretches.

Having done it I know what you need to do. Some things work, some things not so much.

Older people avoid the floor like the plague. Why? Because it’s so hard to get back up. And getting on your knees is uncomfortable. The answer? Floor-based exercises and building the muscles that support strong lower body mobility can have you hopping around before you know it. 

Needing to do a one-minute exercise using both hands, feet and the assistance of the adjacent table does not need to be your fate.

The stats are frightening. Almost 60% of people over 60 have a loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength (sarcopenia). More than 50% of over 50’s do not pass the get out of the chair unassisted test.

The problem and solution are multi-faceted. Starting with core strength, which might surprise you, but core strength is at the heart of many things we do and even more things we can no longer do. Followed by getting rid of inflammatory foods from your diet. And working the bigger back muscles.

Do you want to be like the old man/lady wandering around the shopping mall stooped right over? More and more of us are susceptible to that because we spend so much time sitting.

I was a candidate for that. The fix was relatively easy if you get in early enough. Most of the rehab work I did happened while I was cooking dinner.

Going for a jog has been my form of exercise for most of my life but I don’t think it really did me too many favours.

Uphill sprints, that’s a different matter. The ability (or lack of ability) to sprint and move at pace is one of the most consistent markers of age, it doesn’t have to be that way.