LIFESTYLE AUTHOR
Sadie Flynn
FIT FOR THE AGES n
Five functional exercises to keep you moving and grooving into your golden years.
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rowing up, my grandmother, whom we lovingly called Shana, would fly down from Chicago and spend the summers at our house. She loved torturing herself in the Texas heat. With her TV tray, foldable outdoor chair, cringy romantic novel and a gallon of sun tea, Shana spent most of her days chasing the sun spots that poked through the trees in our driveway — sitting, sipping and soaking up the Texas sun. When it was time for family outings, however, I remember my parents always having to work around Shana’s immobility and chronic health problems. My Shana was a fierce woman who grew up navigating the aftermath of the Great Depression. A single mother to six girls, she didn’t necessarily have time to think about taking care of her health — she only had time to survive. As a result, she developed a cocktail of dietrelated diseases and spent most of her late life avoiding
AUGUST 2021
excessive movement so as to not deepen her suffering of chronic joint pain and nerve and neurological problems. I can’t promise that those summer experiences didn’t play a part in my passion for fitness and wellness today, but let’s just say I am constantly asking my parents how they’re moving and fueling their bodies on an annoyingly regular basis. Since we put such a heavy emphasis on fitness and wellness, I often wonder what our generation will look like in our 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond. My hope is that as we continue to make our health a priority, our fitness sticks with us. After all, “if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it,” as was the case with my Shana. So, what movements should we be incorporating into our fitness routines now that will keep us moving through the ages? Hint: you’re probably already doing them.
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