Can you live well – really well – past 80? Five tips from super agers

Reporters Teddy Amenabar and Stefano Pitrelli write that Emma Maria Mazzenga, 92, of Padua, Italy, is an elite sprinter with world records to her name in four age groups and few rivals to compete with.

Mazzenga runs two or three times a week and walks on his days off. Track training takes about an hour.

Mazzenga’s advice to other older athletes: Know your limits. Check with your doctor first to make sure you’re fit to start exercising. Then stay consistent; For Mazzenga, that means running multiple times a week.

Marlene Cimons writes that Jeannie Rice is 77 years old and has broken the world women’s record for every distance in the 75-79 age group, at times surpassing the fastest men in that age group. not rice technically super old (younger than 80) but his physiology is remarkable. Her maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂ max), a measure reflecting aerobic fitness and endurance capacity, is equal to that of a 25-year-old woman, according to laboratory tests taken in the days after her world record performance at last year’s London Marathon (3 hours, 33 minutes and 27 seconds).

Rice runs 80 kilometers a week, or 112 to 120 kilometers a week, with one day off in preparation for the marathon. He also lifts light weights three times a week for upper body strength.

“It exemplifies how consistent training and perhaps favorable genetics can partially challenge traditional aging processes,” said Bas van Hooren, an assistant professor of nutrition and kinesiology at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and one of the authors of a study on Rice.

Rice, a retired real estate agent who started running at age 35, has proven “it’s never too late to start exercising,” Van Hooren said.

Eric Topol, a cardiologist and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego’s La Jolla neighborhood, said exercise is the only intervention for humans that has shown any effect on slowing the body-wide aging clock, meaning it changes how quickly we age.

Author of Topol Super Seniors: An Evidence-Based Approach to LongevityShe recommends aerobic exercise, “walking, biking, swimming, or elliptical, or you name it,” and dedicating at least 30 minutes most days. And “resistance training and grip strength have extraordinary correlations with healthy aging,” he said.

3. Connect with others and have some fun

Research shows that social interactions are essential to our well-being and happiness. A recent large clinical trial found that a mix of exercise, healthy eating, social participation and brain games can improve cognitive abilities in older adults at risk for cognitive decline or dementia.

We need to stay socially connected because while feelings of loneliness can increase the risk of dementia, having strong social connections is key to cognitive health.

Morera, for example, would mingle with other residents of the assisted living facility and entertain visitors whenever he could.

Rice has a rich social life and enjoys going dancing, although not the week before an important race. “A lot of runners are so serious they don’t do anything socially. But I like to have fun,” he said. “I’m the last one to go home.”

Experts recommend trying strategies like setting aside time in your calendar to socialize more and looking for opportunities to connect. “It has long been established in well-being studies that happiness is better predicted by the frequency rather than the intensity of positive experiences,” Nicholas Epley, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago who studies how we often underestimate the impact of socialization, told our brain health reporter Richard Sima.

“Having a good life is about incorporating as many of these positive activities as possible. So it becomes a habit,” he said.

4. Don’t be afraid of setbacks

Some people view aging as a one-way decline. But new research in the journal PLOS One It suggests that many adults over 60 find it possible to return to strength and development even after setbacks in their health.

Researchers have identified factors associated with a return to better health. These include good mental health; social connections; and other lifestyle choices, such as not smoking (or quitting if you do), eating well, and getting enough sleep.

“It’s never too late,” said lead author Mabel Ho, a recent PhD graduate from the University of Toronto.

When Florene Shuber was 82, she noticed that she sometimes tripped and fell.

“What older people don’t realize when they fall is that they don’t know they’re falling until they’re this far off the ground,” Shuber told reporter Maggie Penman, holding up her fingers an inch apart. “I found it quite scary. It happened two or three times. I thought I had to do something about it.”

There was a small gym near where he lived that he had been passing by for years, and he finally wanted to go in and meet a trainer. He started exercising regularly.

Shuber, now 91, said he feels younger and stronger than he did 10 years ago.

“You can improve. I definitely see that in myself,” Shuber said. But he adds that this is a difficult task. “You have to be consistent about it.”

5. Have a positive attitude

101-year-old Si Liberman has faced many challenges in his life; these included multiple injuries from being hit by a truck when he was five, a heart attack at 39, and triple bypass and mitral valve repair surgery at 89. II. While a B-24 bomber radio gunner in World War II, his plane was frequently hit by enemy fire during 13 bombing missions over Nazi Germany.

Although I’ve had to get through some dark days, Liberman writes, “I’ve never been down for so long. If I’ve got a cold, I think it’ll get better soon. If I’m going through a tough time, I think I just have to get through it and things will get better. I think attitudes are pretty underrated and can’t be taken for granted. I’m almost always optimistic. I’ve always thought there would be better days ahead, and that positive attitude probably helped.”

Washington Post

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.