Your attitude today can help determine how you'll age tomorrow. Positive thoughts and high spirits can help ensure that the sedentary lifestyle that hits many in midlife is replaced instead with a healthy cruise into senior life.

Do we have to become sedentary and slow because we are older or can we stave off the effects of aging and be healthy and well as we cruise into our senior years?  As the population gets older and the age of mortality inches higher, there is a need for continued exercise and increased senior physical fitness.

There is a downward spiral that occurs as we age and it begins as we stop doing the things we find difficult.  For some this starts in the 30’s and 40’s and for others it’s much later but there does come a time when walking or standing for long periods of time becomes difficult so we start to stop.  Once that happens we don’t want to go to parks or malls or possibly family events in the event that there might be too much walking.  Eventually, you find yourself sitting more than standing and that leads to another slew of problems. The less the legs are used, the more feeble the muscles become, the more feeble the muscles become the less stability and balance they have, the less stability and balance you have the greater the risk of falling as you walk through your home. This can lead to bone breakages which, in the elderly, do not heal well or quickly leaving you with complications such as depression, poor circulation and pneumonia. Talk about a downwards spiral!

Your attitude today is a good indicator of how well you will age.  Do you believe in yourself and your ability to age gracefully and in a healthful manner or do you think you will deteriorate with age so why try to avoid it?  An example of a wonderful attitude towards aging is “I will stop exercising when I die”.

Jack Lalanne has just turned 93 years of age and he still exercises two hours a day! He says, “You have to work at living, period. You’ve got to train like you are training for an athletic event. Most older people just give up. They think, “I’m too old for that,” because they have an ache here or a pain there. Life is a pain in the butt; you’ve got to work at it.”

Senior fitness exercises don’t have to be any different from what you have been doing all your life either.  There is no reason to change what you have been doing, you simply might have to modify the intensity and weight.  Obviously a 20 year old can lift more weight than an 80 year old but an 80 year old can still do push ups and perform squats as long as it has been a life habit.

A Harvard study, says that it's "astonishing how many of the ingredients that predict longevity are within your control." The following is a list of variables you can control that will help you to start today to prepare to live will well into your 80’s, 90’s and who knows, you may be a centenarian (100 year old)! 

 Avoiding cigarettes
 Good adjustment or coping skills ("making lemonade out of lemons")
 Keeping a healthy weight
 Exercising regularly
 Maintaining strong social relationships (including a stable marriage)
 Pursuing education

Woody Allen once said that no one gets out of this world alive. However, if you are here, stay healthy and well as long as you can.

By Christina Leon, Staff Writer