It used to be thought that we lose strength, mobility, balance, and stamina as we age, because we age. Research has since shown us that that just isn’t the case. We lose these attributes, not because we’re getting older, but because as we get older, we stop challenging ourselves in these areas. Why is that?
I have a theory, but first let’s note that, according to the CDC, only 24.2% of the adult US population met the Physical Activity Guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity. So, without even taking aging into account, we’re not active enough. As we age, we tend to not move as much as we used to and as we do less, we are able to do less. Our loss of abilities is not from aging but from decreased use.
As we age, our bodies suffer from wear and tear and a potentially a lifetime of less-than-ideal habits. Our bodies will experience aches and pains and when it’s uncomfortable to move, we choose to move less. Hence, our loss in abilities. Top that loss off with a loss of confidence in our ability to move (less sure of our strength and balance) and we start to be afraid of what might happen if we tripped and fell or injured ourselves in some way. That fear causes an increase in cautiousness. We then back off even more movement as we try to protect ourselves. And the spiral of disability continues.
The beauty of our bodies is that we can regain those lost abilities by getting back to challenging them. We can improve our strength, mobility, balance, and stamina by retraining them. The fear that has been holding us back can be managed by adding in some safety precautions. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started.

1. Safely challenge your balance by doing standing exercises with your back 6” away from the corner of two walls and face outward. In this position, if you lose your balance to the side or start to fall backward, you will be caught by the wall. You could also set two chairs on either side of you with the backs of the chairs facing you. This way, if you start to lose your balance you can grab the backs of the chairs for stability. Safe!
2. Do more of the everyday tasks that have become difficult. If climbing stairs has become challenging, don’t do less of them. Do more. The more you do them, the easier it will get. Go ahead and take whatever safety precautions you need, but not so safe as to not challenge your strength and balance.
3. Add more challenges one small dose at a time. To build back abilities and confidence, start slowly and add more as you’re able.

We have two things to consider here. The first is to not let ourselves get to the point where we question our lifestyle activity. Are we doing enough to maintain our strength, mobility, balance, and stamina? If we’ve gone too long without the necessary challenges and now feel afraid to move like we used to, can we safely reintegrate those activities so can regain our abilities and confidence? Both are possible. We just have to take the steps necessary to make it happen. Good luck