Amazing Work Outs - Over 75 to 85 Years Old

It's never too late to exercise. The over-65 age group is less active than any other. But, exercise doesn't have to be difficult - and it can help you live a longer, happier life. Ask anyone to guess which age group is least likely to be meeting recommended physical activity guidelines, and they'll opt for children. So here's a statistic that may surprise you: in 2007, 72% of boys and 63% of girls aged 2-15 met the '60 minutes a day, every day' target. Grown-ups (aged 16-64) didn't fare so well - with 40% of men and just 28% of women achieving the recommended level of physical activity for adults (five or more sessions of 30 minutes' moderate activity a week).

But it's older people who sit firmly at the bottom of the class. Department of Health figures show that only 17% of men and 13% of women over the age of 65 are sufficiently active. Other research shows that 44% of adults over the age of 70 years take a 20-minute walk less than once a year - or never.

It seems that the older we get, the less active we are. But why? According to the findings of a study from the University of Dundee, published in the journal Age and Ageing, the most powerful 'deterrent' among the over-65s is a lack of interest, and disbelief that exercise can enhance and/or lengthen life. It's what Bob Laventure, a consultant on older people and physical activity at the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health, classifies under the "it's too bloody late for me" excuse.
The benefits

But is it too late to improve your fitness and health once you are past the first flushes of youth? "Absolutely not", says Laventure. "You can train the older body, and markedly so." And, he says, with so much "untrained reserve" it's possible for sedentary people to make huge gains, and fast.

Studies show improvements in balance, strength, gait, muscular power, blood pressure, endurance and bone density as a result of regular physical activity in older age. For example, one study on 90-year-old women in a nursing home found that 12 weeks of strength training took the equivalent of 20 years off their thigh muscle age, resulting in improved walking and mobility.

Another study found that six months of regular exercise increased VO2 max (a measure of aerobic fitness) by 30% in 60-70-year-olds. Exercise even helps you live longer - research from Harvard University found that men who burned 2,000 calories a week through exercise lived two-and-a-half years longer, on average, than sedentary men.

"There's also good evidence that physical activity has important effects on the mental health of older adults," says Laventure. A joint study by the National Institute of Mental Health and Age Concern in 2006 found that regular exercise was associated with reduced stress, depression and anxiety; enhanced cognitive function and overall psychological wellbeing; and increased self-esteem and contact with the community.