Reclaiming Health & Well Being

Optimal Ageing

Words from Sir Muir Grey CBE MD DSc

The number of people over 80 will double in the next decade presenting a major challenge to health and social care.

However, new scientific discoveries are revealing the normal biological ageing process is not a cause of major health problems.

There are actually three inter-related causes of the problems that occur more frequently as people live longer;

• Loss of fitness

• Preventable diseases (exacerbated by poor fitness)

• Pessimistic and negative attitudes

The ROVR treadmill effectively tackles the key issues of poor fitness and pessimism.

Users can benefit from;

• Increased Stamina: This is a result of walking 30 minutes a day at moderate intensity. An increase in stamina is enough to bring about a noticeable improvement in breathing. Improvements are still felt even when walking is spaced out over shorter periods throughout the day.

• Increased Quadriceps Strength: Quadriceps are a group of thigh muscles essential for rising from a chair - a key function for independent home living. Using a ROVR treadmill for walking exercise increases the strength of the quadriceps, improving mobility and movement speed.

• Better Co-ordination and Balance: Activity in ROVR VR can improve a person’s reactivity and core strength, reducing the risk of falling and improving potential of fall recovery.

• Elevated Mood Through Socialising: Users can be linked together locally or via the internet to form virtual walking groups. The potential exists to explore real world landscapes, like the Great Wall of China or the beaches of Normandy. VR headsets enable conversation and mutual enjoyment along the way.

• Reduced Risk of Dementia: Physical activity and the social engagement help keep the brain active and so, ward off cognitive degeneration.

By keeping physically fit and happy some may even ‘drop a decade’ - improve to such an extent they become as healthy as a person ten years younger.

How do I achieve this?

Aim for 30 minutes a day on your ROVR, not necessarily all at one time, and try to walk, how experts like the Chief Medical Officers of the UK call, at ‘medium intensity’, in every day language, walk briskly.

What does walk briskly mean?

Think of it from a physical point of view - You are walking briskly if you feel your heart beating a little faster or, usually, and easier to notice, you are breathing a little bit more quickly, but are still able to carry on a conversation or sing a song (I love to go a wandering or what ever takes your fancy).

What about the risks? Brisk walking? Well it is clear firstly that:

1. The risks of exercise of medium intensity are very small and

2. The risks of inactivity are very, very, high.

In addition to the 30 minutes to improve your stamina and leg strength, it is essential to develop a daily programme, the daily dozen (12 minutes for people in their 50s, 60s and 70s, 14 minutes for people in their 80s, and 15 minutes for people in their 90s) to increase / maintain strength stamina and skill / balance.

What’s my motivation ?