"Grans" Stay Strong
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    • How to rebuild or maintain muscle
    • The language of strength training
    • Muscle Soreness
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  • Research

Stay Strong & Independent

Staying active helps us stay strong and independent as we get older. 

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On the previous page I mentioned that this site is designed to help people stay active and independent.  By independent I mean that we can get out and do the things that we enjoy.  We can choose our daily activities and we can live at home if we wish to.  The picture above is of a close friend "down the shore" in New Jersey.  She and her husband look forward to their family vacation all year long and they work hard to stay strong enough to keep up with their very active grandchildren.   

Doctors and nurses often assess people's ability to manage their "activities of daily living". These activities include walking, feeding ourselves, bathing, using the bathroom, getting in and out of bed, etc.  When a person cannot manage these activities on their own, he (or more often, she) may lose the ability to live independently and end up in a nursing home. Now someone else will decide when and what he should eat, and where she can or cannot go. 
 
Dr. David Fisher is a geriatric specialist who wrote a book called "How to Keep Mom (and yourself) Out of Nursing Home"  In an interview in the Chicago Tribune, Dr. Fisher said, "There are some key factors that help us remain independent... They are: strong legs, strong bones, good bladder control, healthy blood vessels, a healthy brain, thoughtful financial planning, and strategic social support."  I have posted the link to that interview on the Research page.  I've also added an Amazon link to Dr. Fisher's book below.

Some of the things Dr. Fisher talks about, like financial planning, go beyond the scope of this website.  But I can give you some tips about how to maintain strong legs and strong bones.