Fitness is being physically and mentally able to work through the challenges of life. It takes work to make it through this life and it does not get easier as you age. Growing old is not for sissies. There are definitely lots of challenges.

What it means to be physically fit is different at different stages of life. No matter what we do it is evident that fitness declines with age. You are not as speedy and you lose some aerobic capacity. And no matter how much you exercise, you cannot open the olive jars you once did because your muscular strength decreases. your bones are less dense and metabolism slows.The good news is that exercise can minimize most of these losses. However you need to work at it.

There is even new proof that you are never too old to exercise. A recent Israeli study found that people over age 70 live longer and better if they are physically active at least four hours a week. Active senior were 31 percent to 58 percent less likely to die during the study than their sedentary peers. The other good news was that if you were among those who did not die and you exercised, you were 72 percent to 92 percent more likely to retain your independent lifestyle.There does not seem to be an age limit for physical activity.

The evidence says it all. You are never too old to exercise. Titled the Jerusalem Longitudinal Cohort Study, the researchers also followed 2000 people for 18 years who were studied from age 70 to age 88. What was learned from this age cohort was that seniors who started physical activity between ages 70 and 78 and even between 78 and 85 improved their odds of survival. The test results also showed that seniors who exercised were more likely to maintain an independent lifestyle than those who did not exercise. The researchers also claim that because exercise helps to maintain cardiovascular health, it also improves immunity, and suppresses chronic inflammation.

The Israeli investigators concluded that the difference between physically active and sedentary participants actually increased the older the seniors were.

Walking appears to me the favorite of physical activities especially because of its low risk of injury.

Walking works even if you are trying to lose weight. If your weight held fairly steady for some time, but when you hit 55 you started to gain weight, you can gradually increase your physical activity level or eat less and take in less calories. Or you can do both restricting calories and increasing exercise.

You may want to think of taking the stairs rather than the elevator or adding short periods of walking during the day. Once you make your mind up you probably can come up with a few ideas of your own to burn a few more calories.