Kinesiology THURSDAY – The 8 Hardest Movements after 60

It happens gradually.

At first, you don’t think much of it.
You push off your knees when standing up.
You avoid lower chairs.
You take a second before getting out of the car.

Then one day, it hits you:

“Why is this so hard?”

What you’re feeling isn’t random. It’s one of the earliest—and most important—signs of physical decline. But this doesn’t have to be the case.

In the next 8 weeks, we are going to study the hardest movements for older adults, the movements that, if preserved, will improve quality of life and help people maintain independence.

Here are the movements that most commonly become difficult as we age:

Getting up from a chair (sit-to-stand)
Balancing on one leg
Walking smoothly (especially on uneven ground)
Stepping up (stairs and curbs)
Turning/changing direction
Reaching overhead
Getting up from the floor
Catching yourself when you trip (reactive balance)

Each week, we will:

Discuss why the movement matters
Tap into the science of why it gets harder with age
Give you some quick signs that you’re losing it
Give clinicians some manual therapy tips to assist in the movement
Give 2-3 exercise suggestions to maintain this function and a weekly goal to hit

Why does this matter?

If you’re like me, you’ve already done a quick assessment of the list above. Maybe you can do them all or maybe a few of them make you nervous. The good news is, movement can be trained and re-trained. Practicing something just three times a week can help you maintain mobility and strength. It’s just about knowing what to do and the “why?” behind the what.

I hope you join me over the next 8 weeks. Let’s reverse age our bodies together. Independence is everything.

And nobody has time to be in pain.

Until next time…