The Lockdown Fitness Regime Of These Health Conscious Older Adults Will Surprise You

If you think fitness is an affair only for youngsters, these health-conscious older adults will prove you wrong. Daily workouts, weight-lifting, gymming or living on a strict diet – these 60 plus fitness enthusiasts offer stiff competition to many youngsters! We reached out to senior citizens who have taken fitness as their lockdown mantra and have set examples of fit and healthy living.

From 103 kgs to 79 kgs in a couple of months, this 71-year-old’s fitness journey is inspiring

Delhi-based 71-year-old Surinder Nayyar’s day begins with a walk for 45 minutes followed by suitable Yoga exercises and Pranayam for the next 30 minutes. A little later in the day, he works out for about 20 to 30 minutes while browsing fitness videos for senior citizens on YouTube. He spends about two hours daily on his fitness routine.

A senior Central Government official, Nayyar suffered a ligament tear in 1967 during a wrestling match. It led to him quitting the sport and a lifelong knee problem. After retirement, he continued working with the government as a consultant, choosing to avoid knee replacement surgery. It led to restricted mobility gradually until lack of exercise led to a weight increase of 103 kgs. That’s when Nayyar quit his consultant role, decided to have knee replacement surgery and focus on fitness.

After post-surgery physiotherapy, Nayyar’s daughter advised him to join Fittr, an online fitness company in India to manage his body weight. After an extensive fitness regime and protein-based quantitative diet, Nayyar now weighs 79.8 kgs and has reached his goal in a few month’s time.

Nayyar says: “I’ve experienced a wonderful difference because of my ongoing daily routine. I feel so young and people who saw me earlier take my advice now on controlling body weight. I’ve become a fitness coach for many seniors now and that’s such a feel-good factor.”

He also lives on a strict diet chart prepared by his dietician daughter-in-law. His protein-based quantified diet contains 1491 calories. He eats apples, eggs and poha for breakfast, dal, sabji and roti for lunch and snacks on eggs, apples and almonds in the evening. Dinner is the same as lunch and all food proportions are quantified.

The health-conscious Nayyars (Image Courtesy: Facebook)

Nayyar is often accompanied by his wife, Trilochan Kaur Nayyar in his daily workouts. “Doing the exercise together makes it an enjoyable experience for both of us and it doesn’t feel dull,” says Nayyar. Watch out how the Nayyar couple keeps themselves fit here.

Nayyar believes seniors must remain fit in order to enjoy good health. “Only if you are healthy, you will be able to enjoy the worldly pleasures. Connect with a good fitness coach and dietician and focus on your fitness under expert guidance right from today.”

This 72-year-old walked 10,000 steps in one and half hour during the lockdown

South Delhi-based Jyoti Saxena, 72, took to fitness about a decade back. She joined a gym for daily workouts, trained with a personal trainer, did weight lifting and squats and reduced her weight from 80 kgs to 70 kgs in about 15 month’s time.

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“In 2010 I had gained too much weight and experienced severe pain in my knee joints. At that point of time, I wasn’t using my left knee at all and started limping. It is then when I decided to join a gym, control my body weight, get back in shape and become healthier once again. Since then there has been no looking back. I subscribed to fitness magazines, joined fitness communities and continued doing regular workouts till I could lose considerable weight,” says Saxena.

Saxena was diagnosed with some chronic conditions including TB in her abdomen and renal anomalies some years back. She started losing the ability to do rigorous workouts but did not give up. “I do daily yoga and Pranayama and try to remain as active as possible doing moderate exercises. During the lockdown, I completed walking 10,000 steps in just about 90 minutes’ time. I have joined several pandemic relief platforms, have shared my experiences with larger audiences online and have tipped them off on the importance of remaining fit and active across various forums. At present, I am on a high protein diet with 2 gms of salt and 5 gms of white butter and controlling my carbs intake as well,” she says.

This sexagenarian has achieved full range movement of upper arms, thanks to her lockdown fitness regime

Bangalore-based Kanchana Arni who is a Silver Talkies Club Member was facing issues with her upper arm flexibility and difficulty in bending her elbows until she registered for the online fitness classes organised by Silver Talkies in collaboration with Growing Young, a preventive healthcare company focusing on senior wellness.

A glimpse of Silver Talkies’ online fitness class for seniors

“While just a year back, before the pandemic-induced lockdown I experienced unbelievable pain in moving my upper arm, had issues with my muscles, movement and lifting. I felt stiffness while putting on clothes and sometimes pain as well. However, after a year’s fitness class, my pain has vanished and I can move my upper arm and bend my elbows without flinching. I am able to do the full range of movement of my upper arms now. I have also joined the yoga classes organised by Silver Talkies, experiencing significant overall well-being and would not like to miss out on my daily dose of fitness ever,” she says.

How has your fitness journey helped you in your older years? Please share your experiences with us below in the comments section. If you want to know more about the online fitness and yoga sessions organised by Silver Talkies for 55+, visit our Facebook Page or write to us at connect@silvertalkies.com.