Happiness is important for active ageing, and so I asked my Silver friends what makes them happy each day as they get older. They cherish the love of family and friends of course, but they also list health and fitness as well as having a purpose as crucial for their wellbeing.
Regular exercise is hence, part of their healthy lifestyle. After all, exercise releases endorphins which make us happier people mentally while making us stronger people physically to handle the demands of the silver years.
And what is the biggest bugbear to attaining this happiness?
When that happens, we focus on getting back on track. We race to recover or we insist on exercising moderately, believing we’ll get better once we do. That is our shared philosophy.
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Siti A Manaf, Serene Wong, Caroline Mah and I have kept the pulse of our exercise as an ongoing mission by making our workouts interesting. We try different forms of fun exercises.
By sharing our stories, we hope to inspire you. We are real silvers with real health issues that we have beaten or managed. We believe you can, too. My story has been told in Make Exercise Part of Your Lifestyle.
Here are the wellness journeys of Siti, Serene and Caroline on their mission to be healthy and happy.
Siti A Manaf: Staying active with hiking, netball and hip-hop dance
Siti is wise beyond her years. In her 30s, she made the bold decision to clear the physically-challenging goals of her travel bucket list by taking advantage of her youth and career in the travel trade.
She knew how to get the best deals at the best prices and so went on a canoeing expedition spanning three days on the Zambezi River, from Zambia to Zimbabwe. She said she could not feel her arms after the arduous adventure but felt exhilarated.
She also took on a challenging 10-day Annapurna Mountain/Fish Tail Trek, hiking for six to eight hours a day. The altitude of the base camp is 4,130 metres.
Then came her dream of watching the animals while on safari, except from the sky. And what better way to do that than fly over the Victoria Falls in a Microlight adventure over the Hwange National Park.
Next was not telling her mother she was going to jump out of a plane in tandem skydiving. She finally told her; after her mission had been accomplished.
Siti has always had a love for sport because she comes from a family that is very active. She says she used to be tricked because her uncles would suggest a walk but they would end up running trails. Soon Siti ended up liking running, too.
Family gatherings were makan first followed by a walk. So the family would park their car at their walking destination and walk towards it after their meal.
- Managing hypertension
Although active, the family has a history of hypertension. Siti was warned early and heeded her doctor’s advice to do something about it. She ramped up her exercise routine, ate healthily, lost weight, and triumphantly kept meds away for about 15 years. Only now, in her fifties is she on medication.
Siti’s staple is netball, having played it since primary school. These days she trains thrice a week nearer competitions. During her early netball days Siti started a trend; themed nights where the girls would upcycle the outfits they do not use into new creative clothes. This turned out to be a hit.
Today that same spirit has seeped into Siti’s outlook on active ageing as she enjoys her dance classes at the gym. On finale Saturday of the hip hop class she attends, Siti dresses up and ropes in four or five friends to carry the theme along with her. The rest of the class has since been inspired to join in.
- Reliving disco days
Why the preference for dance classes as a form of exercise I asked. Shy Siti reveals she was a regular in the club scene in her younger days, happily gyrating to Disco, Pop, and Rhythm n Blues music. Her current dance classes help recreate this atmosphere and she leaves the class feeling very happy and upbeat.
Our feet share a common bond: We are twins in tendonitis. Siti prescribed a remedy of shredded turmeric and ginger, mixed with honey. I’ve tried the combination to reduce inflammation and it seems to be working. That’s what friends are for.
Serene Wong: Discovering the joy of hiking and parkour
Serene played badminton in the school team in school. As an active adult it was natural to join a gym. But when Serene wanted a change from going to the gym, she didn’t stay away from exercise. She launched into what many may hold their breath at and gasp when they hear her choice: Parkour!
The word “parkour” comes from the French word “parcours” which means “the way through”. It is an outdoor sport of moving along an urban route negotiating environmental obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing, in the fastest and most efficient way. Yes, ninja antics!
Serene started mastering parkour skills at age 57 and they served her well when she decided to focus on hiking. She had found out about Parkour for Seniors when our Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong talked about it in his National Day Rally Speech in 2018.
- Conquering rheumatoid arthritis
After enjoying parkour for three years, Serene’s doctor made her choose between parkour and hiking because Serene had developed rheumatoid arthritis.
Practicality prevailed and she chose hiking because she could do it for the greater part of the rest of her life. However, parkour never really left her side.
She was thankful that parkour training helped her approach hiking and active ageing, intelligently. She would assess her obstacles (the terrain) the way a parkour enthusiast assesses the environment before attempting to navigate it.
- Finding thrills in hiking
Serene’s staple is multi-day hiking and her list of hiking adventures is phenomenal. In the last seven years, she has gone on the Nakasendo Trail as hiker and later guide, and after that on the tougher Kumano Kodo Trail in Japan, also as hiker and guide.
She scaled three munros (mountains higher than 1,000 metres) in Scotland, climbed the Alps in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, and France, and covered the coastal village trail in Cinque Terre and the Dolomite mountains in Italy. She has her future hiking destinations mapped out, to be completed by the time she hits 65. Then only will she be satisfied and rest from hiking, she said.
Where to next Serene? The Camino de Santiago she quips.
"And I plan to do it three times. In stages. To cover the entire 825km of the pilgrims’ trail. From the Portuguese side. From the Spanish side. And from the French side."
And she also plans to take on Mont Blanc. Go girl!
Caroline Mah: Confronting fears with aerial hoop and jump
The girl who grew up fearing heights is today flying high, conquering her fears by attempting Aerial Hoop, an exercise that requires her to be perched on a hoop.
Caroline’s philosophy of not procrastinating and “just doing it” has even surprised herself. She tries new classes whenever she tires of the routine ones.
The list includes Trapeze, Aerial Hammock, Aerial Crescent, Aerial Yoga, Bungee Workout and rebound exercise, Kangoo Jumps.
Growing up, she was never into sport or exercise. She did not like running during PE lessons. The reason could have been the secret she had kept to herself all through her school years. She didn’t know why her knees would “lock” and there would be pain.
The irony of it all was that Caroline’s dad was a doctor. Caroline took her secret affliction to Sydney as a student, and thereafter work, until one day when she was 20 and her knees just swelled up and she had to have an operation.
- Overcoming knee pain to seize new adventures
Her knees were fixed (tendon/ligament cut) but her exercise journey began only after she married and her daughters started attending school.
To fill the time between dropping them off at school and picking them up, she stumbled on a life-changing path.
She joined a group of school moms in line dancing. That sparked a love for sport which catapulted her to be adventurous and try different classes. Today, Caroline cannot imagine a life without exercise.
Caroline’s staples are pilates, stretch exercise and jump (a trampoline exercise). Her knees have acted up after the operation.
Last year, she climbed Mount Hallasan in Jeju Island, South Korea. It was six hours up the 1,947-metre mountain and six hours down, in the dark. On the way down, her knees started to hurt.
So down she trekked gingerly, not thinking of the pressing pain but focusing on her mission. It is the focus on active ageing that sees her through all the activities she takes on.
What’s next on the cards Caroline?
“My friend, that sounds like a solid suggestion. See you at the wall.”
