The Real Cost of Aging
June 08, 2015
Do you remember the commercial with the old lady lying on the ground saying "I've fallen and I can't get back up!"? It was funny at the time to most people - unless you knew someone who died as a direct or indirect result of a fall.
Did you know that according to your insurance company the most dangerous place in your home is the bathroom and it accounts for the greatest percentage of accidents (i.e., fall related injuries)? See - you thought trimming the hedges with the lawn mower was dangerous, but it's not even close!
Dan John made a point during one of his lectures that really struck a chord with me and made me want to look deeper into the danger of falls and their aftereffects. He said that if two people of the same age and general physical characteristics, where one was diagnosed with cancer and one had a serious fall, the one with cancer had a much better chance of being alive five years later than the one that fell. Think about it: are you more afraid of cancer than falling? Hands down, nine out of ten people would say cancer. But, and this is the scary part, your chances of surviving a fall go down for every year after age 65 while your chances of surviving cancer stay the same or increase (depending on the type and severity of the cancer).
I had an experience several years ago at a Powerlifting competition where I watched a 70+ year old man make two world records and attempt a third. I met up with him after he finished the competition to talk about his training. The conversation eventually got around to kettlebells and he was eager to see how they work. I showed him the Swing, Clean, Squat, Press, Snatch and Turkish Get Up (TGU). He was impressed with all of the movements with the exception of the TGU. Why? Because he couldn't get up off the ground unassisted! Remember, this gentlemen was a world record holder in Powerlifting but was unable to get up off of the ground without help...
If you are interested in learning out more about the getting older and the need for strength training as you age please check out Dan Denidoza's posting on the Strong Medicine blog for more about this topic.