THERE are predictable physical declines that occur over time in our life and they usually strike at roughly the same point for all of us. We instinctively grasp the biological maxim that people can age at vastly different rates. In other words, there’s an aging curve, and you can be either ahead of or behind it. Here’s a simple tests to take a reading of how well you’ve aged. Bear in mind that age is an accumulation of changes.
Vision
All of us will have trouble focusing on objects close up by our midsixties or seventies, the result of a condition known as presbyopia. With age, the lens becomes less pliable, so it can’t make vision- correcting shape changes as easily. This starts as early as the teens but typically doesn’t become noticeable until the forties, according to Dr. Martin Birnbaum.
The test: Fine-print reading. Hold the stock page from the financial section of a newspaper at arm’s length and slowly move it closer to your face. Note how far the paper is from your eyes when the numbers begin to blur. Depending what decade you’re in, you should be able to read the fine print all the way from arm’s length in to a distance of: 6 to 7 inches in your twenties, 10 inches in your 30s, 13 inches in your 40s and more than 13 inches in your 50s and beyond.
What to do: Presbyopia isn’t a problem until it bothers you. Dealing with it early can help your eyes generally work more efficiently, possibly warding off declines in distance vision. Presbyopia can’t be reversed, but it can be compensated for. You’ll need to go to an optometrist or ophthalmologist and get a prescription for bifocals.
Upper body strength
Between ages 30 and 80, muscle power in men declines by 30 to 40 percent. That happens only if you take this news lying down. The fact is, if you keep muscles working, they’ll retain their youthful strength well into your later years. With strength comes related benefits such as greater bone density, more efficient fat-burning metabolism and better posture.
The test: Chair-lifts. Sit on the edge of an armless chair or bench with your legs straight out so that your heels are on the floor and your toes are pointing up. Place both hands on the sides of the chair seat and inch forward off the chair so that you’re supported by your heels and hands. Now lower yourself until your butt touches the floor. Hold for one second, then push back up. It’s a more accurate test than something like push-ups, because you can’t cheat on it. A man of moderate strength should be able to do 10 of these in his 20s, nine lifts in his 30s, 8 lifts in his 40s, 7 lifts in his fifties and 6 lifts in his 60s and beyond.
What to do: Weight exercises like bench and military presses as well as simple push-ups, will keep your upper body muscles up to par. But the single best exercise is the test’s chair-lift move, which simultaneously works the chest, triceps, shoulders and midback. Do as many repetitions as you can comfortably, taking two seconds to lower and two seconds to raise up again, with a one-second pause in between. Do two sets.
Lower body strength
The same declines men see in their arms, shoulders and chest can occur in the lower body as well. That in the long run, leads to creaky knees and painful falls.
The test: One-minute squats. The object of this move is not to exert bursts of strength in multiple short moves but to do a slow burn with one long move. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your feet flat on the floor, taking 30 seconds to reach a point at which your hips are just below parallel with your knees. Take another 30 seconds to raise yourself back to starting position. A guy in his twenties should have enough strength and staying power to go the full minute, 52 to 55 seconds in his thirties, 44 to 50 seconds in his forties, 38 to 45 seconds in his fifties and 40 seconds or less in his sixties and beyond. Don’t try this test if you have a history of serious knee problems.
What to do: For lower-body strength, squats also hit multiple muscles: the thighs, hamstrings and buttocks. As an exercise, shorten the down portion to 12 seconds and the up portion to 10 seconds. To prevent injury from repeated motion, halt the squat when your thighs are just above parallel with the floor. Do two sets of as many repetitions as you can. You may want to progress to using weights when this exercise becomes to easy.
Aerobic fitness
Older guys with efficient hearts and lungs can literally run circles around younger guys on the basketball court. If you’re aerobically fit, you have the energy to keep going and going. The payoff is better oxygen delivery which can also make your brain sharper.
The test: Step-ups. This is a three minute test for which you’ll need to find or fashion and eight-inch step. Step up with one foot, then the other, then step down with one foot, followed by the other. Each up-up, down-down cycle is four counts.
Using a watch to time yourself, move at a steady cadence of about 20 four-count cycles per minute. When three minutes have elapsed, take your pulse. Put your index and middle fingers on the arteries of your wrist. Count beats for 15 seconds, then multiply this number by four to get the beats per minute. Now match your fitness level with your heart rate per minute using the average numbers below.
These are based on the assumption that you’re moderately active, exercising between 10 and 60 minutes per week and regularly involved in recreation or work requiring some heavy effort.
Twenties: 120 beats per minute or less, average; 150 or more, poor; below 90 excellent
Thirties: 130 beats per minute or less, average; 160 or more, poor; below 90 excellent
Forties: 140 beats per minute or less, average; 170 or more, poor; below 95 excellent
Fifties & beyond: 145 beats per minute or less, average; 170 or more, poor; below 95 excellent
What to do: To build aerobic capacity, do aerobic exercise at moderate intensity for at least 20 minutes three or more times a week. Good activities include walking, running, cycling, cross country skiing and stair climbing.
