Groovy Grandma goes to gym
Groovy Grandma Teresita Cando and her exercise routine
The 65-year-old grandmother from Cebu hits the gym regularly to delay the process of aging. According to her, being old and retired is not a hindrance to do more, rather it should encourage the elderly to enjoy and maximize their energies. Unfortunately, most senior people choose to live a sedentary lifestyle that only speeds up aging.
“As senior citizens, we should be able to enjoy our money in traveling and bonding with the family. However, we cannot enjoy these things if we are not healthy. I want to enjoy my life more. I have worked hard to take care of my husband and my kids for years and I want to be able to take care of them and not the other way around. I love them too much that I don’t want them to worry about me in the years to come. So I started going to the gym and experience the benefits of it,” Cando says.
Given her philosophy of making the most out of life, she hits the gym three times a week to do push-ups and lifts. And because of her commitment to maintaining a healthy and fit body despite her advanced age, Fitness First acknowledged her efforts in the recently concluded New You Achievement Awards. She received the special award with another gym-buff Juan Lee, 96.
Teresita has been a gym member for more than eight years now.
Benefits to the elderly
Teresita has always been inclined towards sports and does a lot of physical activities. Yet, years ago, oddly enough, she started feeling weak, perhaps because of lack of proper guidance.
“A few years back, I started to feel a lot of joint pains, I felt weak, sleepy, and depressed. I couldn’t seem to do things that I enjoyed doing before like [playing] tennis, swimming, and biking. I wondered if it was because of my age,” she said.
Good thing, her gym has skilled trainers and nutritionists who make it easier for elderly gym-goers to stay fit and healthy while keeping up with the rigorous trainings.
Teresita admits her apprehensions and intimidations upon enlisting for a gym membership but now that she is reaping the fruits of her labor. She said: “Nowadays, I feel and look younger. Every morning when I look at myself in the mirror I see a better me every day and I am happy and proud of myself. Working out really makes a lot of difference for me.”
Thanks to her regular gym sessions, she ends up looking great and way younger than she actually is: without traces of a hunchback granny, white and thinning hair, and prominent sagging skin. In fact, Teresita can still easily lift a barbell.
She said: The “gym is a great place to socialize with different people.”
On having the time of her life
Teresita has been a consistent gym member for almost a decade and at the rate she is going, she has no plans of slowing down yet.
Besides achieving a healthier and fitter physique, regular exercise endorses bliss because it releases endorphin, a body chemical that interacts with the brain to reduce its sensitivity to pain. Endorphins have an almost morphine-like effect of being high.
Aside from her gym routines, she takes her daily vitamins and gets pieces of advice from her nutritionist on what food to take and avoid.
“Also, I always keep a positive outlook in life,” Teresita adds.
Given how this groovy grandma is now, she advises everyone to exercise or hit the gym and face life with a newer, happier, and positive kind of attitude.
“I definitely suggest that older people like me should change their outlook in life. Start going to the gym and experience the benefits of a worry-free life. They should discover their potential because there is so much more to enjoy and to do in life,” Teresita says.
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