Introduction
How do you envision your retirement, or if retirement is very far away, how do you see life as you age? Or maybe you are aging and it’s not going as you planned. I’ll give you a minute. But I want you to picture what you envision for your future.
Okay, I’ll share first or share my husband’s vision first. For my husband, he would like nothing more than to fish when retirement rolls around, preferably in our pond on a property yet to be purchased. I, on the other hand, would love to garden and hike and read books; and I wouldn’t mind a pond.
How about you? Did anyone envision playing with grandkids? Maybe playing like a kid? Gardening? Hiking? Traveling? Hobby Farm? Hold on to those pictures for me. We’ll return.
Lifespan v. Healthspan
Now, I want to define two terms. Lifespan and health span.
Lifespan. I’m sure we’re all familiar with. The total number of years a person lives. Currently in the US, the average lifespan is 77 years old. In West Virginia, the average lifespan is 71.7 years old.
Healthspan. Healthspan is the total number of years a person lives in good health without significant chronic disease or disability. Can you guess the average US health span?
63.9 years old!
I’ll let that sink in for a minute. Approximately 64 years old.
What’s the typical age of retirement? How is that going to impact your vision for the future?
Health and Wellness
So, let’s keep moving. Health and wellness. Just like how we have images of our future self, what are some images you have for health and wellness?
Gym rats? Trendy fitness people on social media? Judgy fitness people? Sweating!? Diets? Weigh-ins? Does anyone picture health and wellness as giving things up?
Yep. Valid. You have to give up your soda. You have to give up your pizza. You have to give up your Oreos. I’m not saying you have to give them up, but we all know that’s out there.
And some of these images could be the reason you are hesitant about health and wellness. These preconceived images can definitely be barriers and challenges to your health and wellness. Are there any other barriers or challenges that you face when it comes to health and wellness?
Barriers
Genetics. It does play a factor, but research is showing that anywhere from only 15 to 30% genetics contributes to poor health. Which is exciting because that means that the remaining 70 to 85% is environmental, some of which is actually in our control.
Time. Time is a huge one. You spend roughly a third of your day at work, another third sleeping, then you have to squeeze everything else into the last third, driving, cooking, shuttling children, personal activity, home activities. The list is endless and exhausting.
Expensive. Yes and no. It can be. Gym memberships cost money, gas to get there, equipment, gear, childcare. But like anything, people can take it to extremes. We all know people or see people all over social media that spend hundreds of dollars on yoga pants or buy a $10,000 bike. There are examples EVERYWHERE. But how much equipment do we really need to invest in to walk?
A good pair of shoes?
And don’t forget to give yourself credit for the movement you are already doing.
Mountaineer Mile
Which leads us to the Mountaineer Mile. The initiative celebrates and promotes walking a mile a day, which is wonderful! But we also want to be mindful of those who, for whatever reason, can’t reach this walking goal. We don’t want to leave them behind or make them feel discouraged. Research shows roughly 1 in 5 people have been diagnosed with arthritis in the US, regardless of age. Additionally, another 20ish percent of people are diagnosed with chronic pain syndrome. And these are just individuals with formal diagnosis, what about just general periodic joint pain, foot pain? We all have various barriers and challenges, so why not work with that and celebrate other forms of activity too?
Enter Active Southern West Virginia
Active SWV’s mission is to help people, West Virginians, become more physically active by removing barriers, like the ones we discussed. Everyone is welcome. We offer free volunteer led community programing. Free memberships. Free events. No catch. We have programing in Raleigh, Fayette, Kanawha, Webster, Nicholas, and Marion Counties, to name a few. I was looking at our calendar this month and there is line dancing in Greenbrier County, if you’re out that way.
Active Southern West Virginia is here to help you make lasting change, increase your daily physical activity, and improve your health outcomes by removing barriers to physical activity. Instead of demanding another hour at the gym or adding something else to your never-ending to-do list, we’re asking. “How do you measure your Mountaineer Mile?”
We want to identify and celebrate the current activities we engage in on a daily basis. The factory workers, nurses, and wait staff pace the floors all day. The stay-at-home mom, dad or grandparents that wrangle kids all day. We are moving. Maybe not as much as we could, but we’re not here to could-a, would-a, should-a ourselves to death. We are here to take a realistic look at our day. Then, we find areas or moments in our day when we can incorporate more movement and build to a mile.
And the best part,…
You choose your activity. What are you already doing? Could you do more of that? Does the thought of walking a mile bore you to tears? How about biking or skating or climbing? Maybe you enjoy vacuuming or dancing around your living room. Walking with a dog or friend or audiobook might be more your speed. Awesome!
Active Southern West Virginia is here to help you make a lifestyle change. We are here to support you. It’s not necessarily about walking one mile a day, but challenging yourself to move more and, hey, why not move more with an activity that brings you joy. Hence our tag line: How do you measure your Mountaineer Mile? We want you to show us how you move, and we can help you convert that movement to a mile. Did you know that roughly 20 minutes of light gardening equals a mile? We’ve got your conversions and activities covered.
Levi's Story
But enough of me telling you about Active SWV’s spin on the Mountaineer Mile. Here is a real-world example of a fellow West Virginian’s health and wellness journey.
Read about Levi’s story. HERE
Watch a quick 2:30 minute video. HERE
You might be calling FOUL right now because Levi’s story is 8 years old, but quick life update on Levi. He continues to turn his commitment to physical activity into a career and is finishing up a degree in Adventure Recreation Management at WVU Tech.
So, I think this is probably a good place to wrap things up.
Closing
In closing, I know health and wellness can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. You have feet and you can walk. Begin where you need to begin. This is not about speed and extreme strength. You’re not training to be an elite athlete, well maybe someone out there is, but they’re probably not reading this blog.
Besides, that wasn’t me a year ago. I “train” to be the best version of me I can be at 43. When I started walking, my goal was just to feel better. I was tired of feeling bad about myself and beating myself up and blaming myself. Walking helped. Ten minutes here, then 15, then 20, then a mile, then two. Little bit by little bit. Just remember you are training long-term for your goals and hopes and dreams in later life. But training starts now, at this age for then. And even if you’re in the “then” phase of life now, you can still feel better and improve your health and quality of life.
And Active Southern West Virginia wants to help. So, I’ll leave you with this question:
What is one thing that you can do for yourself today, one thing you can easily change today for your health and wellness?
Maybe it’s joining the 6-week Move More with Active SWV Challenge:
But if you’re not there yet, that’s fine too. Maybe you swap out one soda for a glass of water. Try it today. Then try it again tomorrow. And if it doesn’t work. It’s OK. Pick something else the next day. But keep going. We are here to support you and you’re worth it!
Stay Active!
References
- U.S. Life Expectancy: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/life_expectancy/life_expectancy.htm
- WV Lifespan: https://dhhr.wv.gov/HSC/SS/Vital_Statistics/Pages/Vital_Statistics.aspx#:~:text=The%20average%20age%20at%20death,men%20and%2074.9%20for%20women.
- Health Span: https://data.who.int/countries/840
- Arthritis: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db497.htm
- Chronic Pain Syndrome: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7215a1.htm#:~:text=Between%202019%20and%202021%2C%20the,who%20were%20divorced%20or%20separated.
- Genetics Role in Health Outcomes: https://archive.cdc.gov/#/details?url=https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/exposome/default.html
Levi’s Story
Kelly Fox
Workplace Wellness Director
Active Southern West Virginia
