Form Follows Function

Embrace functional exercise to live the life you want

I did something rather thoughtless the other day, and I thank my Guardian Angel that it didn’t end too badly. I was washing a few dishes late afternoon when I noticed an array of unsightly splatters on the ceiling molding of the bay window. What the heck?! The kitchen is an area of the house to which I devote extra care. My mom always focused on keeping her kitchen clean, and with it being the heart of our home, I’m likewise pretty fastidious about cleanliness and appearance.

I don’t have a clue where those gawd-awful spatters came from (clearly my husband or child) but I couldn’t let them stay, so I pulled out the small step stool, grabbed a damp eCloth, and climbed up onto the counter to clean the dirty woodwork. It’s a reasonably tall window with high ceilings, so I needed to stand up on the counter to reach the top of the window.

Midway through cleaning off the unsightly spots, it dawned on me that I don’t like being up that high, and I got that weird chill that runs up your spine…which may explain my next move. I should have kneeled facing the window, carefully put one leg behind me, planted my foot solidly on the step, and then stepped down with the other. I’ve done it oodles of times and it works like a charm.

I’m not sure what I was thinking...clearly, I wasn’t…but what I did do was turn around and decide, “I'll just hop off.” As I crouched down to execute the ill-conceived jump, between gravity and inertia, I suddenly found myself falling forward off the counter while my feet were still firmly planted on it. Somehow, and I’m not sure how I managed to get my feet under me before touching down on the floor, and as I tumbled forward, I broke the fall with my arms. My knees were the last to touch the hardwood, but by then, my arms had absorbed most of the impact, so they didn’t hit hard or get injured.

It happened so quickly, and it could have been so much worse. Neither my husband nor son heard my thud or ensuing gasp, so no one had come running to help. I got up, dusted myself off, and thought, “Good grief, this is how it happens!” In the blink of an eye, bones break, heads bonk, and life changes forever.

My first thought was gratitude that I didn’t hit my head on the marble countertop of the island or break my wrist when I broke my fall. Then, it got me wondering how I avoided any real damage. It could have been sheer dumb luck, or maybe my body was well prepared, or a bit of both. Perhaps between regularly moving, rotating, stretching, reaching, squatting, and lifting heavy objects, my body instinctively reacted and was strong enough to weather the incident.

Move to live
As I’ve been mulling the experience over, it convinces me more than ever that as we age, we should approach exercise with functionality in mind. Assess how we need to function every day and strategically mitigate the declines that naturally happen as the years go by and we begin to experience the loss of muscle that induces frailty, the stiffness in the joints that prevents full fluid movement, the reaction time that slows…

I’ll qualify this by saying that all exercise is good, particularly racquet sports for brain health and walking for overall cardiovascular, metabolic, and emotional health. So, if you love doing something in particular, keep doing it! But augment with the functional essentials and, most importantly, incorporate movement—some sort of movement—into your day hourly.

For instance, during the day, I make a point of changing sitting positions (often cross-legged in my chair), standing to write, and walking outside for a quick break. I may look a little strange, but I exaggerate simple movements: I point and flex my feet, stand on my tippy toes to brush my teeth, do arm windmills as I walk around the house, and sit in a squat to stretch my back, just to name a few. 

In addition to these incremental daily moves, I exercise three times a week to maintain the self that I envision: strong, mobile, capable. 

Strength and balance
Although it’s difficult to say one aspect is more important than another, overall muscle strength is paramount for a slew of reasons. Strong muscles are our armor against disease, illnesses, and everyday mishaps (like my fall/hop/slip off the counter).

Grip strength, in particular, is an important biomarker for a range of age-related health issues, including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and certain cancers. A 2019 study determined that grip was a more robust indicator of cardiovascular mortality than a blood pressure test, and clearly, it’s invaluable to be able to grab ahold of something if you begin a fall or slide.

Because it’s so important, it’s an area of focus for me, so I don’t shy away from lifting heavy household objects such as cast-iron pans and griddles. For strength training, I favor free weights because they simultaneously challenge my core and cultivate balance. I also have a collection of kettlebells that strengthen my hands and work my muscles. If I can talk my husband into installing hanging rings somewhere, hanging and swinging will be another very beneficial exercise.

Along with hand strength, I focus on foot strength because our feet are our foundation. I do calf raises holding about 40-50 pounds, and walk barefoot most of the time in the house and out in the yard. Any uneven surface is an excellent challenge for muscles and balance, and the more our feet flex to adapt to the surface we are walking on, the better. 

Mobility: flexibility and range of motion
This isn’t simply being able to touch your toes, although that’s a great start—this is the mobility that comes from having a full range of motion and flexibility. Think of how many different ways our bodies can move and the articulation our joints are designed to have; that’s my ongoing goal.

My approach is a salad of modalities: a little bit of Pilates, CARS (Controlled Articulated Rotations), stretching with bands, and the omnipotent full squat. I also regularly get up and down off the floor, illuminating what I need to work on!

Functional exercise
I see all of this as functional exercise—movements that contribute to functioning well in all aspects of daily life, big and small.

For instance, one of my seemingly inconsequential, everyday joys is backing out of our driveway and twisting around to look behind me. (I’ve never gotten accustomed to those new-fangled back-up cameras that my son loves). I remember when I wasn’t flexible enough to turn comfortably, so I avoided it. Now, I revel in freely twisting, turning, and climbing in and out of a low, small car without groaning. (Practicing for my future Porsche, I love cars!)

Whether it’s the range of motion to look behind me, the strength to lift the 50-pound bag of dog food or roll the dumpster out for pickup, or the grace to mitigate a potentially serious fall, these are all functional abilities that bring daily fulfillment and add up to living well, aging great.

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